1992 General Management Plan

Summary

The purpose of the Acadia National Park General Management Plan is to define the basic management philosophy that will guide park management decisions and to direct the actions that will be required to support that philosophy. This management plan is the first approved for Acadia National Park in its 75-year history.The mission of the park is twofold. First, Acadia National Park protects and preserves outstanding scenic, natural, scientific, and cultural values for present and future generations through programs, facilities, and services. Second, the park provides an increasingly urban population with programs and opportunities for nonconsumptive, resource-based recreation and education.Management actions are directed to retain and enhance the unique qualities and resources of the park, particularly the natural resource base on which Acadia National Park was established. Not‑withstanding a strong commitment to natural resource protection, the National Park Service will increase efforts to manage and interpret the park's wealth of cultural resources. The carriage road and hiking trail systems will be rehabilitated. The Park Service will collaborate with surrounding communities, other agencies, and private and public organizations to protect natural, cultural, and scenic resources located outside the park jurisdiction but significant to the perpetuation of the natural systems, scenic quality, and cultural heritage of the park and region.Development in the park will be kept to a minimum. High-density and low-density use areas will be established to protect resources and provide a variety of visitor experiences. High-density use will be supported in specific areas on the east side of Mount Desert Island, but the present character elsewhere in the park will be retained. A new entrance station and visitor center will play a central role in orienting and informing visitors about opportunities in the park.To reduce the perception of crowding in high-density areas, the number of parked cars will be kept to a minimum. Existing parking capacities will be enforced. Alternate means of park access will be developed, with the goal of replacing private automobiles with nonmotorized means and a public transportation system.

 

 

PART ONE: INTRODUCTION

Purpose of This Document

The purpose of the Acadia National Park General Management Plan is to define the basic management philosophy that will guide park management decisions over the next 10 to 15 years; establish a role for the park within its regional context; and provide strategies for resolving issues and achieving the stated management goals. Management issues addressed by the plan are detailed in the Draft General Management Plan/Environmental Assessment. All other plans developed for the park, some of which are called for in this General Management Plan, shall be consistent with the direction established in this lead planning document.

Planning for the Isle au Haut portion of the park has been undertaken separately; therefore, this plan does not deal with parklands in the town of Isle au Haut.

The document is divided into three parts: part one provides background information, part two describes the park, and part three contains the plan.

Legislative History and Purpose of the Park

Acadia National Park officially began with the establishment of Sieur de Monts National Monument by Presidential Proclamation 1339 in 1916. The name was changed in 1919 to Lafayette National Park (40 Stat. 1173) and in 1929 to Acadia National Park. The 1929 legislation (45 Stat. 1083) established the authority to expand the park through donations of property within Hancock County and certain islands in Knox County. However, the legislation created a park with no permanent boundary and no authority to purchase land.

As property was donated, a fragmented patchwork of parklands developed. Lands were scattered, making management, protection, and visitor orientation difficult. Local towns were frustrated by the constant threat of unexpected donations eroding their tax bases. For many years the National Park Service, the towns, the Hancock County Planning Commission, and numerous conservation groups attempted to resolve these issues through arduous negotiations.

In 1982 separate boundary legislation (PL 97 335) was approved for parkland in the town of Isle au Haut and, subsequently, a development concept plan was approved for the parkland. On September 25, 1986, boundary legislation (PL 99 420) was enacted for the rest of Acadia National Park. The law defined a permanent boundary and gave the National Park Service authority to acquire lands, but only within the designated boundary of Acadia National Park; it identified approximately 175 tracts for acquisition and 24 for deletion. (This authority does not apply to the town of Isle au Haut; acquisition of land within the boundaries of this town continues to be covered by the authority outlined in PL 97 335). The legislation outlined conditions for acquiring conservation easements outside the boundary and established an advisory commission (see appendix A).

The stated intent of those who have donated tens of thousands of acres for the creation of the park over the past 75 years and the intent of the secretary of the interior and the Congress in accepting those donations has been to preserve the area's outstanding scenic, natural, scientific, and historic values. In his letter to the secretary of the interior in 1916, in which he offered lands on Mount Desert Island as a gift to the United States, George Dorr described the area as follows:

[It is] rich in historic association, in scientific interest, and in landscape beauty....It contains within itself the only heights that immediately front the open sea with mountainous character upon our eastern shore. It contains also, owing to past glacial action and its own variously resistant rocky structure, an extraordinary variety of topographic features which unite with the climate caused by the surrounding sea to fit it beyond any other single locality in the east for the shelter, growth, and permanent preservation of a wide range of life, both plant and animal. It forms a striking and instructive geologic record. And it constitutes the dominant and characteristic portion of the first land, Mount Desert Island, to be visited, described, and named by Champlain...in exploration of the New England coast. (Dorr 1942, p. 2)

In the original enabling proclamation President Woodrow Wilson cited the island's distinction as Champlain's landing place and the great scientific interest of its topography, geology, and fauna and flora. He indicated that the purpose of the monument was to protect these significant resource values, warning all unauthorized persons “not to appropriate, injure, destroy or remove any of the features or objects included within the boundaries.” (Winsor 1955, p. 11)

Prominent public officials and conservationists of the day described the purposes for establishing Acadia National Park. Dorr's letter, excerpted above, was supported by the chief geologist of the U.S. Geological Society, the chairman of Harvard University Botany Department, and the American Scenic and Historic Preservation Society. Speaking before the U.S. House of Representatives' Committee on Public Lands in April 1918, Theodore Roosevelt stated:

I have watched with interest the work that has led to the creation of this park. It is our one eastern national park and gives for the first time to the crowded eastern portion of the country an opportunity to share directly and immediately in the benefits of our national park system. Its striking ocean frontage makes it unlike every other park....Under right development it will give a healthy playground to multitudes of hard-working men and women who need such a playground. More¬over, it constitutes a wildlife sanctuary under national guardian¬ship at a spot where such a sanctuary is greatly needed. (Winsor 1955, p. II-4, appendix 2, p. 4)

On May 15, 1918, Secretary of the Interior Franklin K. Lane gave the following reasons for establishing a national park on Mount Desert Island in a letter to Congressman Scott Ferris, chairman of the Committee on Public Lands:

First: Mount Desert has important historic value....

Second: Scenically its impressive headlands give Mount Desert Island the distinction of combining sea and mountain. These head¬lands are by far the loftiest of our Atlantic coast. Their high rounded summits often craggy...form a background for a rugged shoreline and an island-dotted harbor....Back of the shore is a mountain and lake wilderness which is typical in remarkable degree of the range of Appalachian scenery. Third: From the point of view of conservation, the value of the proposed park can hardly be overestimated. The forests are largely primeval. Oaks, beeches, birches, maples, ashes, poplars, and many other deciduous trees of our eastern range...mingle with...pine and hemlock. The typical shrubs...are in equal abundance. Wildflowers abound. There are few spots, if any, which can combine the variety and luxuriance of the eastern forests in such small compass. The rocks have their distinction...worn by the ice sheets of the glacial period, eroded by the frosts and rains of the ages, their bases carved by the sea, their surfaces painted by the mosses and lichens of today, they are exhibits of scientific interest as well as beauty. Still another dis­tinction is Mount Desert's wealth of bird life. All the conditions for a bird sanctuary in the East seem to be here fulfilled.... Fourth: From a recreational standpoint the...park would be capa­ble of giving pleasure...to hundreds of thousands of people living east of the Mississippi River. (Winsor 1955, II-1, appendix 2, p. 1)When Secretary Lane wrote his letter over 60 years ago, little could he have realized the “pleasure” of millions, not thousands, of visitors who would come to Acadia annually.

History of Planning and Public Involvement

Until now Acadia National Park has not had an approved general management plan. In the 1940s several attempts were made to develop a master plan under the direction of the park's first superintendent, George B. Dorr. These proposed plans set the groundwork for much of the road system, the campgrounds, and the visitor center as they exist today. Many proposals, such as elaborate downhill ski and winter sports facilities, were never implemented.

A combined Master Plan and Environmental Impact Statement was prepared in 1978 that dealt primarily with proposed solutions to the unresolved boundary issues. The plan was not given final approval but was used as the basis of a mediated agreement in 1979 between local towns and the park. The agreement operated as a de facto plan until the passage of the 1986 boundary legislation. Many of the basic assumptions of the 1978 master plan, especially the gross underestimation of visitation levels, are no longer valid.

With the establishment of a permanent boundary for the park in 1986, the National Park Service moved forward with the management planning process. In order to improve safety, parking, and access for bicyclists, hikers, and motorists, the Park Service proposed to convert segments of the Park Loop Road from two‑way to one‑way traffic with parking in the right lane. An environmental assessment was prepared to examine alternative solutions and their impacts. The environmental assessment was reviewed by the public and by the park's advisory commission, and subsequently a recombination of the alternatives was selected for implementation. On February 24, 1988, an administrative determination was signed, detailing the process, alternatives, and reasoning for the selection. The decision left open the option to change the decision if, in developing a general management plan, it was determined that a different solution was preferable for long‑range visitor use management.In anticipation of preparing the current General Management Plan, a number of actions and studies were initiated to gather planning data. Permanent traffic counters were installed at two locations on the Park Loop Road in October 1986. Elevation, hydrology, transportation, and boundary data were obtained from the U.S. Geological Survey for Mount Desert Island, then reformatted and loaded onto a computer to be used in an islandwide geographic information system (GIS). Vegetation maps were prepared and digitized into the same system by the Park Service. The Soil Conservation Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture, revised the soil surveys of Hancock County.

A visitor use study was conducted (Manning 1987), and a visual-quality preference study was initiated (Steinitz et al. 1988). A study of the historic carriage road system and bridges was conducted (Rieley and Brouse 1989) and amended to include recommendations for their use and maintenance (Rieley and Associates 1989). Other studies included a documentation of island resources with high conservation value (Jacobson and Dominie 1988), an evaluation of the park's conservation easement program (Maine Coast Heritage Trust 1988), and an economic analysis of Mount Desert Island (Stellpflug and Deller 1989).

At the Park Service's invitation, a landscape architecture class at the Harvard University Graduate School of Design spent a semester identifying issues, projecting trends, and developing three alternative recommendations for the future management of Acadia and Mount Desert Island. Their work was summarized in Alternative Futures for Mount Desert Island (Steinitz et al. 1986) and distributed to the public. The students also presented their findings at public meetings in both Boston and Bar Harbor.

Public scoping meetings and workshops were held in August 1987 at three locations on Mount Desert Island. Participants were invited to review the Park Service's proposal for the scope of the plan, offer additions or deletions, and voice opinions regarding issues, problems, and opportunities for park management. A similar process was followed with the park's permanent and seasonal staff. The preliminary issues addressed by the planning team were modified in response to some of the concerns expressed during this review process.

