IWLA-PCC NEWSLETTER
PCC Founded 1958 * FEBRUARY 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 February 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
4-H trackers help PCC raise funds for bat habitat at soup social #4!
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.
IMPORTANT PCC UPCOMING EVENTS
2/10 Soup Social #4
4:30-6:30pm Discovery School Gym
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2/16 February PCC Monthly Meeting
1-3pm Thomas Library 2nd floor meeting room
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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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5/2 Family Nature Night
Discovery Charter School
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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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6/15 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
IWLA CLEAN WATER CHALLENGE
Kilmer update
Update from 1/19
Hello Neighbors and Friends of the Environment…
SHOW UP: Porter County Parks Board at their February 7, 2019, meeting at 6:00pm at the Porter County Admin Building, 155 Indiana Ave., Valparaiso.
Because of your persistence, we are again one step closer to saving the Kilmer property from development!
The Porter County Parks Foundation voted unanimously last night in favor of partnering with Porter County Parks Board and the (Spectacle/Andover/Hughart) Neighbors in order to acquire the Spectacle Drive property.
The final step before entering negotiations with the property owners will be an affirmative vote by the Porter County Parks Board at their February 7, 2019, meeting at 6:00pm at the Porter County Admin Building. Theior Land Acquisition Committee has indicated that it will recommend entering into this partnership at that meeting.
Should the Parks Board affirm this (nothing is done until the vote is done), then a team from those two organizations will enter negotiations with the family, and it will be up to us to raise the funds for the purchase.
Neighbors, I am so proud of the way we have come together to make a win for the neighborhood, a win for the property owners, a win for wildlife, a win for the lakes, a win for greenspace, and a win for the WHOLE community. Thank you for staying engaged, showing up, and being supportive of one another. The path continues on a little longer, but because of your dedication and commitment, the circle of community members supporting this keeps growing.
I want to send a special message of thanks to Walt Breitinger who joined me for the presentation to the Foundation Board last night. His passion for the environment was very persuasive! And, I have to thank Larry McAfee, who is a member of the Foundation Board, who FaceTimed the meeting to make sure he could share his story of involvement with our cause. You gentlemen are great stewards of the community. THANK YOU!
Andrea Proulx Buinicki, CFRE
President, Giving Focus
(C) 219-252-6223
Becoming an Outdoors-Woman Workshop
April 26th - 28th, 2019 -- Registration Begins March 1st, 2019!
Whether you've never stepped foot in the woods or you're a seasoned outdoor enthusiast, you'll have a wild time at Indiana's Becoming an Outdoors-Woman workshop, The program is designed for women 18-80+ to learn outdoor skills in a relaxed, low-pressure environment. Shoot clay targets, paddle a canoe, catch a trophy bass, become a campfire gourmet cook, make a fur hat, spot rare wild birds, or learn to track deer...it's up to you. Design your own outdoor experience to match your interests!
If you have any questions, please feel free to contact Danielle Shrake at dshrake@dnr.in.gov
Indiana Dunes National Park
PORTER, Ind. (AP) — A new effort is being made in Congress to designate the Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore along Lake Michigan as a national park.
A bill for the designation has been filed by Indiana Sens. Todd Young and Mike Braun and Rep. Pete Visclosky. The same proposal was approved by the House in 2017 but failed to get through the last Congress. The Senate didn't take a vote.
Visclosky says designating Indiana Dunes as a national park would recognize what he calls the lakeshore's environmental wonder and enhance the region's economy.
The national lakeshore was established in 1966 and now includes about 15,000 acres at the southern end of Lake Michigan. There's also an Indiana state park in the area....
NOTE TO PCC:
For members not at the January 26th meeting, we voted to support the name change.