Save the Dunes is hosting an Environmental Policy and Legislation Forum to discuss state and federal issues at 12 p.m. Saturday, March 13 in Michigan City.

Area legislators have been invited to update participants on environmental laws and policies that were passed in the most current session of the Indiana legislature. Staff members and volunteers will also talk about their recent trip to Washington, D.C., to educate legislators on Great Lakes clean water issues.

Anyone interested in protecting, preserving, and restoring the Indiana Dunes and the Lake Michigan Watershed in Indiana is urged to attend to learn how their involvement can make a difference.

This interactive program will begin at noon with a potluck and should conclude at 2:00 p.m.

For the potluck, attendees are to bring their own re-usable (no disposables please) plate and flatware. Drinks, cups and napkins will be provided. In addition, participants should bring food to share according to the following suggested scheme:

•Last name letters A-E: Appetizers.

•Last name letters F-K: Salads/Pasta/Casserole.

•Last name letters L-R: Vegetable or Fruit.

•Last name letters S-Z: Dessert.

A free-will offering will be accepted to help support unfunded programming and activities of Save the Dunes.

Please RSVP to (219) 879-3937 or complete a form at http://www.savedunes.org/monthly/index.php?uid=37d1eeebf47b

The event will be held at the Save the Dunes headquarters at 444 Barker Road (not Barker Ave.) in Michigan City.

Go north on Franklin St. from I-94, turn right at the stoplight at Barker Road where the Jewel Food Store is on the west side of the street. The entrance to Barker Center is just past the next stop sign on the left-hand side of the road.

The mission of Save the Dunes, a 501(c)3 charitable organization, is to preserve, protect, and restore the Indiana Dunes and all natural resources in Northwest Indiana's Lake Michigan Watershed for an enhanced quality of life. Save the Dunes’ origins go back to 1952 when a group of concerned citizens formed Save the Dunes Council and undertook a monumental effort to establish the Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore in 1966.

In 1994 Save the Dunes, then known as Save the Dunes Conservation Fund, was formed to take on efforts complementary to the Council. As of January 2010, Save the Dunes Conservation Fund, now doing business as (dba) “Save the Dunes,” merged the operations of the Council into its fold, carrying forth a long tradition of preservation, protection and restoration in the Indiana Dunes.

Posted 3/3/2010