In August 1987 the first issue of Planning Update newsletter was distributed to invite public involvement in the planning process. More than 700 individuals, universities, and local, state, and national agencies were eventually included on the newsletter mailing list. A second Planning Update was mailed in May 1988 and a special issue of the newsletter was distributed that summer at Acadia's campgrounds, visitor center, and interpretive programs. More than 230 written responses to the newsletter were received and considered by planners.

As the Draft General Management Plan/Environmental Assessment was being formulated and reviewed, it became clear that several areas were potentially controversial and that implementation of the preferred alternative would require substantial cooperation between the Park Service, the surrounding communities, state agencies, and several other interest groups. For that reason an Alternatives Document was published and distributed in the summer of 1989 to describe the alternatives, solicit comments, and gauge the degree of controversy. In addition to eight public meetings held on Mount Desert Island and in Ellsworth and Bangor, meetings were held with the boards of selectmen of each Mount Desert Island town, the park's advisory commission, representatives of various state agencies, and other interested groups. Approximately 145 people participated in the meetings and more than 260 written responses were received and analyzed.

The Draft General Management Plan/Environmental Assessment was finalized and placed on public review in August 1991. In the document four alternatives were presented for addressing issues of concern to park management; the potential impacts of those alternatives were analyzed and compared as required by the National Environmental Policy Act (42 USC 4371). Compliance issues regarding natural and cultural resources were also addressed in the Draft General Management Plan/Environmental Assessment. Copies of the draft were placed in libraries throughout the Northeast and a Planning Update offered copies to people on the mailing list. Six hundred copies of the draft plan/assessment were distributed to interested parties. The public comment period was extended from August 15 until November 15, 1991. During this period two public workshops were held, and the park superintendent and planner attended numerous formal and informal meetings where they made presentations and listened to comments. Members of the public were encouraged to offer written comments; approximately 300 such comments were received. A summary of written responses to the Draft General Management Plan/Environmental Assessment is available at Acadia National Park.

 

PART TWO: THE PARK

Summary of Significant Resource Values

Landscape

Acadia National Park protects a landscape of rare scenic beauty. Acadia's mountains are the highest rocky headlands on the Atlantic shore of the United States, and the vistas from these mountaintops encompass forested woodlands, shimmering lakes, quiet marshes, bold rocky shores, and coastal islands. On all sides, the ocean — which surrounds the park — bisects and strongly influences the park's character.Besides being one of the most scenic places on the Atlantic coast, the landform of the park is also geologically interesting. Acadia's geologic history spans 500 million years during which mountain ranges have come and gone, seashores have risen and fallen repeatedly, and glaciers have carved the landscape 20 to 30 times. Evidence of continental glacial action, including glacial lakes and U‑shaped valleys, abounds; Somes Sound, the inlet bisecting Mount Desert Island, is the only fjord on the east coast of the United States. The islands and mainland peninsula of the park are major coastal features of the Gulf of Maine.

Remnant vernacular landscapes reflect the lives of farm families and their 19th century neighbors. The surviving designed landscapes attest to the interests and commitment of wealthy summer residents. For instance, Beatrix Farrand, a prominent landscape architect, designed much of the landscape along the park's carriage road system, and Frederick Law Olmsted, Jr., was the principal designer of the Park Loop Road landscape. Both road systems were carefully laid out so visitors could glimpse some of the most spectacular vistas of mountains and shoreline in the eastern United States as well as intimate views of woodlands, lakes, meadows, and streams. Although dependent on the natural landscape of Acadia, these designed landscapes have themselves become significant owing to their history, quality, uniqueness, and the sensitivity with which they were designed and built.

Air Quality

Acadia National Park is designated a mandatory Class I federal area under the U.S. Clean Air Act. This classification places stringent constraints on facilities emitting air pollutants that may affect park resources. The act also limits any park development or management activities that could affect air quality by requiring the Park Service to comply with all federal, state, and local air pollution control regulations.

Although spectacular vistas are still common in Acadia, pollutants from near and distant sources contaminate park air. The park has identified a number of vistas integral to the visitors' experience that the state of Maine has incorporated into its State Air Quality Implementation Plan.

The park has had an air quality monitoring program since 1979. Summer ozone levels occasionally exceed state and federal health standards. The highest ozone concentration ever recorded in Maine was measured at Acadia (Isle au Haut) on June 15, 1988. Ozone at levels below the state health standard can damage sensitive park vegetation. The park has conducted research since 1982 to determine the cause‑and‑effect relationships between air pollution and vegetation damage

Island Habitats

The ecologic importance of Maine's coastal islands, and particularly the Acadian archipelago, as a system is widely accepted. Coastal islands are of special interest because of the large number and diversity of bird species nesting there. The islands' importance as nesting sites for petrels, cormorants, sea ducks, eagles, ospreys, herons, gulls, terns, and auks is due to their seclusion and the productive marine environment that provides food for a great variety of wildlife. Maine is the only eastern state in which the eider duck breeds and is the most important wintering area in the western Atlantic for harlequin ducks.

Coastal islands, particularly the smaller ledges, also provide a critical habitat for seals. Hundreds of females and their young use the small islands of Acadia for whelping each year, and the islands offer haul‑outs for the entire local population. A recent study estimates a stable population of 1,600 harbor seals and a seasonal population of 40 gray seals in the waters from Isle au Haut to Petit Manan Reef. All marine mammals are protected under the Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972 (PL 92‑522).

In addition to owning a large portion of both Mount Desert Island and Isle au Haut, the National Park Service owns some or all of 14 larger coastal islands and several small freshwater islands. The Park Service is the holder of around 150 donated conservation easements on coastal islands in the Gulf of Maine. These easements protect island resources that have high conservation value to the park, such as cultural, scenic, and ecologic values — including island habitats.

Biological Diversity

A great variety of plants overlie the Acadian landscape. The park is located in the midst of a broad transition zone from southern deciduous to northern coniferous forests. Local habitats range from seashore to mountaintop. Acadia offers habitats for many plant communities, including old growth spruce forests, wetlands, and jack pine stands growing at the southern limit of the jack pine range. More than 150 plant species are locally rare and of potential importance as indicators of rare habitats worthy of protection within the park.

Acadia's animal diversity parallels its plant diversity. A variety of freshwater fish, hundreds of species of invertebrates, 45 species of terrestrial mammals, 12 species of marine mammals, 17 species of amphibians, 5 species of reptiles, and 338 species of birds have been recorded in Acadia. The islands of the region mark the southern breeding limit for several bird species. Continuous, well‑documented observation by professional park staff and qualified amateurs has confirmed the gradual extension of southern and temperate bird species to the islands

With 21 species of breeding warblers, with northern and southern birds intermingled, and with seabirds alongside land birds, Acadia is considered one of the premier bird-watching areas in the country.

Forty miles of rocky shoreline along with abunant nutrients of the sea are responsible for a tremendously rich intertidal flora and fauna, well exposed by the 10‑ to 12‑foot tidal range. This range, coupled with the rich terrestrial environment, results in an extremely varied assemblage of plant and animal life within the park.

Habitat of Plant and Animal Species of Special Concern

Federally listed endangered and threatened species are determined by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service under authority of the Endangered Species Act of 1973 and are listed in the Federal Register. Endangered and threatened animal species listed by the state of Maine are determined by the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife, and state‑listed plant species are determined by the Maine State Planning Office pursuant to the Maine Endangered Species Acts of 1975 and 1986, respectively. Maine critical areas are those areas designated by the Maine State Planning Office, pursuant to the 1974 Maine Act Establishing a State Register of critical areas, as worthy of special planning and management because of their natural, scientific, scenic, and historical values.

In keeping with the Endangered Species Act, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service was informally consulted concerning endangered or threatened species or critical habitats that potentially could be in the area affected by the General Management Plan. The service advised that two endangered species, the peregrine falcon (Falco peregrinus) and the bald eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus), and one candidate species, the harlequin duck (Histrionicus histrionicus), are known in the park.

Peregrine falcons: Probably never more than two pairs of these falcons have inhabited Mount Desert Island. Only two former aeries are known — one on the steep slope of Champlain Mountain near Bar Harbor, the other on the Eagle Cliffs of Saint Sauveur Mountain bordering Somes Sound. During the late 1950s this species was extirpated as a breeding bird on Mount Desert Island. Due to a cooperative reintroduction program, falcons nested successfully on Champlain Mountain in 1991 and 1992.

Bald eagles: These birds have traditionally inhabited the state of Maine, including habitats found in Acadia National Park. The Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife formulated a bald eagle management plan that is being implemented in cooperation with wildlife personnel from the University of Maine and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. As part of the management plan, an annual census is conducted to determine nesting activity, breeding success, population changes, and perturbation. Surveys indicate that eagles actively use areas within the park.

Harlequin ducks: The population of western Atlantic harlequin ducks has decreased dramatically in the last 100 years so that there are now only about 1,000 individuals. The largest wintering group of the western Atlantic sub-population is in the vicinity of Isle au Haut

The park also supports 38 plant and 59 animal species officially listed for special status by the state of Maine. Sixteen animal and seven plant species are of concern to park management and are listed in the Resource Management Plan. These species include natives that were possibly extirpated, species at the edge of their range, those representing genetic variability, and those whose numbers are so low as to be near the minimum viable population. A dozen registered Maine critical areas are on parkland.

 

Wetlands

Many wetland communities occupy the park's coastal and interior lowlands, widely scattered kettle holes, and other small glacial pockets. Wetland types include salt marshes and freshwater marshes, sphagnum sedge and scrub bogs, alder scrub, and black spruce tamarack swamps. In addition, red maple stands and northern white cedar forests sometimes occupy sites with saturated soils. Wetlands provide habitats for many of the park's plant species of concern and provide habitats for native wildlife. The marshes along the Maine coast lie in the path of the Atlantic flyway and thus provide important areas for nesting, migrating, and overwintering birds. Wetlands of note in the park include Northeast Creek, Great Meadow, Marshall Brook/Bass Harbor Marsh, and Bliss Field

Executive Order 11990 recognizes the importance of wetland values and directs all federal agencies to protect those values and to avoid the occupation or modification of wetlands. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has mapped wetlands in the region as part of the National Wetlands Inventory.

Water Quality

Lakes and ponds protect important natural resources and provide swimming, fishing, and boating opportunities. Some of the larger lakes in Acadia serve as public water reservoirs. Most of the park's lakes and ponds are thought to have excellent water quality; however, many are sensitive to acidification. After limited study the effect of acid precipitation on Acadia's lakes is unclear. Marshall Brook, which empties into Bass Harbor Marsh, was polluted by leachate from a landfill that operated adjacent to the park from the 1930s through the early 1980s. Because of the environmental impact, the landfill was closed by the Environmental Protection Agency in the mid 1980s. Annual follow up studies indicate improving water quality in Marshall Brook, but continued monitoring is important.

