Anderson Design Group Interviews Save the Dunes!
As artists and wilderness explorers, our passion is to venture into the 63 American National Parks, photograph and document the wonder of these natural places, and share our enthusiasm for the parks and other natural wonders by creating original, high-quality poster art for our 63 Illustrated National Parks Collection. In our travels, we’ve also developed an immense appreciation for national monuments, which inspired the American National Monuments and Natural Wonders collection.
The national parks, monuments, historic sites, memorials, recreation areas, forests, and other BLM lands were created to preserve America’s natural beauty and cultural history, with each protected site representing a significant chapter in the great American story. Because we at Anderson Design Group believe strongly in preserving the parks and natural and historic spaces for future generations to enjoy, we’re always looking for opportunities to support the conservancies, foundations, natural history associations, and friend groups that protect these invaluable places.
To raise awareness for the important educational, conservation, fundraising, youth involvement, and preservation activities taking place in a lesser-known yet no less beautiful national park located in the Great Lakes Region, we took some time this week to sit down with Betsy Maher, Executive Director of Save the Dunes, an essential non-profit tasked with advocating for the Indiana dunes, Lake Michigan, and the surrounding natural areas for the health and vitality of the environment, and the people who live, work, and recreate in Northwest Indiana.
An Interview with Save the Dunes
ADG: How would you describe your group? If you have an elevator pitch for what your group does, what would that be?
Betsy: Save the Dunes is the oldest environmental organization in Indiana, and we’re largely credited with helping establish what is now Indiana Dunes National Park. For more than seventy years, we’ve worked to protect, restore, and advocate for the Indiana Dunes and the southern shore of Lake Michigan.
Today, our work really sits at the intersection of conservation, advocacy, education, and community stewardship. We protect sensitive habitats, advocate for strong environmental protections, organize restoration projects, and increasingly help support the visitor experience within the national park itself as an official philanthropic partner of the park.
If I had to give the elevator pitch, I’d say: we work to ensure the Indiana Dunes remain protected, accessible, and inspiring for future generations — not just as a beautiful place to visit, but as one of the most biodiverse landscapes in the country.
Pictured Below: A wayside sign in Indiana Dunes National Park (all photographs provided courtesy of Save the Dunes).
ADG: A big part of the National Parks is the educational side of visitor experiences, and friend groups are often deeply invested in helping educate folks about the importance of the parks. Can you tell us a bit about that and why education is an important part of a park experience?
Betsy: Education is absolutely central to long-term conservation. People protect what they understand and what they feel connected to.
One of the really special things about the Indiana Dunes is that people are often surprised by what they discover here. You have towering dunes, wetlands, oak savannas, prairies, and forests — all within a highly industrialized region. It’s one of the most biodiverse national parks in the country, and helping people understand that ecological significance creates a much deeper appreciation for the landscape.
A big part of our work is community outreach and helping cultivate the next generation of environmental stewards. We do that through guided hikes, volunteer stewardship days, educational programming, and partnerships throughout the region.
We also work closely with Dunes Learning Center, which has introduced hundreds of thousands of students to the dunes through hands-on environmental education experiences. Their work is incredibly important because it gives young people direct experiences in nature and helps connect them to conservation careers, stewardship, and science in tangible ways.
At the end of the day, national parks are more than scenic destinations. They’re living classrooms. When people leave with a stronger connection to the landscape, they’re much more likely to become advocates for protecting it.
Pictured Below: a group gathers in Indiana Dunes State Park.
ADG: We completely agree. Let’s get some of your backstory. How did your friend group get its start? What’s the story behind the birth of your group?
Betsy: Save the Dunes was born out of a grassroots movement to save the Indiana Dunes from industrial development in the early 1950s. At the time, there was enormous pressure to industrialize the Lake Michigan shoreline, and many people thought the dunes would eventually disappear altogether.
Our founder, Dorothy Buell, helped organize a group of passionate residents who believed these landscapes were worth fighting for. They rallied public support, organized advocacy campaigns, and helped build national momentum to protect the dunes.
That movement ultimately led to the creation of the Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore in 1966, which was redesignated as a national park in 2019.
