A $1 million earmark secured by U.S. Pete Visclosky, D-1st, for the restoration of Good Fellow Lodge at Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore remains intact, after an amendment introduced on the floor of the U.S. House specifically aimed at killing that earmark was defeated on Thursday.

According to a statement released on Friday by Visclosky’s office, the House defeated that amendment, which would have stricken the earmark from the Fiscal Year 2010 Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies Appropriations bill, by a vote of 123-305.

The House subsequently passed that bill by a voted of 254-173.

The unsuccessful amendment to kill the Good Fellow Lodge earmark was introduced on the floor of the House by U.S. Rep. John Campbell, R-Calif., but it was authored by U.S. Rep. Jeff Blake, R-Ariz. In February Blake introduced a resolution calling for the House Ethics Committee to investigate the relationship between earmarks and campaign contributions, after it was reported that The PMA Group, the now defunct Washington, D.C., lobbying firm, had donated hundreds of dollars to the campaign committees of Visclosky and U.S. Rep. John Murtha, D-Pa., both of whom have secured millions in earmarks for PMA clients.

Visclosky joined fellow Democrats at the time in a mostly party-line vote to defeat Blake’s resolution.

On Thursday Visclosky made these remarks in defense of the $1 million Good Fellow Lodge earmark:

“Madam Chair, the gentleman talked about the preservation of the Good Fellow Lodge that, as he rightfully indicated, became possessed by the National Park Service in 1977, 32 years ago. He also indicated, correctly, the deferred maintenance budget under the General Accountability Office.

“But I would point out that the $1 million designated in this bill . . . goes much beyond the issue of preservation. The fact is that it has a lot to do with education.

“The installation of the water line and the subsequent restoration of the lodge would allow the Dunes Learning Center at which this lodge is located to expand their current educational program. The Learning Center provides valuable hands-on experience and inspires environmental stewardship among the citizens of Northwest Indiana.

“Since its inception in 1998, over 48,000 students have participated in the program, including a record 5,878 last year. For these thousands of learners, the Environmental Education Center, which the Good Fellow Lodge is intended to be part of, is increasing each visitor’s enjoyment and understanding of the parks and to allow visitors to care about the parks on their own terms.

“This is not just about preservation. It is also about reducing future costs for the National Park Service. The fact is that the project would reduce National Park Service maintenance and operation costs. Internal filtering and chlorination systems for the wells that are currently on site must be maintained at each site with daily and weekly sampling and expensive laboratory testing to satisfy state health standards.

“Currently, the park operates and maintains all pumps and water lines. And this project would allow the park staff to focus on other high-priority assets in the park.

“And I would also point out that it has something to do with the issue of safety. A municipal water supply line will increase water pressure that will improve fire suppression for the student cabins that are at this site and ensure quality of potable water consumed by the children.

“So I do think this is very deserving and goes beyond the issue of preservation.”