Cultural Heritage

The history of Acadia is significant. Although much of the story has been lost to time, deep shell heaps testify to the presence of Native American encampments dating back 6,000 years. Many of these archeological sites are within the park. When European exploration began, diseases of European origin swept through many Native American communities. With mortality rates reaching 50 percent to 100 percent, the social fabric of Indian society was devastated. Artifacts of Maine's Native American culture are exhibited at the Robert Abbe Museum of Stone Age Antiquities, a private museum operated on parkland.

Early Settlement. Samuel de Champlain made the first contribution to the area's recorded history when he landed on Mount Desert Island in 1604. His explorations destined this land to be known as French Acadia before it became New England. An early battle in the Anglo French colonial rivalry occurred at the second Acadian settlement in North America — now within the park boundary — near the entrance to Somes Sound. After 150 years of conflict for control of North America, British troops triumphed and British settlers began to arrive in the region. These early settlers, and others who joined them throughout the following century, forged a life-style that changed little for several generations. Dependent on both the land and sea, they harvested the forests; built schooners and brigs in nearly every local cove; shipped cargoes of cobblestones, dried and salted fish, ice, granite, and lumber on coastal schooners; and pastured or tilled the more fertile soils. Their story is highlighted at the park's Islesford Historical Museum.

Summer Colonies. In the mid-1800s artists from the Hudson River School came to paint the dramatic scenery. Their canvases advertised the beauties of Mount Desert Island to the outside world, inspiring “rusticators” who came to savor the scenery, hike the mountains, and study nature in a relaxed and peaceful atmosphere. The hiking trails used by park visitors today were started by the rusticators and village improvement societies and therefore represent one of the earliest recreational trail systems developed in the United States. Acadia's trail system is not only one of the oldest but also one of the most diverse in the United States, offering people the opportunity to walk and hike along the seashore, within the interior forest, and through mountaintop settings. As word of the island's appeal spread, Mount Desert evolved into a favorite summer retreat for socially and politically prominent people. Wealthy Americans transformed the landscape with elegant estates and extravagant life-styles.

Hancock County Trustees of Public Reservations. From the ranks of those wealthy summer residents came a strong commitment to conservation. Disturbed by the development pressures on the island, George Dorr, Charles Eliot, and 10 other concerned residents began Hancock County Trustees of Public Reservations and worked to protect the land and ensure public access. They sought donations of private land; their efforts culminated in the establishment of the first national park east of the Mississippi River.

Development of Acadia National Park. Once the park was established, support was enlisted from John D. Rockefeller, Jr. Through his fortune and talents, the park grew in size and was made accessible by a network of carriage roads and the scenic Park Loop Road, both of which are unique cultural resources unmatched in scope and scale anywhere in the United States. The carriage roads, designed to make the park accessible for nonmotorized recreation, represent “the finest example of broken stone roads designed for horse drawn vehicles still extant in America” (Rieley and Brouse 1989).

The architectural style for gate lodges chosen by Rockefeller and his architects links Acadia's cultural and natural landscapes. Characterized by steeply pitched slate roofs and a rustic integration of wood, granite, and brick, the design is reminiscent of the French Country Renaissance style of Rochelle, France. Early structures built by the National Park Service, such as the Thunder Hole and original Cadillac Mountain ranger stations, harmonized with Rockefeller's structures. They were designed in a rustic architectural style characteristic of early Park Service buildings. Several of these rustic park structures survive.

Archeological sites; surviving vernacular structures and their environs; the early works of the rusticators, wealthy summer residents, and village improvement societies; and the first park structures, the carriage road system, and the Park Loop Road combine with the natural resources of the park to create an important legacy for the American people.

Historic Properties

In accordance with section 110 of the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966, as amended, the National Park Service conducted a 1984 inventory of buildings at Acadia National Park. The inventory identified 169 structures. Of these, 27 are currently listed on the National Register of Historic Places (including bridges) and more than 40 may be eligible for inclusion (Arbogast 1984). The following properties are among those currently listed on the national register: Carriage road system and bridges (11/14/79), Islesford Historical Museum (09/20/80), Blue Duck Ship Store (09/20/80), Baker Island lighthouse (03/14/88), Bear Island lighthouse (03/14/88), and Fernald Point (Saint Sauveur) archeological site (07/21/78). Overall, key historic properties in the park include the following:

• Abbe Museum site
• Archeological sites
• Baker Island light station
• Bear Island light station
• Blue Duck Ship Store
• Carriage road system
• Carroll homestead and landscape
• Elisha Gilley house and landscape
• Hiking trail system
• Islesford Historical Museum
• Old Farm site
• The Park Loop Road
• Sargent Drive
• Sieur de Monts springhouse
• Storm Beach house
• Early park structures such as Thunder Hole and Seawall ranger stations

Acadia holds more than 68,000 artifacts housed in three separate groupings. One group, located on Mount Desert Island, contains the Carroll homestead collection of furnishings and tools, the carriages and carriage parts collection, archives and photographs relating to the park's early history, archeological artifacts, and an herbarium. Another group, housed on Little Cranberry Island, contains the Islesford Historical Museum collection of books, maritime and farming implements, furnishings, documents, and photographs. A third group, stored at colleges and universities nationwide, consists of natural science and archeological collections.

Outdoor Educational and Recreational Opportunities

Acadia National Park provides resource-based, nonconsumptive recreation and education for an increasingly urban population. A recreation resource of national and international significance, the park is within a 12-hour drive of 25 percent of the North American population. In a recent study visitors represented 45 of the 50 United States and six foreign countries. Acadia is also regionally important, because public recreation land is scarce. Recreational opportunities are available inland at the White Mountain National Forest, Baxter State Park, the Allagash Wilderness Waterway, the Appalachian Trail, and the Moosehead Lake region. However, with only 6 percent of the Maine coast accessible to the public, and one-quarter of that acreage in Acadia National Park, the park is one of the most intensively used leisure destinations in the northeastern United States.

Unlike many parks carved out of the public domain, Acadia consists almost entirely of lands donated by persons interested in preserving the natural integrity of Mount Desert Island, Schoodic Peninsula, and other islands that now comprise the park. Acadia National Park serves as a model of the preservation ethic — demonstrated by the partnership between private citizens and government — and offers excellent opportunities for educating visitors about a significant and diverse environment. Access to the array of scenery and areas of scientific, natural, and historic interest is provided by Acadia's compact network of carefully designed hiking trails, carriage roads, and scenic drives. A broad range of people are attracted to a spectrum of interpretive activities such as guided walks, amphitheater programs, environmental education activities, and outreach programs.

The day Sieur de Monts National Monument was dedicated, Bishop Lawrence, one of the honored speakers, noted the intent of both preserving the area's resource values and providing resource based, outdoor recreation for an urban population. He congratulated those gathered, stating that the area would remain forever beautiful, and ended by saying, “Here we have hills which those accustomed to city life may mount, and walks they may use to gain strength. Here we have a park naturally formed...to help city dwelling men to gain new energy for heavy work in winter” (Wild Gardens of Acadia, 1916, p. 13).

FACILITIES

There are 136 buildings in the park, including the visitor center and two other information centers, the headquarters complex, 46 housing units, restrooms, concession facilities, and historic structures. The park provides visitors with two campgrounds (over 500 campsites), six large picnic areas, 21 miles of gravel road, 68 miles of paved road, 51 miles of carriage road, numerous bridges, 130 miles of hiking trails, 1,500 signs, and various utilities. Many facilities throughout the park are in need of improvement or replacement.

REGIONAL CONTEXT

Acadia is located on the coast of Maine, where the highest mountains on the eastern seaboard touch the rocky coast of the Atlantic Ocean. The scenic beauty is enhanced by the rugged and dramatic bare mountain peaks, woodlands, lakes, and diverse marshlands. Small coastal villages and elegant resort cottages contribute to the character of the islands.

The area within the permanent park boundary, as established in 1986, is mostly on Mount Desert Island but extends onto surrounding islands and the Schoodic Peninsula. The approximately 34,000 acres within the boundary fall in the towns of Bar Harbor, Mount Desert, Southwest Harbor, Tremont, Gouldsboro, Winter Harbor, Trenton, Cranberry Isles, Swan Island, and Frenchboro. (An additional 3,000 acres of parkland are located in the town of Isle au Haut.) The 1990 population of these 10 towns totaled 14,397.

Park holdings on Mount Desert Island include approximately 32,000 acres. Somes Sound divides the island's east and west sides. The most spectacular and well-known features are found on the east side. The west side has a quieter and more natural character and includes the coastal settlements and extensive marshlands.

Park Location and Access

Located approximately 45 miles southeast of Bangor, Maine, the park is within a day's drive of major metropolitan centers on the east coast. Mount Desert Island and Schoodic Peninsula are accessible from US Route 1, which follows the coast, as well as from other state highways. The park is approximately five hours by car from Boston.

A ferry service to and from Nova Scotia operates from Bar Harbor daily during the peak season and three times a week during the off season. Other ferries operated by the state of Maine and private operators provide access to islands in the area, including the Cranberry Isles and Baker Island where the park has land holdings. Some of the ferries accommodate vehicles as well as pedestrians. The vast majority of visitors arrive and tour Mount Desert Island's scenic roads by automobile.

Economic and Social Context

The economies of the communities surrounding the park are based on professional services, fishing, boat building, construction, tourist services and sales, educational research, and military institutions. The 1990 year round population of Mount Desert Island was 9,613. Visitors to the park have a significant fiscal impact on the surrounding communities. During the summer there is a noticeable shift in emphasis to visitor-service industries. Also, the influx of seasonal residents increases the population significantly, changing the social environment of the island.

The effect of the park on its socioeconomic environment is difficult to ascertain because it is difficult to separate all visitors and seasonal residents on Mount Desert Island from those who just visit the park. Different economic studies of the park's impact on the island communities have reported different conclusions.

Residents of the island communities have observed that the park has both positive and negative effects. It offers recreational and cultural opportunities and provides jobs, for example. However, some see the park as the cause of higher land and housing prices, higher taxes, and increasing traffic. Traffic has become a serious concern: roads are congested and parking is restricted in town and village centers.

Surrounding Land Use

Both seasonal and year round populations in the region are also increasing. Between 1970 and 1980 the year round population on Mount Desert Island increased by 15 percent. This increase triggered the construction of new homes throughout the island. Between 1983 and 1986 the number of overnight units in Bar Harbor increased by 50 percent — from 1,500 to 2,256.

The demand for new residences and visitor services has placed increasing pressures on the natural resources of the island. The demand for summer homes is making housing less affordable for year round residents.

Woodlands, wetlands, and farmlands once provided a buffer to the park's natural systems, but residential and some commercial development is now encroaching on park boundaries. Formerly, many towns did not have zoning or long range strategies for guiding development and resource protection. Now towns are beginning to undertake a comprehensive planning process in response to state growth-management legislation.

