The National Park Service (NPS) Midwest Regional Office has announced the award of more than $153,000 in Challenge Cost Share Program (CCSP) grant funding for 2008, including funding to restore former home sites at Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore.

In partnering with the Student Conservation Association, mechanical and chemical treatments necessary to address invasive plants at approximately 10 former home sites and surrounding areas will be accomplished. In addition, collection and propagation of native plant seed from seed production nurseries and natural areas will be done.

Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore, authorized in 1966, preserves over 15,000 acres of Indiana Dunes and other areas of scenic, scientific, and historic interest and recreational value, and provides for educational, inspirational, and recreational use of these areas by the public. Dunes rise 180 feet above Lake Michigan's southern shore with beaches, bogs, marshes, swamps, and prairie remnants. The Paul H. Douglas Center for Environmental Education and the Indiana Dunes Environmental Learning Center provide both day-use and residential programs.

The purpose of the Challenge Cost Share Program is to maximize the efficiency of resources by encouraging participation by qualified partners in the preservation and improvement of National Park Service natural, cultural, and recreational resources; in all authorized Service programs and activities; and on national trails. As the CCSP is a matching fund program, an eligible and matching share (minimum 50 percent) of cash, goods, or services from non-federal sources is required, and the maximum CCSP award for applicants within the Midwest Region is $20,000.

--The Times