Dorothy Buell’s legacy as a preservationist came about serendipitously. After a visit to New Mexico’s White Sands National Dunes, she saw a poster in a hotel lobby for a meeting of the Indiana Dunes Preservation Council and decided to join. The group struggled to organize, so Buell went DIY, gathering a group of women at her home in Ogden Dunes in June 1952 to form the Save the Dunes Council. Their mission: Protect the remaining untouched dunes along the southern tip of Lake Michigan in Northwest Indiana from disappearing beneath harbors, steel mills and unchecked development. As one of Indiana’s oldest environmental groups, Save the Dunes continues to address threats to the local environment – shoreline erosion, invasive species, water pollution, development pressures, and public beach access. They work to preserve the dunes by reducing the presence of invasive plants to protect and restore the natural landscape; advocating for public funding, protective policies, and sustainable solutions; and engaging and educating the community through presentations, online activities and in-person events.
Save the Dunes and other northwest Indiana advocates traveled to Washington, D.C., in March 2024 to meet with members of Congress to discuss bipartisan water policy priorities.(Top left: Save The Dunes founder Dorothy Buell, standing, and early Save the Dunes members. Top right: U.S. Senator Paul Douglas, seated left, and local representatives on a tour of the Indiana dunes during the fight to save them.)
Save the Dunes is located in Michigan City, IN, but works to protect and advocate for natural spaces in Lake, Porter and LaPorte counties in northwest Indiana. Save the Dunes operates with a small staff of six and is funded through grants, corporate partnerships, memberships and donations, and fundraising events. Despite its size, Save the Dunes celebrates many successes. With a coalition of other nonprofits, the group leads a water pollution prevention roundtable that meets bimonthly to strategize on ensuring industry on the shores of Lake Michigan adheres to water permits and Clean Water Act regulations. In 2018, the Indiana Supreme Court ruled in favor of Save the Dunes and the Alliance for the Great Lakes in the Gunderson v. State of Indiana lawsuit, which ensures all citizens have access to the Lake Michigan shoreline. Save the Dunes also was instrumental in lobbying for the creation of the Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore – now the Indiana Dunes National Park – which guarantees federal protections.