Weather

Acadia's weather is moderate compared to the rest of northern New England. The average annual precipitation of 47 inches is evenly distributed throughout the year. Frequent thawing periods prevent large, long term snow accumulations. Ice storms are common in winter and early spring, and rain occurs in every month. Fog is also a frequent phenomenon at the park and tends to peak in June, tapering off in winter. Northeastern storms, occurring mainly in late fall and winter, are generally severe windstorms, although hurricanes occasionally pass through.

 

PART THREE: THE PLAN

Scope

The Acadia National Park General Management Plan includes interrelated strategies for protection and management of resources, cooperation with local interests, access for disabled visitors, interpretation, and visitor use as well as guidelines for Native American activities, carrying capacities, and park operations. In addition, the plan indicates the general location, size, capacity, and function of physical developments.This plan is the lead planning document for the park. Studies and implementation proposals that support this document and that must be consistent with it include the following:

• archaeological resources management plans
• archaeological surveys
• collections management plan
• concession management plan
• comprehensive sign plan
• comprehensive trail management plan
• cultural landscape studies
• development concept plans
• ethnographic studies
• fire management plan
• integrated pest management plan
• interpretive prospectus
• land protection plan
• resource management plan
• transportation plan
• water resource management plan

Management Goals

Acadia National Park Mission

The National Park Service at Acadia National Park protects and preserves outstanding scenic, natural, scientific, and cultural values for present and future generations through programs, facilities, and services. It also provides programs and opportunities for nonconsumptive, resource-based recreation and education for an increasingly urban population.

Resource Management Goals

The Park Service's primary resource management goal is to perpetuate the natural, cultural, and scenic resources of Acadia National Park. This goal will be achieved through the following objectives:

1. Protect and manage the park's natural resources, giving priority to those that are exceptionally fragile or significant.

2. Improve the natural and cultural resource information base through expanded inventory, monitoring, research, and improved data base management and GIS systems.

3. Maintain or improve air and water quality through monitoring programs, proactive involvement in permitting, and other processes.

4. Protect, preserve, and restore, as appropriate, the cultural heritage of Acadia National Park, including archeological, historic, curatorial, and cultural landscape resources, through expanded cultural resource programs.

5. Improve visitors' understanding of their impact on park resources. Develop carrying-capacity objectives and measures for the park or parts of the park.

Visitor Services Goals

The Park Service's primary visitor services goal is to foster public understanding, appreciation, and protection of Acadia National Park's resources and values while ensuring visitor safety. This goal will be achieved through the following objectives:

1. Provide for a variety of high-quality, resource-related visitor experiences while ensuring a safe and positive social environment.

2. Continue the park's outstanding interpretive programs, building upon the tradition of stewardship, and expand environmental and cultural education programs.

3. Manage, maintain, and develop services and facilities to adapt to changing visitor patterns and needs, to serve special populations, and to minimize resource impacts.

4. Preserve the opportunities for recreational activities that range from high density to low density and solitude.

5. Preserve the relatively undeveloped quality of the park on the west side of Mount Desert Island and on Schoodic Peninsula and the islands.

Regional Goals

The Park Service's primary goal vis-à-vis the region is to work toward mutual objectives with neighboring communities and regional agencies, recognizing the important role of the area's cultural milieu in creating Acadia National Park and the need to cooperate with entities outside the park in order to effectively manage the park. This goal will be achieved through the following objectives:

1. Encourage cooperative partnerships with individuals, agencies, and organizations that benefit the park, and allow individuals to participate in park programs and management.

2. Cooperate with surrounding jurisdictions, other public agencies, and private individuals and organizations to manage resources not fully protected by the park boundary.

Planning Issues

Issues of concern to park management during the planning process are detailed in the Draft General Management Plan/Environmental Assessment (see “Part One: Background” and “Part Three: Environmental Description and Analysis”). The major issues are listed below.

Character of the Visitor Experience

• Densities and overall level of use
• Management of visitor use to protect park resources
• Concession services
• Abbe Museum

Scope of the Resource Management Program

• Protecting the aesthetic values of the Park Loop Road
• Restoring and maintaining the carriage roads
• Restoring and maintaining the historic hiking trail system
• Evaluating and treating historic structures
• Cataloging and treating park collections
• Surveying, monitoring, and stabilizing archaeologic resources
• Managing water resources
• Taking inventory of and managing species and habitats
• Cooperating with the state of Maine to manage tidal and estuarian resources
• Managing fires
• Protecting boundaries
• Responding to threats from private use and development

New Development

• Amount of new development needed or desirable in the park

Plan Overview

Management will focus on retaining and enhancing the unique qualities and resources of Acadia National Park, consistent with the park's mission and management goals. A comprehensive, proactive resource management program will emphasize systematic data gathering, interagency assessment of needs, and a coordinated response to internal and external threats to the park's natural and cultural resources.

Protecting and perpetuating the natural resource base upon which the park was established, and which is the primary management focus, will be a major programmatic emphasis. A strong inventory and monitoring program will result in a comprehensive resource data base and institutionalized programs for detecting potentially deleterious change as early as possible. Research and resource data management will be targeted toward improved understanding and control of both the park’s natural resource systems and the impacts that result from public use.

The National Park Service will increase efforts to manage and interpret the park's wealth of cultural resources. Interpretive displays will address cultural as well as natural resources. An expanded cultural resource management capability will be developed to manage the park's collections, archives, historic structures and sites, and cultural landscapes. From studies of the park’s many cultural landscapes, specific management plans and guidelines will be developed to direct operational decisions and practices to ensure perpetuation of those landscapes. Facilities to properly store, preserve, and work on collections and archives will be constructed.

Major emphasis will be placed on rehabilitating the carriage road and hiking trail systems. Resources will be increased to maintain the rehabilitated roads and trails.

The park will continue to develop and share its geographic information system and other inventories, manpower, tools, and training to help local towns develop strategies to recognize and protect park resources.

Based on a recent visitor survey and resident use survey, a substantial number of people are concerned about crowding in the park. Perceived crowding and congestion are primarily the result of too many parked automobiles. Therefore, existing parking capacities will be enforced and alternative means of access will be developed, including bikeways and walkways from the surrounding communities into the park. The Park Service will intensively study transportation issues in and around the park with the goal of implementing a transportation system as an alternative to or replacement for private automobile access.

The perception of crowding is substantially higher among people who participate in activities enhanced by privacy and solitude, such as hiking. While many visitors enjoy high density social interaction, such as a visit to Thunder Hole, the expectations of those seeking low density recreation are often not satisfied during the peak use season. The Park Service will manage use to provide a variety of appropriate resource-related, low density to high density visitor experiences and to protect sensitive resource areas. Because opportunities for low density recreation can be readily displaced by incremental change and unplanned development, the Park Service will identify and protect low-density opportunities in some parts of the park while allowing quality high density recreation in other parts. Development will be strictly limited. High density recreation will be supported in specific areas on the east side of Mount Desert Island, but the present character elsewhere on the island, on Schoodic Peninsula, and on the offshore islands will be retained. No new high-density recreation areas will be developed. To ensure visitor satisfaction, considerable emphasis will be placed on educating visitors about the kinds of recreational activities available and on providing more opportunities for visitors to understand and appreciate the natural and cultural resources of Acadia. Construction of a new entrance station and visitor center will play a critical role in orienting and informing visitors about opportunities.

Visitor use and resource protection objectives will be defined for different areas of the park. This information and other collected baseline data will provide the basis for establishing and refining social carrying capacities and strategies for managing visitor use.

Resource Preservation

Resource management operations will be conducted in accordance with a comprehensive resource management plan outlining needs and actions for management and preservation of the park's natural and cultural resources.

Improve Air and Water Quality

Monitor Air Quality and Work to Eliminate and Prevent Problems. Air quality research and management will continue to be emphasized. The National Park Service will continue monitoring programs and cooperative efforts with the Environmental Protection Agency, the Maine Bureau of Air Quality Control, and other states to develop emission control strategies to diminish existing and prevent future resource impairment at Acadia.

Participate in Regional Air Quality Regulatory Programs. As part of an effort to reduce potential threats to park resources and human health, the National Park Service will participate in permit reviews, rule making, and planning related to air quality in Maine and other states.

Report Findings Clearly to the Public. When pollution episodes occur that exceed state or federal health standards, visitors will be advised of the risks to their health so they can make informed decisions.

Develop and Implement a Comprehensive Water Resource Management Plan. In consultation with federal, state, and local agencies, the National Park Service will compile results of past water quality research in the area, identify needs for additional baseline data, collect necessary information, identify potential threats to water quality, and develop a long term interagency monitoring and research strategy. New research will identify the extent of water pollution as well as present and potential pollution sources, including the possible effects of additional development. This research will examine the effects of pollution on public health and park resources and will suggest strategies to mitigate the problems. Water quality monitoring, particularly of significant or threatened resources, will be expanded.

Cooperatively Protect Species and Habitats of Value to the Park

Coordinate Collaborative Efforts to Understand and Manage Resources of Value to the Park. The National Park Service will identify and rank research, inventory, monitoring, and resource management needs and undertake the projects of highest priority as funding allows. The Park Service will take the lead with other public and private agencies, colleges, and universities to direct additional cooperative baseline inventories and monitoring. Data will be gathered on terrestrial and aquatic plants, reptiles, amphibians, birds, mammals, freshwater fish, and invertebrates; special emphasis will be placed on endangered, threatened, rare, or exotic species. The development of a long-term inventory and monitoring program to assess the health of park resources will be a high priority.

Protect and Enhance Habitats for Species of Special Concern. All proposed development sites will be reviewed for the presence of threatened and endangered species as well as other species of special concern. Buffer areas will be established to prevent development and use of areas around the nesting sites of bald eagles, peregrine falcons, and any other federally or state-listed species. Park staff will assess the feasibility of active management to increase the populations of species of special concern whose presence in the park is jeopardized by their limited distribution or limited numbers.

Implement the Park's Integrated Pest Management Plan. Problems with native or exotic pests will be addressed with environmentally sensitive solutions that protect important resources.

Work to Protect Resources Under State Jurisdiction. Mutual goals for protecting lands and waters in and adjacent to the park will be developed with state agencies. Research will be conducted to analyze the impact of consumptive uses, such as hunting, trapping, and fishing, and the stocking of exotic fish species. Based on the research, park staff will play an active role in interagency management programs. These programs might include reintroducing extirpated species, managing fisheries, regulating hunting, and regulating visitor use and collecting in fragile areas such as the intertidal zone. Coordination with local rod and gun clubs, trapping clubs, and other special user groups will be required.

Communicate Research Data to the Public. Increases in resource management staff will allow scientific research data on species and habitats to be made readily available to park interpreters. Interpreters will include relevant scientific research information in their public presentations to help protect park resources and achieve management objectives. Other interested agencies will be kept informed of research findings.

