2 THE AUDUBON BE Ue br ei 
Conservation News and Notes 
Bald Eagle Bill. A new bill to extend protection of the bald eagle in 
Alaska (H.R. 1870) was introduced in this session of the U.S. Congress by 
Representative Homer Angell of Oregon. As pointed out in the March Bul- 
letin, Alaska is the only U.S. territory that does not have protection for 
this fine bird, and there is danger of its extinction. Letters should be sent 
to your congressmen urging action on this bill. For information on how to 
address your letters, see note at end of this article. 
a fi ff 
Burns Ditch Harbor Proposal. In the March number of the Bulletin we 
mentioned a hearing held January 31 by the Bureau of Engineers for 
Rivers and Harbors on the recommendation of the District Engineers that 
a survey be made of the region involved in the promotional scheme to have 
federal construction of a deep water harbor at the mouth of Burns Ditch, 
Indiana. That hearing was attended by a number of aggressive supporters 
of the scheme, and only two persons are reported to have been present to 
speak against it, tho many letters had been mailed to the Bureau in opposi- 
tion. Conservationists lost this battle, as the survey was approved. 
In spite of the well-known fact that the army engineers are eager for 
large engineering jobs, this proposition was so weak that the District En- 
gineers had repeatedly turned down proposals for this harbor scheme for 
over twenty years. This time, the promoters had more politicians support- 
ing them. They even had the governor of Indiana in their camp. 
Of course the decision is only for a survey which, if favorable, would 
still have to be approved by the U.S. Congress. The survey has the ad- 
vantage to the army engineers of a fat appropriation for that greedy 
bureau. I have been informed that one of the district engineers in conser- 
vation during the past year said that the proposal for a harbor at Burns 
Ditch was unsound, but the army engineers have a large force of employees 
to keep busy, and they take any jobs they can get, no matter how unwise 
they may be from the standpoint of public welfare. 
Even tho we should defeat the promoters and the army engineers in the 
present fight, sooner or later, as the Chicago region grows, we shall lose 
this beautiful scenic region between Ogden Dunes and Dune Acres unless 
something constructive is done. We must help the Indiana Dunes Preserva- 
tion Council in its efforts to get a permanent park for the five mile stretch 
of dunes country between Ogden Dunes and Dune Acres. This means a 
good deal more than sympathetic listening to talks on the subject, 
Many residents of the dunes region think of the area as a sand waste 
and are much more interested in dollars. Chicago people have more at stake 
from the standpoint of preserving important recreational facilities and 
scenic beauty than the owners of most of the land, who do not even live in 
the adjacent region. We also have more to lose than the owners of road 
houses or small businessmen who think they would gain trade by the de- 
velopment of an industrial city in this area. 
