“And as with any area receiving high numbers of visitors, litter and trash tend to follow — especially on the beach areas. Park staff with specialized equipment comb the beaches for litter daily during the summer months. Visitors are encouraged to take trash with them when they leave and recycling receptacles are provided in most of the recreation sites in the park.”

What are the steps are being taken to assure the use of the Dunes for future generations?

“Aside from the close monitoring and preservation noted in the question above, the national lakeshore has one of the most prominent education programs in the National Park Service, serving some 40,000 students annually.

“Day programs are presented throughout the national lakeshore by park rangers and the park’s nonprofit partner, the Indiana Dunes Environmental Learning Center, provides residential programs. Many of these programs involve stewardship activities such as monitoring parks resources and habitat restoration projects such as the prairie restoration program. By educating future generations of citizens on the unique resources and history of the dunes, the park hopes to instill values for environmental preservation that will benefit the area for decades to come.”

What about quality and concerns about E.coli? What causes these outbreaks and what can be done to minimize them?

“The national lakeshore samples water taken from the lake weekly between Memorial Day and Labor Day to determine the level of E.coli present. If levels of the indicator bacteria are higher than what is considered safe, beach advisories are posted warning the public against exposing themselves to lake water.

“The E.coli test has been called into question because of the time necessary to perform the test and the potential for naturally occurring E.coli. Due to this, the national lakeshore participated in a pilot study by the Environmental Protection Agency and Centers for Disease Control to determine if there is a link between exposure to high bacteria levels and illness experienced by swimmers in order to develop a faster method of testing. Several more years of testing will be necessary for the study to validate early findings.

“As to the cause of the outbreaks, there are a number of theories and suspicions, but as yet no clear source can been determined.”

What about the impact of invasive species?

“The national lakeshore remains vigilant to the invasion of exotic species such as garlic mustard and purple loosestrife. Monitoring and eradication efforts are continual to attempt to slow the spread of these non-native organisms. Both park employees and volunteers expend many hours in the eradication process.