Manage Fire. The National Park Service will prepare and implement a park fire management plan. The purposes of the plan will be to protect human life and property and to research and then restore or simulate the natural role of fire in the development and perpetuation of park habitats. The National Park Service will work with the state of Maine and local communities to ensure preparedness for fire suppression. As part of that preparedness preemptive or “presuppression” programs might be implemented to reduce fuel levels and control potential fire behavior at tactical locations. Specific management actions, such as clearly articulated vegetation and fuel management objectives, will be detailed and their impacts analyzed as part of the fire management plan.

Work with Adjacent Landowners and Communities to Enhance Park Values

Reduce the Threat of Fire. The National Park Service will work with local communities to reduce the threat of fire from sources external to the park by encouraging adoption of zoning codes, building codes, public education, and fuel management policies that will discourage potential fire damage.

Monitor Development in Cooperation with Local Governments. The National Park Service will work closely with local governments to monitor proposed development activities on adjacent lands and will participate in appropriate forums to minimize the impact on park values and resources.

Offer Technical Planning Assistance to Towns. Park staff will offer technical assistance to towns by sharing the park's GIS data base and the inventories of important scenic, natural, and cultural resources. The park will participate in islandwide forums to coordinate planning on Mount Desert Island, using both formal and informal arrangements. Funding for technical planning assistance will be sought jointly by the park and surrounding communities to address shared issues of concern.

Protect the Aesthetic and Historic Values of the Park Loop Road and Other Auto Roads

Protect and Enhance the Original Design Intent of the Historic Park Loop Road. The Park Loop Road corridor is an important cultural landscape and will be nominated for inclusion on the National Register of Historic Places. Guidelines will be developed and implemented for the management of the road and its landscape corridor to protect the overall design and such character-defining features as vistas, road width, roadside mowing, granite coping stones, retaining walls, and gutters. New construction will be minimized and will use materials harmonious with those originally used. Existing additions or alterations to the system will be evaluated for compatibility and possible removal. With the exception of expanded parking at Wildwood Stables, no new parking will be added to the Park Loop Road.

Minimize Impacts of Nonpark Roads within the Park. The National Park Service will consult and coordinate with the state of Maine, local communities, and interested citizens to analyze the environmental, aesthetic, and safety impacts on park resources of roadside parking and proposed road and utility improvements on state highways and other nonpark roads that traverse the park.

Rehabilitate and Maintain the Carriage Road and Hiking Trail Systems

Rehabilitate the Carriage Roads. A major carriage road rehabilitation program will be undertaken, followed by a comprehensive maintenance program. The rehabilitation effort will be directed by cultural landscape studies that build on earlier studies by Rieley and Associates (Rieley and Brouse 1989, Rieley and Associates 1989). The program will include investigation of road construction techniques, analysis of the road surfaces and bridge integrity, management of vistas, and development of rehabilitation specifications. Maintenance guidelines will be formulated to direct the long term preservation of the carriage road system.

Upgrade Trail System. A comprehensive trail management plan will be developed and implemented that provides a systematic approach to maintaining trails, restoring abandoned trails, and constructing new trails. Erosion and safety problems will be alleviated by upgrading routine and cyclical trail maintenance. Understanding the trail system at Acadia is critical to understanding the history of the park and its importance as a scenic reservation. The historic significance of trails on Mount Desert Island will be evaluated. To avoid adverse impacts on currently undisturbed species and habitats, developing new or abandoned trails will be limited to alignments that create loops in heavily used areas or routes that offer access from park campgrounds, towns, and villages. Development will be limited to existing trail-head parking.

Preserve Historic Properties

Evaluate, Treat, and Maintain Historic Structures. Reports on historic structures will be prepared to evaluate and recommend prioritized treatments for the more than 70 structures listed or potentially eligible for listing on the National Register of Historic Places. A cyclical maintenance plan will be established to monitor, stabilize, and preserve historic structures. Treatments recommended in the historic structure reports will be implemented with specialized personnel, as appropriate. A high priority will be placed on evaluating and treating the carriage road bridges and gate lodges as part of the effort to rehabilitate the carriage road system.

Evaluate, Treat, and Maintain Cultural Landscapes. In addition to the carriage road system and the Park Loop Road landscapes, the environs of other key historic properties in the park will be evaluated for management as cultural landscapes in conjunction with their nomination to the national register.

Complete the Parkwide Thematic Nomination to the National Register of Historic Places. Historic contexts identified in the preliminary nomination are (1) early settlement/1761 1865, (2) the summer colonies/1865 1930, (3) establishment and work of the Hancock County Trustees of Public Reservations/1901 1918, and (4) development of Acadia National Park/1919-present. Several properties that will be included in the thematic nominations have been nominated individually in the past. Others, such as the Park Loop Road, have not been nominated to the register. Still others are listed but will be renominated to include features not considered in the original nomination — such as the designed vistas in the case of the carriage road system. The key historic properties listed in this General Management Plan and described in the Draft General Management Plan/Environmental Assessment, along with other properties as warranted, will be evaluated in cooperation with the Maine state historic preservation officer.

Improve Management of Artifact Collections

Catalog and Treat the Park Collections. Park artifacts that have not been documented — more than half of the collection — will be accessioned and cataloged. Their storage will be consolidated into a single facility at park headquarters with adequate environmental controls and security. An addition will be constructed at the Islesford Historical Museum to provide proper storage for that museum's collections. The new storage facilities will be designed to prevent deterioration, provide security, and make artifacts readily retrievable for conservation and appropriate research and interpretive uses.

The staff will conduct preservation, collection, and maintenance work and document the locations, scope, and sizes of Acadia's natural history and archaeological collections currently distributed among repositories nationwide. These collections will be retrieved by the National Park Service; then where appropriate, they will be returned to the various repositories.

Protect Archaeological and Ethnographic Resources

Survey, Assess, Monitor, and Stabilize Archaeological Resources. A comprehensive archaeological survey will be conducted to document, assess, and describe sites and to study their potential for degradation from rising sea level, vandalism, or other causes. Based on information from these surveys, an archaeological resources management plan will be prepared to protect these resources.

Conduct a Park Ethnographic Study. An ethnographic overview and assessment study will be conducted to obtain information on park-related ethnic groups — specifically Native Americans — regarding their cultural use of and value assigned to park resources. The resulting materials will contribute to interpretive programs and make park managers more aware of Native American concerns at Acadia.

Visitor Experience

The following actions will provide a spectrum of high-density to low-density recreational opportunities, reduce perceptions of crowding, and address current problems while instituting a systematic process for reducing visitor impacts on park resources.

Manage Visitor Impacts

Mitigate Resource Impacts from Visitor Use. The National Park Service will manage use to protect Acadia's resources. Use of offshore islands that serve as important nesting and breeding sites will be prohibited during critical seasons. Other areas where access might be limited include the summits of Cadillac, Penobscot, Sargent, Champlain, and Pemetic mountains; Little Moose Island; and Big Heath. Parking for these areas will be confined to existing lots with no overflow and no right-lane parking on the Park Loop Road. Public restrooms will be provided at Thunder Hole, Eagle Lake, Acadia Mountain, Pretty Marsh picnic area, and Lake Wood. Large vehicles will be prohibited from Stanley Brook Road. Impacted areas will be rehabilitated; for instance, on Cadillac Mountain summit, stairways may be removed and dirt trails revegetated in conjunction with an interpretive effort on the fragility of the area.

Retain Opportunities for Low Density Recreation on the West Side of Mount Desert Island and on Schoodic Peninsula and the Offshore Islands. Existing capacity of parking lots will be enforced on Mount Desert Island and Schoodic Peninsula, and offshore islands will be patroled in order to retain the natural environment and solitude of these parts of the park. Schoodic Peninsula and the offshore islands will not be actively promoted nor will additional facilities be provided in these areas. The intent is to retain current use levels and the existing naturalness and solitude of these parts of the park.

Close Valley Cove Road to Motorized Vehicles. Hiking and biking will be permitted, but this road will be closed to motor vehicles from a point near Fernald Point Road. This action will minimize congestion at Valley Cove and enhance the remote character of the area. Pulloff parking will be provided on the short section of the road open to vehicles in place of parking at the Valley Cove end.

Encourage Public Transportation on Mount Desert Island and Establish a Park Transportation System. Visitor surveys and comments at public meetings indicated strong interest in a shuttle-bus system as a way of reducing congestion and avoiding construction of more roads or parking areas, thereby protecting environmental quality and improving the visitor experience. The Park Service will actively participate with municipalities and others on Mount Desert Island to offer tourists and residents an islandwide transportation system that includes loops through the park. The Park Service will study transportation issues in and around the park with the goal of implementing a transportation system as an alternative to or replacement for private automobile access.

Limit Parking to the Capacity of Existing Lots. Parking will be eliminated from the right lane of the Park Loop Road wherever road geometry poses a safety hazard. Right lane parking will be eliminated if an alternative transportation system is successfully established. This action will enhance scenic driving by removing the safety concerns, traffic flow restrictions, and visual impact of right-lane parking. Parking will be permitted only in designated spaces in established lots, and vehicle size will be restricted in lots where turning space is limited. The cooperation of the state and towns will be sought to eliminate overflow parking along state highways.

No new parking areas will be constructed along the Park Loop Road, and no existing parking areas will be expanded except at Wildwood Stables. Additional parking will be provided at Eagle Lake and at the head of Valley Cove Road (to replace existing parking at Valley Cove). Visitors will be encouraged to travel the Park Loop Road as a scenic drive-through and to use alternative access — including the alternative transportation system, trail links, carriage roads, and bicycle routes — for destination travel.

Implement a Parkwide Visitor Management Strategy

Collect Baseline Data and Evaluate Visitor Impacts. The sociological and environmental impacts of visitor use will be researched and evaluated to establish carrying capacities and other visitor management strategies. These strategies will be targeted to specific subunits of the park. For example, segments of the Park Loop Road and the hiking trail and carriage road systems on Mount Desert Island or individual smaller islands may be identified for separate treatment. Research will define the physical, biological, and social conditions that the National Park Service seeks to create, restore, or maintain within each subunit.

Develop Management Objectives. Based on the mission and management goals for Acadia and National Park Service policy, the Park Service will establish management objectives for specific areas of the park. These objectives will describe, as precisely as possible, the experiences to be offered to visitors and the appropriate ecological and social conditions to accompany each type of experience, and will address the issue of crowding. The park cannot be all things to all people. The objectives will therefore support opportunities appropriate to the traditional uses of Acadia.

Select and Implement Management Techniques. There cannot be a single carrying capacity for all of Acadia National Park. It is therefore important to identify subunits of the park and define specific management objectives for these areas. Defining specific numbers of visitors to be accommodated in each use zone is neither the only nor often the best technique to manage visitor impact. A variety of direct and indirect approaches may be implemented to deal with the causes of visitor impact. Management may, for example, prohibit use near nesting sites at certain times, separate incompatible uses at campgrounds, require reservations for programs, limit the size of personal vehicles allowed on Cadillac Summit Road, or promote high-density over low-density areas.