I think what’s especially inspiring is that our park was created because ordinary people who deeply loved this landscape decided to act before it was too late. That spirit still defines our work today. We’re continuing that legacy by deepening our support of the national park while also working to protect the broader dune and Lake Michigan ecosystem for future generations.
Pictured Below: Essential volunteer activities taking place in the park.
ADG: What types of projects does your group work on/fund each year? What are some of the projects you're most proud of?
Betsy: Our work spans a wide range of projects, but a major focus is habitat restoration and biodiversity protection across a highly fragmented landscape. Northwest Indiana has incredible ecological value, but it also faces intense development pressure. Hence, a lot of our work is about restoring habitat connectivity and protecting sensitive ecosystems before they’re lost.
We support wetland restoration projects, invasive species removal, native planting efforts, and coastal resiliency work, both inside and outside Indiana Dunes National Park.
One project I’m especially excited about right now involves Mount Baldy, which is the park’s tallest and most iconic dune. It’s actually a living dune that can move up to about twenty feet a year in some conditions. That movement and erosion have created major challenges over time, and this year we’re helping support restoration and stabilization efforts by planting native dune grass to help anchor the sand and preserve public access to this incredible landscape.
We’re also beginning to deepen our support of the park experience itself — helping support projects related to exhibits, signage, interpretation, and visitor access so that the park experience better reflects the significance of Indiana’s only national park.
Pictured Below: Annual Fundraiser Dunes Dash 5K race in the National Park, taking place this year on May 30th!
ADG: On our quest to create original art of the national parks, we’ve learned that each park is very, very unique. And each one has different needs from its communities, visitors, and the friend groups that help support it. What does your park need most?
Betsy: One of the biggest needs right now is responsible recreation and visitor stewardship. Since the park was redesignated as a national park in 2019, visitation has increased dramatically — from around 2 million annual visitors to more than 3 million. That’s wonderful in many ways because more people are experiencing the dunes, but it also creates real pressure on fragile ecosystems.
The dunes are incredibly sensitive environments. When visitors go off-trail or create what we call “social trails,” it can damage native vegetation, accelerate erosion, and fragment habitat. So a big focus for us right now is educating visitors on how to responsibly enjoy the park while also supporting restoration efforts in damaged areas.
I’d also say the park needs continued investment and strong community stewardship. This is Indiana’s only national park, and it deserves the level of care, interpretation, accessibility, and long-term support that people expect from a national park experience.
Pictured Below: Annual Fundraiser Dunes Dash 5K race in the National Park, taking place this year on May 30th!
ADG: Given the extensive list of projects your group is working on, how do you enlist the help of the community in these projects? Do you organize volunteers? Do you have other avenues for funding your projects beyond friend group memberships?
Betsy: Community engagement has always been a major part of our work because long-term conservation really depends on people feeling connected to the landscape around them. A big part of what we do is helping people understand that stewardship can happen at every level — from supporting large-scale restoration projects to making changes in their own backyard.
We host a wide range of community programs throughout the year, including guided hikes, educational workshops, nature-based wellness events, native gardening programs, and public conversations on conservation and environmental issues affecting the dunes region.
One project I’m especially proud of is our Living in the Dunes guide series. We recently completed our third volume, which focuses on how homeowners can use native landscaping to support bird populations. The Indiana Dunes region is an incredibly important migration corridor. It supports more than 350 bird species each year, so helping residents create habitat through native plantings can have a real ecological impact across the broader landscape.
We’ve also continued expanding stewardship opportunities, including volunteer days focused on habitat restoration, invasive species removal, and beach cleanups. Volunteer involvement is growing and offers people a very hands-on way to help protect the dunes.
In terms of funding, our work is supported through a mix of memberships, individual donors, foundations, grants, and corporate partners. That broad community support has been essential in helping us expand both our conservation work and our support of Indiana Dunes National Park.
Pictured Below: Save the Dunes giving a presentation.
ADG: For you personally, why is establishing friend groups for each park so important? And why did you choose to get involved in this particular park? Would love to hear about your connection to it!
Betsy: I think friend groups are incredibly important because national parks can’t thrive in isolation. They need passionate local advocates and community partners who can help build public support, raise resources, mobilize volunteers, and create deeper connections between the park and surrounding communities.
