The narrow pathway beach goers used to reach the beach at Portage Lakefront and Riverwalk Park has been lost to erosion. But tourism agencies remind residents and visitors there are other ways to enjoy Indiana beaches. (Carole Carlson / Post-Tribune)
As beach erosion becomes a more pressing issue across the Lake Michigan shore, officials from tourism agencies in the Northwest Indiana have said they are working with legislators to help address the erosion.
But, as the beaches draw tourists, tourism officials are highlighting the other activities the beach areas offer, such as hiking and bird watching, said Speros Batistatos, president and CEO of the South Shore Convention and Visitors Authority and chairman of the Dunes National Park Association.
Batistatos said the beach erosion is “not a good situation," and that he gets regular updates from National Park Service officials about it. But, Batistatos said that residents and visitors can still go to Indiana beaches for other activities.
“I’m not trying to write off what’s going on ... but there’s (a lot) of things to do at the park,” Batistatos said of the Dunes National Park, adding that adding “National Park” to the name has increased visitation to the dunes.
“The dunes and beach are just one aspect of the business, we see, because of the name change,” he said.
At Portage’s Lakefront Park, people can still enjoy hiking trails and the pavilion, said Lorelei Weimer, executive director of Indiana Dunes Tourism.
“There’s still ways you can enjoy it, but it’s much more limited in terms of the lake part of it, the access to the lake,” Weimer said.
On Jan. 6, State Sen. Karen Tallian, D-Ogden Dunes, and State Rep. Pat Boy, D-Michigan City, sent a letter to Gov. Eric Holcomb asking him to declare a state of emergency for disaster money to address beach erosion in Porter and LaPorte counties.
As Lake Michigan approaches record high levels, the disappearing shoreline is “threatening both private property and public infrastructure,” according to the letter.
“From homes in Ogden Dunes, Dune Acres, and Long Beach with failing sea walls, to the lakefront pavilion at Portage beach, to the water lines and gas lines that run under Lakeshore Drive in Beverly Shores, there is imminent danger of substantial property loss to our State’s citizens,” Tallian wrote.
Lake Michigan water levels are approaching records last seen in 1987, according to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Detroit office. In Porter County, multiple communities have raised alarms over public safety.
The Portage Lakefront and Riverwalk has already been heavily damaged by erosion, with the loss of walkways and a viewing platform. Lake Michigan waves breached a dune protecting the pavilion there. Erosion also recently closed the Lake View parking lot and beach access within Indiana Dunes National Park until May.
Erosion is also threatening Lakefront Drive in Beverly Shores, which has been limited to emergency responders.
As local governments declare a state of emergency in the area, including Portage, Ogden Dunes, Beverly Shores, Long Beach and the Porter County Board of Commissioners, the letter also stated that beach erosion can hurt state tourism.
"Our Indiana Dunes State Park and the Indiana Dunes National Park are some of the most visited parks in Indiana,” they said. “The threat of seawalls, roads, and even homes falling into Lake Michigan is certainly not conducive to a thriving tourism industry,” they said. “These people need your help.”
Weimer said she had been involved in trying to secure funds for a long-term study “that will look at the erosion issue on a holistic level and find a permanent solution to really solve the problem.”
But, Weimer said, unfortunately the $1.6 million federal study by the Army Corps of Engineers has not yet occurred. The study required a 50% match, which the state originally said it would help fund and then abruptly removed the line item from the budget without explanation, she said.
The study was required to receive federal dollars for a long-term solution, Weimer said.
The group asked for the state to contribute $800,000 to the study, Weimer said, but new estimates show that now the state would have to give a little over $1 million toward the study.
Over the summer, Weimer said she testified in front of a state study-committee, which later recommended that the state take action to address the erosion.
To help legislators and other officials better understand the seriousness of the erosion, Weimer said she and her staff have been recording videos of the beaches over time to show how quickly the erosion is happening.
Weimer said there is video footage of the handicap pathway and viewing area at Portage Lakefront Park “when it was all in place and now it’s literally in the water."
“It’s very good to be able to see what is actually happening and how serious the situation is,” she said.
High water levels and an increase in storm intensity, “that is only making the matter worse,” Weimer said. Man-made structures along Lake Michigan are creating issues as well “because it’s preventing that natural flow of sand," which means some areas are “starved” of sand while other areas have too much sand.
“Our position is ... let’s try to make some short-term decisions that are going to help with the situation, but let’s figure out what the long-term solution is,” Weimer said.
State and federal legislators and agencies should consider working with Indiana’s universities, such as Purdue University, to help figure out a way to address erosion, she said.
Weimer said local officials are worried about the pavilion at Portage Lakefront “if this continues for the next couple of years” without a short-term and long-term solution.
But, while Portage Lakefront is facing erosion, there “other beaches that are not impacted and are fine,” Weimer said.
“It’s important to know that there’s different beaches along the lakefront in Indiana,” Weimer said. “We don’t want people to be confused by the fact that there are erosion issues at a couple of the beaches, but there’s other beaches that are totally fine and that they can still go to those other beaches, like the state park or Porter Beach.”
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