Monitor Visitor Impacts. Implementing management techniques will proceed with a standardized monitoring program. Key indicators identified for Acadia National Park will permit the social, physical, and biological impacts of visitors to be monitored and compared with standards adopted for specific areas of the park. Appropriate management techniques will be implemented following analysis.

Reduce Conflicts between User Groups

Manage Multiple Use of the Carriage Roads. Different users of the carriage roads (carriage riders, equestrians, bicyclists, and pedestrians) will be educated to abide by specific “rules of the road.” As use of the system increases, additional management actions may be required to ensure safety and enjoyment of the carriage roads by all user groups.

Evaluate Both Campgrounds and Develop Management Strategies for Each. The intent of this comprehensive evaluation will be to protect resources and encourage use of tents and small recreational vehicles (RVs) (units less than 35 feet) by separating those uses, providing more walk in sites, and developing management strategies to avoid overuse of sites. New sites will not be added and the current number of sites may be reduced.

Improve Access, Orientation, and Information

Provide a New Gateway and Visitor Center. A new gateway and visitor center will be developed near the park's primary entrance at Hulls Cove. The facilities' purpose will be to welcome visitors and provide adequate orientation and information. In addition to being more accessible, the visitor center will orient park users to the range of recreational and interpretive opportunities available and inform them of their transportation options.

Improve Accessibility for Disabled Persons. Every reasonable effort will be made to make the facilities and services of the National Park Service accessible to all, including those who are disabled. This policy is based on the commitment to provide access to the widest cross-section of the public and to ensure compliance with the 1968 Architectural Barriers Act (42 USC 4151 et seq.), the 1972 Rehabilitation Act (29 USC 701 et seq.), and National Park Service Special Directive 83-3. Special, separate, or alternative facilities, programs, or services will be provided only when existing ones cannot reasonably be made accessible. The determination of what is reasonable will be made after consultation with disabled persons and their representatives.

Improve Nonmotorized Access to the Park. Park access for bicyclers, joggers, walkers, cross country skiers, and visitors using wheelchairs will be improved on Mount Desert Island. A portion of Duck Brook Road will be designated for bicycle use only to make the carriage road system more easily accessible to bicyclists. A new trail for hiking, bicycling, and skiing will be constructed to link Bar Harbor and Sieur de Monts to the Eagle Lake carriage road if an environmentally acceptable route can be designed. Other new trail connectors will be studied and constructed if feasible. At Eagle Lake, an additional parking lot, more restrooms, and a connecting trail will provide adequate access to a convenient and popular portion of the carriage road system. (More spaces in the existing lot will be designated for handicapped parking.) The possibility of providing improved access to the park on Mount Desert Island by small boats will be evaluated.

Develop Cooperative Trail Management. The National Park Service will pursue cooperative relationships with local governments, village improvement societies and other organizations, and private landowners to develop comprehensive trail plans for Mount Desert Island. The Park Service will support existing connector trails and the development of new ones to provide public access to the park's hiking trail and carriage road systems from towns and villages on Mount Desert Island.

Revise and Implement the Interpretive Prospectus. A comprehensive interpretive prospectus will be completed for the park that will detail the scope of interpretive services to be provided in order to foster public understanding, appreciation, and protection of Acadia’s resources. Current exhibits at Islesford Historical Museum and the nature center as well as wayside exhibits throughout the park will be upgraded, replaced, or expanded, as appropriate. Environmental education programs will continue to be emphasized.

Implement a Comprehensive Sign Program in Cooperation with Surrounding Communities. The park will cooperate with municipalities and the Maine Department of Transportation to design and implement a comprehensive road-sign plan for Mount Desert Island and Schoodic Peninsula. The plan will reduce the number of signs inside and outside the park (the park alone maintains 850 road signs), yet increase the signs' effectiveness to clearly and safely direct motorists, bikers, hikers, and other visitors to desired destinations. A complementary system of trail signs will be developed by the National Park Service.

Enhance the Staging Area for Winter Recreation at Hulls Cove. The new visitor center will remain open in the winter. Once access to the carriage roads is improved, the large parking area will provide a staging area for cross-country skiers. As demand and capability develop, larger sections of the Park Loop Road from the new visitor center to Otter Cliffs Road will be plowed in winter. These actions will provide a convenient winter entrance and improved park access for both motorists and skiers.

Cooperate with Abbe Museum to Improve Visitor Services and Protect Park Values

The Robert Abbe Museum of Stone Age Antiquities has complemented and supported the National Park Service mission at Acadia National Park since the museum's inception in 1927. The museum helps the park manage and preserve cultural resources, and helps interpret the early history of Mount Desert Island and its environs. The Abbe Museum at Sieur de Monts Spring will continue to operate as an independent, trailside museum. Any expansion of the museum will be limited to the 25 percent level allowed by the 1986 park boundary legislation. The National Park Service will work closely with the Abbe Museum board of directors to achieve a workable and mutually acceptable solution to the museum's storage, work, and program space needs.

Improve and Evaluate Concession Services

Improve Horse and Carriage Concession Services at Wildwood Stables. The stable operation will be improved to provide safe and sanitary facilities that support equestrian use of the carriage road system by both concession patrons and people bringing their own horses. The size and scale of new facilities will be compatible with currently existing structures. Provisions for additional visitor contact and interpretation will be incorporated into the upgraded facilities. Most concession employees will be housed off site; on-site employee housing will be limited to the number of caretakers that are necessary and appropriate. Provisions will be made to separate campers from their horses.

The concessionaire will continue to offer carriage rides and perhaps rent saddle horses. The concessionaire will be required to equip carriages and hay wagons with metal wheels, to impose weight limits, to pick up horse manure, and to maintain the road surface used by the concession operation.

Improve the Efficiency of the Jordan Pond House Restaurant. Restaurant kitchen facilities will be expanded to improve the efficiency of the traditional tea and popover service. Gift shop and food service operations will continue at present levels in support of traditional services.

Evaluate Gift Shop Operations within the Park. The necessity of gift shops at Thunder Hole and Cadillac Mountain has been questioned because of the abundance and proximity of gift shops outside the park and because, in part, of the congestion at Cadillac Mountain summit and Thunder Hole. The gift shops will be evaluated through the concession planning process prior to issuing a fact sheet for new concession contracts in 1996. If it is determined they are unnecessary or inappropriate, they will be phased out.

Land Protection

Monitor Development Activities on Inholdings

The National Park Service will work closely with local governments to monitor proposed development activities on privately held land within the 1986 legislated boundary to ensure that park resources are not damaged. Activities will be studied for compliance with the park's land protection plan.

Continue Conservation Easement Program

The Park Service will actively monitor and enforce the conservation easements held by the park. The Park Service will continue to cooperate with landowners and land trusts to protect lands of value to Acadia National Park, pursuant to the 1986 boundary legislation (PL 99-420) and the land protection plan.

Survey and Mark the Park Boundary

A comprehensive boundary survey will be conducted and parklands will be clearly marked.

Development

Reflect Acadia's Architectural Tradition in All New Facilities

New facilities will reflect the architectural principles evident in traditional park structures at Acadia, such as the carriage road gate lodges and the Thunder Hole ranger station (see illustrations on p. 18). New facilities will be characterized by steeply pitched roofs and rustic native materials, including unpainted wood and rough cut granite. In general the following elements of new constructions will be compatible with traditional Acadia park structures: height; overall building proportions and scale; placement of openings within the facade; materials, textures, and color; exterior detailing and ornamentation; and roof shapes. Rehabilitation and replacement of existing structures will also conform to the park's traditional style.

Follow the Principles of Sustainable Design

The principles of sustainable design will guide development at Acadia. Sustainable design recognizes that humans are an integral part of the natural world and that nature must be preserved and perpetuated if the human community is to survive. Furthermore, future technologies must maintain biological diversity and environmental integrity; contribute to the health of air, water, and soils; incorporate design and construction that reflect bioregional patterns, scales, and other conditions; and reduce the impact of human use. As development and retrofitting proceed at the park, the principles of sustainable design will be adhered to as much as possible in all areas, including the following: natural resources, cultural resources, site planning and design, architectural design, building ecology, interpretation, energy conservation, waste disposal, and facility maintenance and operation.

Provide Additional Access for Disabled Persons

Visitor and management facilities and transportation systems will be made as accessible as practicable to persons with visual, hearing, mobility, and mental impairments. Accessibility will be consistent with preserving park resources and providing a high-quality visitor experience. Concession facilities will be subject to the same accessibility standards as National Park Service facilities. Policies on accessibility are based on the 1968 Architectural Barriers Act (42 USC 4151 et seq.), the 1972 Rehabilitation Act (29 USC 701 et seq.), and National Park Service Special Directive 83-3.

Buildings and sites in developed areas will be designed or rehabilitated according to the 1984 Uniform Federal Accessibility Standards (49 FR 31528) in order to provide full accessibility to disabled persons. Most administrative offices and interpretive and visitor service facilities, and some employee housing will be accessible. Undeveloped areas, such as those outside the immediate influence of buildings and roads, will not be modified nor will special facilities be provided for the sole purpose of ensuring access to all segments of the population. Accessibility in threshold areas, such as scenic overlooks, nature trials, features of special interest, or wayside exhibits, will be determined based on the area's topography, the significance of the attraction, and the extent of existing or contemporary man-made modifications.

Transportation systems will have a sufficient number of fully accessible vehicles to provide effective services to disabled persons. Until the transportation system has been made fully accessible, a separate accessible vehicle will be provided or disabled persons will be allowed to drive their own vehicles on motor roadways that are otherwise restricted. Prohibitions on motorized vehicles will not apply to wheelchairs used by disabled persons. Water transportation systems will be as accessible to disabled persons as the area being served by the systems. Every effort will be made to provide full access to scenic cruise vessels.

Emphasis will be placed on ensuring that disabled persons enjoy experiences and opportunities with other visitors to the greatest extent possible. Separate facilities for the disabled are not a substitute for full accessibility to park facilities but may be allowed where the need for specialized services is clearly demonstrated.

Provide Park Development Only in Specific Areas on Mount Desert Island

Except for those facilities described in table 1, no additional development will be permitted in the park. Existing facilities currently in use will be repaired or replaced as needed. Unpaved roads will not be paved, widened, or upgraded.

Pursue Cooperative Housing

Working cooperatively with island communities and seasonal businesses, the National Park Service will strive to provide affordable housing on private land for use by seasonal employees. Until adequate community housing is available, acquired inholdings with suitable residential structures will be used temporarily for park housing or administration. The Park Service will comply with the same restrictions on the use or expansion of inholdings that apply to private landowners. Temporary use of acquired structures will help the Park Service meet its immediate needs for additional seasonal housing without disturbing currently undeveloped lands.