For me personally, this work feels very full circle. I grew up about an hour from the dunes, and visiting the Lake Michigan shoreline was a big part of my childhood. As I got older, I came to appreciate the dunes even more and spent a lot of time there with friends hiking, spending time on the beach, and just experiencing how unique that landscape is.
I’ve always felt a strong connection to water, especially Lake Michigan. And now, as a parent, I love introducing my two boys to national parks and helping them experience these places firsthand.
Joining Save the Dunes really brought together my personal connection to this landscape with my professional passion for conservation and public service. It’s meaningful work because you know you’re helping protect a place that has shaped so many people’s lives across generations.
Pictured Below: Dunes climb!
ADG: Looking ahead, what are the short- and long-term goals for your friend group? Where do you guys see yourselves in 5 years? What do you hope to be working on a decade from now?
Betsy: In the short term, we’re really focused on deepening support for Indiana Dunes National Park while continuing to expand our conservation and advocacy impact across the broader dunes region.
That means helping bring more philanthropic support and resources into the park, advancing restoration projects, improving visitor experiences, and continuing to advocate for strong protections for the dunes and Lake Michigan.
Long term, I’d love to see a future where the Indiana Dunes fully lives into its national park designation — where visitors have a meaningful and inspiring park experience, where fragile habitats are better protected and connected, and where surrounding communities continue to see themselves as active stewards of this landscape.
There are already so many passionate people fighting to protect the dunes, and that’s part of what makes this region special. Looking ahead, I hope we can continue to grow that culture of stewardship and find a healthy balance that allows people and nature to coexist, protecting the ecological integrity of the dunes while still allowing people to experience and connect with them deeply.
Pictured Below: A volunteering activity.
ADG: What do you think about our poster art of the national parks? Any designs we should add to our series to continue representing Indiana Dunes National Park?
Betsy: One of my favorites is the sunset imagery over Lake Michigan because that’s such an iconic Indiana Dunes experience. There’s something really unforgettable about walking along the shoreline at sunset and watching the light disappear over the lake. Some of my own strongest memories of the dunes are tied to those moments.
I also think artwork that captures the contrast of this region would be really compelling — the intersection of wild dune landscapes, biodiversity, and the industrial backdrop that helped shape the conservation movement here. That tension is part of what makes the Indiana Dunes story so unique.
ADG: One last question, if there was one thing about your group or about national park conservation/restoration/education generally that you’d want the broader public to know, what would that be?
Betsy: I think one thing I’d want people to understand is that places like Indiana Dunes National Park don’t stay protected on their own. The landscapes people enjoy today exist because generations of people chose to fight for them, care for them, and invest in them.
The Indiana Dunes are a perfect example of that. This national park exists because ordinary citizens — people like our founder Dorothy Buell and many others — believed this landscape was worth saving at a time when it could have easily been lost to development. That legacy of stewardship still matters today.
Pictured Below: There's never a shortage of volunteer opportunities in the park!
I’d also want people to know that conservation isn’t just about protecting land in the abstract. It’s about protecting experiences, memories, biodiversity, clean water, access to nature, and a sense of place for future generations.
And finally, I think national parks need people now more than ever. They need advocates, volunteers, educators, donors, scientists, and everyday visitors who care enough to tread lightly, learn about these places, and help ensure they remain healthy and accessible for generations to come.
ADG: We couldn’t agree more, Betsy. Thanks for chatting with us today!
Betsy: Thanks for having me!
The Importance of Supporting Non-Profits Committed to Protecting the National Parks
You can learn more about Save the Dunes at their website. If you want to support their work, you can become a member or participate in a variety of donation options.
If you represent a natural history association, foundation, friend group, conservancy, or preservation association that works in any of the 63 American National Parks or the hundreds of national monuments and other NPS sites across the U.S., contact us today to set up an interview! Just email ren@andersondesigngroup.com.
In the meantime, we’ll get back to creating vintage poster art of the national parks. Let’s enjoy these beautiful, historic places and do our part to preserve them for future generations.
-Ren Brabenec
Anderson Design Group Staff Writer
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