IWLA-PCC NEWSLETTER
PCC Founded 1958 * MARCH 2019 *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
Meetings held every 3rd Saturday, 1-3pm in the
Thomas Library in 2nd floor meeting room
200 W. Indiana Avenue, Chesterton, IN 46304
Next meeting March 16, 2019
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
happy spring
IMPORTANT PCC UPCOMING EVENTS
3/12 Family Nature Night
6-7:30 Washington Township School
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3/14 Family Nature Night
6-7:30 Brummitt Elementary School
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3/16 March PCC Monthly Meeting
1-3pm Thomas Library 2nd floor meeting room
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4/4 Family Nature Night
6:00-7:30 Flint Lake Elementary School
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4/9 Family Nature Night
6:00-7:30 Northview Elementary School
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4/18 Family Nature Night
6-7:30 Liberty School
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4/20 April PCC Monthly Meeting
1-3pm Thomas Library 2nd floor meeting room
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4/27 Earth Day Celebration
Valparaiso University Rec Center
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5/2 Family Nature Night
Discovery Charter School
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5/11 May PCC Monthly Meeting
1-3pm Thomas Library 2nd floor meeting room
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TBD May Family Nature Night
Yost Elementary School
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5/18 Build Birdhouses at Bird Festival with Trackers 4-H Club
9a-4p Dunes St. Pk. Nature Center
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6/8 June PCC Monthly Meeting
1-3pm Thomas Library 2nd floor meeting room
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6/15 Gnomes Day Out
Frame Family Conservation Area
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To volunteer to help with anything that suits you; contact Annette Hansen executivedirectoriwlapcc@gmail.com 219-241-7431
we need volunteers!
Please consider joining us in the fun. RSVP to Annette Hansen at 219-241-7431 text or call or email at executivedirectoriwlapcc@gmail.com :)
thanks to the discovery trackers 4-h club
Thank you Trackers!
'Friends' get iwla award
Charlotte Read of the Porter County Chapter presents the national Izaak Walton League of America's 2018 Honor Roll Award to Zella Olson and Angel Goins of the Friends of the Indiana Dunes for their long history of support for the Indiana Dunes State Park and National Lakeshore.
The IWLA Honor Roll award is given to individuals and organizations that are not League members but share similar goals.
serving up volunteerism
Annette was thanked for her volunteer hours toward raising funds and promoting the chapter. Annette keeps bees so her apron is covered in them. Marilyn loves birds so her apron has a wild bird pattern. PCC appreciates these ladies and thanks them for their continued assistance.
(In the photo behind them is a sample of our BrandenBark(r) bat habitat and monitoring equipment that will be used at Frame Conservation Area this spring.)
burn permit
IWLA CLEAN WATER CHALLENGE
trout at frame
Thank you!!!!!!!
concrete donation by ozinga
Thanks USGS & VU
Thanks to USGS for sharing their intern with PCC so we can keep our site current and fresh.
Invited to Earth Day
Julie Whitaker, the Energy and Sustainability Coordinator at Valparaiso University, in the Office of Sustainability has invited PCC and it's FNN partners to celebrate Earth Day on April 27th on the college campus.
This is a great opportunity to showcase what environmental, sustainable, and healthy missions PCC represents. They think we would be great at doing a demonstration at their kids corner so we will work on an activity for that event. Annette Hansen will coordinate that.
The event will be held at Valparaiso University Athletic Recreation Center. 10am-3pm.
bedenkop harvest
7 hunting PCC members enjoyed the great outdoors 39 times and 2 does and a buck were harvested at PCC's Bedenkop Spring Run this past hunting season.
Article you may enjoy by NY Times:
A New Breed of Hunters Focuses on the Cooking
As the ranks of American hunters dwindle, millennials like the chef Wade Truong are taking up the tradition, seeking a direct connection to what they eat.
CLICK here for the full article:
kilmer property update
We are still waiting for the Porter County Parks Board Meeting to be rescheduled (hopefully during the week of the 25th). As a reminder, the Porter County ParksFoundation has voted to enter into purchase negotiations with the Kilmers, but they can only do so with an official vote from the Parks Board agreeing that they will operate the park once purchased. The Board’s Land Acquisition Committee is expected to recommend a favorable vote. The meeting that was to take place earlier this month had to be rescheduled because some Board members were on vacation, and they did not have a quorum. I know that they are working on rescheduling, and I know that the Foundation is in contact with the Kilmers about the delay.
3/1/19 update;
BIG NEWS
Porter County Parks Foundation submitted a purchase offer to Todd Leeth, the attorney representing the Kilmer family, at 10:40am on Friday, March 1..
CURIOUS NEWS
On Wednesday, several neighbors attended the Porter County Plan Commission meeting. Thanks Randy O., Babs P., Tom B., and Walt B. for coming. At the very end of the meeting, Bob Thompson shared news with the Plan Commission that his staff as well as a private attorney and developer(s) were convening to discuss potential changes to the Open Space requirement in the Unified Development Ordinance. There was nothing proposed at this time; it was a point of information. He asked the Plan Commission Members to be thinking about what they would like to see as amenities in open space. He mentioned that they wanted to create a prioritized list so that if certain items were selected, the developers could get a density bonus. Again, no details were shared, and it sounds like the Porter County Plan Commission will be involved in determining the list. Just something to keep on your radar as it develops.
SEE OUR CHAPTER'S CALENDAR OF EVENTS
NOTICE TO ALL IWLA LIFE MEMBERS!
Among our membership are a few national Life and Life Benefactor members of the IWLA. Please note that those memberships make you a Member-At-Large of the national organization. It does not make you a member of the state and local organizations unless you pay state and local dues as well. So Members-At-Large do not have chapter privileges at any chapter. We mail our newsletter to many local people, some of whom are not paid chapter members. Please let us know if you would like to be a member of the Porter County Chapter.