Table of Development Summary

Interpretive Facilities

Gateway Center and Visitor Center

A new park gateway/entrance station and year round visitor center will be constructed at Hulls Cove adjacent to the existing parking lot. The center will provide adequate space for both interpretation and orientation functions and overcome existing mechanical problems. A critical function of the center will be to provide information on visitor activity options, parking, and an alternate transportation system. Accessible restroom facilities will be available year round.

Carriage Road and Trails Systems

Carriage Roads and Trails

The historic carriage road and trail systems will be rehabilitated as described in the "Resource Preservation" section

Crossing at Bubble Pond

The hazardous on‑grade crossing of the carriage road and the Park Loop Road at Bubble Pond will be eliminated through construction of a bridge or underpass. The new construction will be designed with appropriate granite facing to harmonize with the other carriage road bridges.

Wildwood Stables Connector

The approach to the carriage road system at Wildwood Stables will be rebuilt and the old route abandoned. Rerouting the approach will reduce the grade and improve safety.

Paradise Hill Connector

The trail connecting the visitor center to the carriage road at Paradise Hill will be rerouted and the old trail obliterated. Rerouting this trail will reduce the grade and make the trail safer for skiers and bicyclists

Trail Links

New trails into the park may be constructed subject to the completion of a comprehensive trail study if environmentally acceptable routes can be designed. For instance, a route from Bar Harbor and Sieur de Monts to the Eagle Lake carriage road may be constructed along one of two routes proposed by John D. Rockefeller, Jr. Also possible is a trail from Mount Desert Island High School to the carriage roads over Youngs Mountain.

Campgrounds and Picnic Areas

Blackwoods and Seawall

Soil compaction and drainage problems will be addressed at specific sites as campgrounds necessary. The placement of camping equipment at each site will be clearly designated. The rustic appearance of park campsites will be retained by not paving any sites except those designated for disabled visitors. A portion of Blackwoods campground will be improved to accommodate existing use of RVs up to 35 feet long. Specific roadways and campsites will be redesigned to prevent damage to vegetation by these vehicles and to ease site access. To avoid enlarging the area disturbed by the campgrounds, the total number of RV campsites might be reduced.

Pretty Marsh Picnic Area

The historic picnic shelters will be repaired in keeping with their original design specifications, and the sites will be made level.

Concession Facilities

Wildwood Stables

Limited improvements will be made at Wildwood Stables. A new barn compatible in size and scale with the existing barn will be constructed. The barns will provide stalls for a limited number of visitors' horses and for horses used by the concessionaire. A new ticket sales and reception area will be constructed and new, separate restrooms will accommodate visitors and campers. Camping facilities for visiting equestrians who bring their own horses will be upgraded. Employee housing will be limited to that necessary to accommodate the appropriate caretakers.

Jordan Pond House

The Jordan Pond House kitchen facilities will be expanded to allow more efficient operation. Overall restaurant capacity will not increase.

Miscellaneous Visitor Facilities

Bathhouses

The existing bathhouses and restrooms at Echo Lake and Sand beaches will be replaced or rehabilitated.

Permanent restrooms

Permanent restrooms will be constructed at Wildwood Stables, Eagle Lake, Lake Wood, the Acadia Mountain parking area, Pretty Marsh picnic area, and Thunder Hole. In order to minimize impacts, these new restrooms will be small, self contained, or pump out facilities. Other restroom sites may be considered to correct sanitation and health problems.

Restrooms at important staging areas for wintertime park users will be winterized. The restrooms at Sieur de Monts will be converted to year round facilities. The new visitor center at Hulls Cove will provide restrooms for snowmobilers and skiers, and the new restrooms near Eagle Lake will be available throughout the year. The restrooms on Cadillac Mountain summit may be retrofitted to extend use into the spring and fall.

Eagle Lake parking

An additional parking area will be built at Eagle Lake. A significant wetland prevents expansion of the existing lot; therefore, additional parking will be constructed west of the existing lot on the south side of State Route 233. The lot will be carefully situated to screen it from the Park Loop Road and Cadillac Mountain. A trail connecting this parking area to the carriage road system will be constructed.

Administrative Facilities

Sand Beach fee-control station

The temporary fee station at Sand Beach will be replaced with a new facility in the same location. The new structure will follow the park's architectural style, be vandal resistant, and provide temperature control. To reduce nighttime light pollution, pole-mounted, high intensity floodlights will be replaced by less intense lights located on the buildings themselves.

Islesford Historical Museum

An addition will be constructed at Islesford Historical Museum on Little Cranberry Island to store museum artifacts. Moving artifacts to the climate-controlled addition will provide sufficient work space in the museum for a curator, a museum technician, and museum attendants.

Park headquarters

Additional office, storage, and work space will be constructed at park headquarters to serve all park divisions. An artifact storage facility also will be built to offer secure storage for the park's artifacts housed on Mount Desert Island and to provide sufficient work space for cultural resources staff. The maintenance facilities at park headquarters will be replaced.

Schoodic ranger office

An office and storage area will be added to the Schoodic ranger residence.

Baker Island

The Baker Island lightkeeper's house will be adapted for reuse. For instance, caretakers, probably volunteer, may live in the house to provide on site interpretation, protection, and maintenance services. Other associated structures will be stabilized.

Employee RV sites

Additional RV sites will be provided for the Park Service's seasonal employees and volunteers who arrive for work with their own campers.

Employee housing

Additional park housing will be constructed at Blackwoods and Seawall campgrounds to replace trailers and at Harden farm.

 

Management Zoning Concept

Use and management of lands and waters in Acadia National Park will be guided by management zoning based on resource values. The park has been divided into four zones with a number of subzones. The management emphasis for each of these areas is described below and summarized in table 2. The lands and waters included in each zone are shown on the management zoning map and listed in table 2 as well. After completing the resource studies called for in the General Management Plan, the appropriateness of including certain areas in the various zones may be reevaluated and minor changes made. The following section describes the zones and subzones that will guide the management of Acadia National Park.

Natural Zone

The natural zone includes lands and waters that will be managed to conserve and protect natural resources and ecological processes and provide for their use and enjoyment by the public.

Development in the natural zone will be limited to facilities that have no adverse effect on scenic quality and natural processes, are essential for management, and enhance appreciation of natural resources. Examples of typical facilities include trails, signs, and trailside information displays. There will be no picnic areas, toilet facilities, or campsites. This zone will be roadless, and public access will be restricted to foot traffic only. The primary use of this zone will be by the day hiker.

The park will attempt to maintain the components and processes of naturally evolving ecosystems, including the natural abundance, diversity, and ecological integrity of native plants and animals. Maintaining natural diversity is especially important. Species diversity contributes to visitors' aesthetic enjoyment of park wildlife, plants, and scenery; it is the basis of the park's scientific value as an outdoor laboratory; and it is critical to maintaining native gene pools and evolutionary processes. Therefore, those species and habitats identified as fragile, threatened, or otherwise significant (e.g., endangered species, Maine critical areas, wetlands, and other resources in the protected natural area) will be closely monitored and protected. Common species and habitats will not be neglected, for they too play an important role in maintaining biological diversity and ecological integrity. Prescribed fire, natural fire, or other means may be used to perpetuate park habitats, especially fire-dependent ecosystems.

Natural Environment. This subzone comprises the majority of parkland and park waters. Environmentally compatible recreational activities and interpretation will be accommodated in this subzone. Naturalness will be emphasized but some human alterations or intrusions might be evident. The subzone will include outstanding geological or ecological features with unusual intrinsic value or uniqueness — such as shorelines and mountain summits — that will be managed to provide opportunities for public appreciation and interpretation.

Protected Natural Area. This subzone provides for the perpetuation of geological or ecological values with minimal or no human intrusion. These lands and waters will be set aside for strict protection because of their fragility or ecological significance. Public access and fire suppression activities may be restricted.

Cultural Zone

The cultural zone includes areas that will be managed for the preservation, protection, and interpretation of cultural resources and their settings and for their use and enjoyment by the public.

Cultural resources that are key to the purposes of the park will be included in this zone. In most cases the boundary of the zone will coincide with the boundary of a property listed on or eligible for the National Register of Historic Places. Cultural resources other than those key to the purposes of the park, including properties listed or eligible for listing on the national register, will be designated as part of the zone that best reflects the primary management emphasis of their location in the park.

Development in the cultural zone must be compatible with the preservation and interpretation of cultural values. Whenever possible, new construction will be avoided and historic structures will be used for purposes compatible with their preservation and public appreciation. New structures, landscape features, and utilities will be constructed in the cultural zone only if (1) existing structures and improvements do not meet essential management needs, and (2) new construction is designed and situated to preserve the integrity and character of the area.

Preservation. This subzone will include sites, structures, ethnographic resources, objects, and landscapes that are important because of their aesthetic value or their association with persons, events, or periods in human history and will be managed for preservation and interpretation.

Site-specific planning will determine which treatments will best provide for the preservation and public enjoyment of particular resources in this subzone. No treatment project will be undertaken unless supported by an approved proposal, plan, or report appropriate to the proposed action. The significance of the resource, its condition, its interpretive value, its research potential, and the availability of data will all be weighed in determining the appropriate treatment. Park staff will strive to protect and preserve all resources of the preservation subzone in their existing conditions until planning decisions are made.

Preservation/Adaptive Use. In this subzone significant historic structures may be modified and used for leasing, for public activities, or for administrative activities and functions that permit perpetuating the characteristics that qualify these resources for listing on the National Register of Historic Places.

All uses of historic structures will be subject to preservation and public safety requirements. No administrative or public use will be permitted if it threatens the stability or character of a structure, the museum objects within it, or the safety of its users, or if such use entails alterations that significantly compromise the building's integrity. Structural additions will harmonize with but be readily distinguishable from the older work and will not intrude upon the historic scene. Other additions, such as security equipment, heating, and air conditioning, will meet the National Park Service requirements for rehabilitation.

Developed Zone

The developed zone includes lands that will be managed to provide and maintain facilities serving park managers and visitors. It will include areas where park development or intensive use may substantially alter the natural environment or the setting for culturally significant resources. Impacts associated with such development will be mitigated to the greatest extent possible. There are no subzones within this zone.

The developed zone will encompass the facilities themselves and all associated lands directly modified as a result of their continuing management and use; the zone will be restricted to the smallest area necessary to accommodate required development and use. New development will be established only after considering alternative levels of use, facilities, services, and sites (including locations outside the park and locations outside areas with significant natural and cultural resources).

This zone will include land that supports educational and interpretive services to visitors, such as the visitor center; provides recreational opportunities to relatively large numbers of people, such as campgrounds; provides noninterpretive and nonrecreational services to park visitors, such as restaurants; supports administration and maintenance of park resources, such as utilities and housing; and provides for vehicular circulation within the park.

