I 
114TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 6291 
To retitle Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore as Indiana Dunes National 
Park, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
SEPTEMBER 28, 2016 
Mr. VISCLOSKY (for himself, Mrs. WALORSKI, Mr. STUTZMAN, Mr. ROKITA, 
Mrs. BROOKS of Indiana, Mr. MESSER, Mr. CARSON of Indiana, Mr. 
BUCSHON, and Mr. YOUNG of Indiana) introduced the following bill; 
which was referred to the Committee on Natural Resources 
A BILL 
To retitle Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore as Indiana 
Dunes National Park, and for other purposes. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘The Indiana Dunes 
National Park Act’’. 
SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 
The Congress makes the following findings: 
(1) The Great Lakes form the largest fresh-
water system on Earth. Lake Michigan, by volume, 
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is the second largest Great Lake and the only Great 
Lake located wholly within the United States. 
(2) The southern shore of Lake Michigan in-
cludes some of the most geologically and biologically 
diverse areas in the United States. 
(3) The unique features that comprise the 
southern shore of the Lake Michigan, also known as 
the Indiana Dunes, were formed over the course of 
12,000 years by natural forces, including glaciers, 
wind, and water. Glacial melting and fluctuations in 
the water level resulted in the formation of as many 
as 7 shorelines. This process resulted in the bio-
logically diverse beaches, sand dunes, and inter-dune 
wetlands that can be seen today. 
(4) Native American peoples inhabited the Indi-
ana Dunes region for over 10,000 years, including 
the Miami and Potawatomi Indian tribes. 
(5) Local conservation efforts to preserve the 
Indiana Dunes began as early as 1899 when Henry 
Cowles, a botanist from the University of Chicago 
who is known for being one of the founders of con-
temporary ecological study and thought, published 
an article entitled ‘‘Ecological Relations of the Vege-
tation on Sand Dunes of Lake Michigan’’ in the Bo-
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tanical Gazette, bringing international attention to 
the intricate ecosystems existing on the dunes. 
(6) On October 30, 1916, one month after the 
establishment of the National Park Service, Stephen 
Mather, the first Director of the National Park 
Service, held hearings in Chicago, Illinois, to gauge 
public sentiment on a ‘‘Sand Dunes National Park,’’ 
which would have established much of the southern 
shore of Lake Michigan as one of the United States 
first national parks. 
(7) Four hundred people attended this hearing 
and 42 people, including Henry Cowles, spoke in 
favor of the park proposal. There were no oppo-
nents. However, plans for a ‘‘Sand Dunes National 
Park’’ were delayed because the United States en-
tered World War I and national focus shifted away 
from national parks to national defense. 
(8) Local conservation efforts to preserve the 
Indiana Dunes persisted after World War I and cul-
minated in the establishment of the Indiana Dunes 
State Park in 1925 and the Indiana Dunes National 
Lakeshore in 1966, established by Public Law 89– 
761. 
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