I.A.S. Newsletter, October 1967 - 7 - 
US_ SENATE PASSES APOSTLE ISLAND NATIONAL LAKESHORE PARK BILL 
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Sen, Gaylord Nelson of Wisconsin hailed passage of his bill for a new 57,000 
acre island lakeshore in northern Wisconsin on the south shore of Lake Superior, 
The bill has now been sent to the House where it will be considered by the House 
Interior Committee under Cong. Wayne Aspinall of Colorado, The bill includes a 
10,370 acre slough area, It would not include Madeline Islands, The bill was 
opposed by Sen. Everett Dirksen of Illinois, About 13 million dollars are 
authorized for land acquisition and development, 
Apostle Islands is a vast complex of islands, marshlands, and uplands, It has 
great natural beauty, many sloughs; it is excellent for fishing and bird-watching, 
The 21 islands are heavily forested and more than 240 species of birds have been 
Sighted there, With grass-roots support, the bill could be passed this year, A 
snag may come from some voices in Congress who declare we must cut down on domestic 
efforts in order to support the $25 billion annual war cost in Vietnam. Further 
information may be obtained from the Wisconsin Citizens Committee on Natural 
Resources, Box 707, Mellen, Wisconsin. 
US_FOREST SERVICE SUPPORTS A DAM IN LUSK CANYON 

Several conservation clubs have expressed great concern over revelations 
that the U.S. Forest Service plans to inundate Lusk Creek Canyon in Pope Caunty 
in Illinois with the construction of a dam, Downstate biologists and 
naturalists have expressed their opposition to this "pork barrel" project to 
both the U.S, Forest Service in Washington, D.C, and to Congressman Kenneth 
Gray in whose district Lusk Creek Canyon lies, The magazine Outdoor Illinois, 
published in Benton, Ill., has carried several articles on the botanic 
scenic values found in the canyon and which would be forever destroyed if the 
dam were completed, The Sierra Club Great Lakes Chapter has made field trips 
to the area, 
The Lusk Creek reservoir was proposed some ten years ago, but has never 
been funded, It has been planned primarily as a "recreation lake." The dam is 
not needed to save any human lives or to save property from flooding. Several 
downstate groups are promoting the dam merely to provide boating and fishing, 
Engineering difficulties have eliminated the first site, Congressman Gray has 
replied that "the Lusk Creek Project was started by petition by the local people," 
As in the case of the Grand Canyon, local people often are unfortunately unaware 
of certain values and natural beauty and have not given these the high rating 
they deserve. Conservationists around the state are being asked to protest the 
Lusk Creek dam to the U.S. Forest Service and Cong. Kenneth Gray, House Office 
Bldg., washington, D.C. 
ESTUARIES RECEIVE NATIONAL ATTENTION 
Where the tide mets the river current, estuaries may be formed, These 
borders between land and sea are always in motion, They are shifted by floods 
and tides which produce sand bars that partly close off the river's mouth, 
They are rich in sea life and are valuable natural resources, With bulldozers 
and with dredges, our caintry is ruining the estuaries, The U.S. Corps of 
Engineers is a willing ally of the bulldozers, granting permits without 
hesitation, 
Cong. John Dingell of Michigan has introduced HR 25 which would give strong 
protection to the nation's remining estuaries, the Great Lakes and connecting 
waterways. In one area, dredging has caused silting, which in turn has been 
responsible for the death of plant life, which in turn has driven off the fish, 
and shellfish that until this year were important to fisheries and aided in 
feeding some 25,000 nesting birds, Bulldozers, politicians and real estate 
men simply must begin to understand ecology. 

