IWLA-PCC NEWSLETTER
PCC Founded 1958 * MAY, 2018 *60 years of conservation
“From the Dunes in the north, to the Kankakee River in the south”
Izaak Walton League of America - Porter County Chapter
(Usually, Meetings held every 3rd Saturday), 1-3pm in the
Thomas Library in 2nd floor meeting room
200 W. Indiana Avenue, Chesterton, IN 46304
NOTE DATE CHANGE FOR NEXT MEETING;
(RESCHEDULED MAY PCC Monthly Meeting)
UPDATE 5/5 PCC Monthly Meeting
1-3pm Thomas Library 2nd floor meeting room
Email: executivedirectoriwlapcc@gmail.com
Website: NWIconservation.org
Location: 200 West Indiana Avenue, Chesterton, IN, United States
Phone: 219-241-7431
Facebook: facebook.com/PCCIWLA
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
President - Gary Brown grbrown57@hotmail.com, 219-464-8882
Vice President - Jim Sweeney jp55biod@att.net, 219-322- 7239
Treasurer/Membership - Liz McCloskey tmconservation@csinet.net, 219-326-0700 Secretary - Susan Swarner susan.swarner@gmail.com, 219-201-5498
Chapter Directors: Don Frame df.nature@outlook.com, 219-331-6136,
Bill Iltzsche biltzsche@hotmail.com 219-464-9850 and
Herb & Charlotte Read candhread@comcast.net, 847-302-8069
RTD champions the farm!
On Saturday, April 28, the Porter County Chapter of the Izaak Walton League of America was honored to receive the assistance of Rebuilding Together Duneland. PCC is a 501c3 who's mission is to defend soil, air, woods, waters and wildlife. Their Frame Family Little Calumet Conservation Area (a 124 year old farm) has been under restoration to convert it to its original natural state. The group needed some extra hands to accomplish goals that will lead toward their opening the property for public enjoyment and education. They are grateful to have had such a large group of RTD volunteers come out to plant trees, clear invasives, add new features to the Nature Playground and do some general 'old farm' clean-up. Volunteers from Porter's Worthington Steel, CHS gymnastics and wrestling teams and Duneland's generous citizens made short work of the to-do list. PCC plans to invite school, scout and other groups to explore the 8 out of 10 of our region's ecosystems present at the site.
(last 2) MAY FAMILY NATURE NIGHTS - volunteer opportunity
Please volunteer to help kids experience youth conservation education!
5/3 Family Nature Night @ Discovery Charter School
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5/10 Family Nature Night @ 6-7:30pm Liberty Elementary School
VOLUNTEER TO HELP at Family Nature Night events! Contact Bonnie Swarner at bdswarner@hotmail.com or Susan Swarner at susan.swarner@gmail.com
SEE OUR CHAPTER'S CALENDAR OF EVENTS
thank you Sandy O'Brien and pcc burn team
Thank you to all the volunteers who worked with Sandy O'Brien to complete a prairie burn at Frame Family Little Calumet Conservation Area in April. They waited for just the right weather and it paid off with a successful clearing.
FIND VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITIES AT STEWARDSHIP DAYS with this Calendar
IMPORTANT PCC UPCOMING EVENTS
5/3 Family Nature Night
Discovery Charter School
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(RESCHEDULED MAY PCC Monthly Meeting)
UPDATE 5/5 PCC Monthly Meeting
1-3pm Thomas Library 2nd floor meeting room
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5/10 Family Nature Night
6-7:30pm Liberty Elementary School
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5/19 IN DUNES BIRDING FESTIVAL 9am-2pm (set-up at 8am)
Dunes State Park w/ PCC Birdhouse Building
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6/16 June PCC Monthly Meeting
1-3pm Thomas Library 2nd floor meeting room
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6/16 Gnomes Day Out...fairy festival
Frame Conservation Area
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6/23 Naturepalooza 10am-3pm
Rogers Lakewood Park
VOLUNTEER TO HELP at Family Nature Night events! Contact Bonnie Swarner at bdswarner@hotmail.com or Susan Swarner at susan.swarner@gmail.com'
To volunteer to help with Gnomes Day Out! or NATUREPALOOZA contact Annette Hansen executivedirectoriwlapcc@gmail.com
NEW Osprey Tower by the Discovery Trackers 4-H Club
Oil spill at Mackinac
April 13, 2018 Traverse City, MI Chicago Tribune article by
John Flesher, AP Environmental Writer
Michigan's two senators called Friday for temporarily shutting down twin oil pipelines in a sensitive Great Lakes waterway that may have been damaged by a ship anchor strike, which also is suspected in the leak of coolant fluid from nearby electric cables.
With an underwater inspection planned for early next week, Democratic Sens. Gary Peters and Debbie Stabenow said oil should not continue flowing through Enbridge Inc.'s Line 5 in the Straits of Mackinac until it's certain the pipes are in good shape. A wintry storm bearing down on the area made the situation more perilous, Peters said.
"Upcoming blizzard conditions and high winds pose a threat to the already-damaged pipeline and —even worse — would render on-site cleanup equipment ineffective in the event of an oil spill," he said. "We simply cannot afford that kind of risk to Michigan's most precious natural resource."
Enbridge spokesman Ryan Duffy said the Canadian company was monitoring the situation and "should the weather deteriorate to a point where we are concerned about the ability for our personnel to respond to an incident, we will temporarily shut down."
READ MORE at: http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/midwest/ct-mackinac-enbridge-oil-pipelines-20180413-story.html
Endowment news
GREAT LAKES PROJECT
The Porter County (Michigan) Chapter received an Endowment grant to help protect and clean up the East Branch of the Little Calumet River. The Chapter used grant funds to buy equipment they could use to monitor the river’s health and measure the success of their prairie and wetland restoration efforts. This will help the group keep the river clean in order to support healthy fish and wildlife populations.
As published on the IWLA Endowment website (explore more here)
http://iwla-endowment.org/
now anyone can find us!
Just tell them the name of either Frame Family Little Calumet Conservation Area, Sandra Dee Bedenkop or Carol Cook Wetland Overlook and the app will give them driving directions from anywhere!