CHICAGO (WBBM NEWSRADIO) -- The official dedication ceremony was held Tuesday re-naming the Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore the Indiana Dunes National Park.
Against a backdrop of spring flowers, lush vegetation and a marsh at the Paul H. Douglas Center for Environmental Education near the Miller Beach neighborhood in Gary, Indiana Dunes National Park Superintendent Paul Labovitz said, "we’re here to celebrate the changing of a name that’s 103 years in the making.”
"When the national park system was first talked about, the Indiana Dunes was one of the first places that was going to enter that system that represents what’s great about America from a natural and cultural perspective.”
World War I got in the way and over the years, as land was acquired and the dunes became the National Lakeshore in the 1960's, Congressman Pete Visclosky, champion of the national park, said nothing along the way came easy.
“Huge difficult disagreements and tense moments and looking back upon each of those struggles it was worth every minute,” he said.
Governor Eric Holcomb looked around at the marsh serving as a backdrop.
“Talk about sensory overload. This is just beautiful, just the chirping of the birds and the green and all of the color around," Gov. Holcomb said.
U.S. Senator Todd Young called the park "a treasure" that would draw visitors from all over.
“With this designation it becomes clear that this treasure is not just Indiana’s treasure or this region’s treasure, this is a national treasure and we believe this designation will increase the number of visitors and tourists to this area in coming years, benefiting Northwest Indiana’s economy and that is something to celebrate," Young said.