Typically great
ideas brought before government bodies are immediately recognizable and less
than great ideas are usually marketed with a lot of promises and
speculation. Porter County’s foremost tourist destination has always been
the Dunes State Park. Nowhere in our county can we make that same
declaration.
Due to its distinct
natural environment as well as location, The Dunes are arguably one of the
most environmentally sensitive and valuable pieces of property in our state
park inventory. Allowing private investors to build and operate their own
for profit restaurant and banquet hall on Dunes Park property would seem to
be as logical as growing potted poison ivy plants in the middle of a
dermatologist’s office.
If this is simply
an attempt by the State to generate more revenue for the park, then it is
just about the poorest decision they could have made given the
circumstances. Preservation of this unique property should be considered
primary and revenue generation judged as important, but less important than
the property itself.
If the DNR believes
that increasing the parks attendance is challenging, just imagine how
difficult and expensive it will be to repair this delicate ecosystem if this
plan adversely affects what took thousands of years to create. Like most
people, I too understand that the Indiana Department of Natural Resources
must find smarter ways to bring more people into the park each year.
However, it should be noted that this type of venture is so unique it has
not been allowed to take place anywhere else in Northwest Indiana. Not at
the National Park, or any county, city, town, or township owned park in
Northwest Indiana. That’s right, not a single one of them has allowed
private investors to come on to the public’s Park land and construct
buildings to operate their own for profit businesses.
To say that this
project helps create a better park is totally ignoring the most basic
understanding of why this particular piece of land was initially designated
as “protected” in the first place.
Opening its
environmentally sensitive shoreline to private developers makes no sense to
me as a taxpaying resident or county elected official.