Special Use Zone

The special use zone will encompass uses carried out by other government agencies or private interests on lands within the legislated boundary. Park Service administrative control over the use of lands in this zone will be either lacking or secondary to that of another party.

Roads and Utilities. This subzone will include land managed primarily to provide transportation and utility services to areas outside the park. Examples include state and local road rights of way and pump houses for municipal water supplies.

Inholdings. Land and waters used for private purposes and identified for acquisition in the land protection plan are included in this subzone. They will be acquired as specified in the 1986 boundary legislation and then placed in another appropriate park zone.

Table of Management Zone Summary

Natural Zone

• Manage land and waters to conserve and protect natural resources and ecological processes and provide for their use and enjoyment by the public
• Natural Environment Subzone: Conserve natural resources and provide environmentally compatible interpretive and recreational activities in ways that do not adversely affect those resources and processes
• Protected Natural Area Subzone: Perpetuate geological or ecological values with minimal or no human intrusion. These lands and waters are set aside for strict protection because of unusual fragility or ecological significance
• Park Areas
  • All areas of the park not classified in other zones or subzones
  • Wetlands: black spruce-tamarack swamp, salt marsh, freshwater marsh, shrub bog, sphagnum/sedge bog, floating vegetation, alder, red maple, cedar, and other wetlands
  • Coastal islands wholly owned by the Park Service; near Mount Desert – the islands of Bear, Thompson, Sheep Porcupine, Bar (Frenchman Bay), Bar (Somes Sound), the Hop, and Bald Porcupine; and near Schoodic Peninsula -the islands of Schoodic, Little Moose, and Pond
  • Freshwater islands: Rum (Long Pond) and no name (Eagle Lake)
  • Maine critical areas deemed worthy of special planning and management consideration by the Maine State Planning Office
  • Potential national natural landmarks
  • Habitats of federally and state‑listed endangered and threatened species, including peregrine falcon and bald eagle nest sites
  • Habitats of Maine species of special concern, species of indeterminate status, and watch‑listed species
  • Significant wildlife habitats as defined in the Maine Natural Resources Protection Act, including habitats for deer, wading birds, shorebirds, colonial seabirds, and Atlantic salmon Habitats of Maine species of special concern, species of indeterminate status, and watch‑listed species
  • Significant wildlife habitats as defined in the Maine Natural Resources Protection Act, including habitats for deer, wading birds, shorebirds, colonial seabirds, and Atlantic salmon
  • Species, habitats, and natural landscape features identified as rare, imperiled, or critically imperiled under the Maine natural heritage program
  • Other important habitats identified by park staff

Cultural Zone

• Manage areas to preserve, protect, and interpret cultural resources and their settings, and for their use and enjoyment by the public
• Preservation Subzone: Preserve and interpret historic sites, structures, ethnographic resources, objects, and landscapes that are important because of their aesthetic value or their association with persons, events, or periods in human history and that merit full communication of these values to the public
• Preservation/Adaptive Use Subzone: Use, with necessary modifications, of historically significant structures for leasing, public activities, or administrative activities and functions that perpetuate the characteristics that qualify these resources for listing on the National Register of Historic Places.
• Park Areas
  • Carroll homestead and associated vernacular landscape
  • Elisha Gilley house and associated vernacular landscape on Baker Island
  • Sieur de Monts springhouse and environs created by George Dorr
  • Abbe Museum site
  • Islesford Historical Museum
  • Archeological sites
  • Old Farm site
  • Carriage road system and corridor, including roads, bridges, vistas, Jordan Pond gate lodge, Brown Mountain gate lodge, and associated gate lodge landscapes
  • The Park Loop Road system comprising six segments: (1) Paradise Hill Road, (2) Kebo Mountain Road, (3) Ocean Drive, (4) Stanley Brook Road, (5) Lower Mountain Road, and (6) Cadillac Summit Road, including roads, bridges, and associated designed landscape
  • Sargent Drive
  • Hiking trail system
  • Pretty Marsh picnic shelters
  • Blue Duck Ship Store
  • Storm Beach house
  • Bear Island light station
  • Baker Island light station
  • Thunder Hole ranger station
  • Seawall ranger station

Developed Zone

Manage lands to provide and maintain facilities for educational and interpretive services; for recreational opportunities, such as campgrounds; for other visitor services, such as restaurants; for administration and maintenance of park resources; and for vehicular circulation in the park.

• Headquarters' administrative, maintenance, and housing complex
• Visitor center
• Thompson Island visitor station
• Sieur de Monts nature center
• Wild Gardens of Acadia
• Campgrounds, amphitheaters, and seasonal housing at Blackwoods and Seawall
• Picnic areas: Pretty Marsh (picnic shelters will be in the preservation subzone), Bear Brook, Thompson Island, Seawall, and Fabbri
• Sand Beach and Echo Lake bathhouses
• Swimming beaches at Echo Lake and Lake Wood (artificially created)
• Boat launches at Ike's Point, Otter Cove, Eagle Lake, Seal Cove Pond, and Jordan Pond
• Jordan Pond House restaurant, gift shop, and “tea lawn”\Wildwood Stables barn, corrals, and camping area
• Park utilities
• Gift shop at Cadillac Mountain summit
• Restrooms associated with the above
• Parking areas for all of the above and other designated parking (the Park Loop Road parking is included in the cultural zone)
• Access roads: Duck Brook Road, Lurvey Spring Road, Marshall Brook fire road, Hio Road, road to Wonderland, Man O'War Brook Road, Sieur de Monts fire road, Lake Wood access road, Frazier Point fire road, Duck Harbor/Western Head fire road, Western Mountain fire road, Long Pond fire road, Schoodic Drive, Sand Beach bicycle trail, and Bar Island/Frenchman Bay access drive
• Seawall ranger residence
• Schoodic ranger residence and access road
• Sand Beach house and access road
• Other park housing: Harden farm, Sunset house, Hulls Cove house, and Somes Sound house, and others as acquired

Special Use Zone

• Lands and waters within the legislated boundary where uses are carried out by other government agencies or private interests. (National Park Service administrative control over the use of lands in this zone is either lacking or secondary to that of another party.)
• Roads and Utilities Subzone: Provide transportation and utility service to areas primarily outside the park
• Inholdings Subzone: Acquire private inholdings as available
• Park Areas
  • State and local road rights‑of‑way
  • Municipal water supply pump stations and dams
  • Utility rights‑of‑way
  • Great Ponds, including Eagle Lake, Jordan Pond, Bubble Pond, Long Pond, Echo Lake, Upper and Lower Hadlock ponds, Seal Cove Pond, Hodgdon Pond, Ripple Pond, Lake Wood, Witch Hole Pond, Hamilton Pond, Breakneck Ponds, Aunt Betty Pond, Somes Pond, the Tarn, Round Pond, and the Bowl
  • Acquisition parcels specified in the Acadia land protection plan

 

Appendix A: Legislation

A complete list of park legislation can be found on our Laws & Policies page.

APPENDIX B: UNDERTAKINGS REQUIRING CONSULTATION UNDER SECTION 106 OF THE NATIONAL HISTORIC PRESERVATION ACT

The following list shows those actions requiring further consultation with the Maine historic preservation officer and the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation under section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966, as amended, and the Programmatic Agreement of 1990.

Actions

Actions directly involving historic structures and cultural landscapes:

• Rehabilitate the carriage road system
• Construct a bridge or underpass for the carriage road and the Park Loop Road at Bubble Pond
• Construct carriage road connectors at Paradise Hill and Wildwood Stables
• Construct an addition to the Islesford Museum for curatorial storage
• Rehabilitate the Baker Island lightkeeper's house
• Rehabilitate the Park Loop Road
• Rehabilitate the hiking trail system
• Repair Pretty Marsh picnic shelters.

Actions requiring new construction (potential visual and archeological impacts):

• Construct a new visitor center and entrance gateway at Hulls Cove
• Construct a new parking lot at Eagle Lake
• Construct new trail connectors. Possible routes include
  • from Sieur de Monts to Eagle Lake carriage road
  • over Youngs Mountain between high school and Duck Brook
  • from new Eagle Lake parking lot to Aunt Betty Pond carriage road
  • from visitor center parking to Witch Hole Pond carriage road (reroute existing trail)
  • from Route 3 to Champlain Mountain (using an abandoned trail alignment)
• Expand Wildwood Stables.
• Install restrooms at Eagle Lake, Thunder Hole, Acadia Mountain, Pretty Marsh, and Lake Wood
• Construct curatorial storage and work and office space at park headquarters
• Replace maintenance buildings at park headquarters.
• Construct additional staff housing at Blackwoods, Seawall, and Harden farm
• Construct office and storage addition to Schoodic ranger residence.

Additional Studies Required

An inventory of historic structures was completed in 1984. Based on the inventory the National Park Service will consult with the state historic preservation officer to determine eligibility for listing structures on the National Register of Historic Places. Historic structure reports will be required for all major work on these historic structures. Cultural landscape reports and treatment plans will be required to rehabilitate cultural landscapes. Archeological surveys will be required for all projects entailing new construction. Necessary data recovery projects will be conducted when avoiding archeological resources is not possible.

APPENDIX C: VISITOR USE

Manning (1987) conducted a social science analysis of visitor needs and preferences. This appendix summarizes the portion of Manning's report that describes park visitors. Copies of the complete report are on file at the park.

Residence of Visitors

• Maine 22 percent
• Massachusetts 13 percent
• New York 11 percent
• Other states (43) 40 percent
• Canada 2.5 percent
• Other countries 0.3 percent

Socioeconomic Characteristics of Visitors

• Education
  • 73 percent have some college education
  • 29 percent hold graduate degrees
• Income
• 18 percent make $60,000 or more annually
• Age of Visitors
  • Average age = 41
• Visitor Groups
  • Family groups 66 percent
  • Friends 20 percent
  • Family and friends 8 percent
  • Groups accompanied by individual(s) with disabilities: less than 5 percent
  • Groups accompanied by individual(s) who do not speak English: less than 2 percent
• Primary Destination of Trip to Mount Desert Island
  • Acadia National Park 67 percent
  • Bar Harbor 22 percent
  • Entire island 5 percent
• Length of Stay on Mount Desert Island
  • Average = seven days
  • Stayed overnight 78 percent
  • Campgrounds 35 percent
  • Hotel/motel, etc. 35 percent
  • Private home 6 percent

Approximately 46 percent of visitors have been to Acadia National Park more than once, and of these, some return on a regular basis. The average number of previous visits to Mount Desert Island is nine.

Means of Transportation

• Private car 90 percent
• RV 5 percent
• Bus 1 percent

 

REFERENCES

Arbogast, D.
1984 “Inventory of Structures, Acadia National Park.” Prepared for the National Park Service, Division of Cultural Resources, North Atlantic Regional Office. Boston, MA. On file at Acadia National Park.

Dorr, G.B.
1942 Acadia National Park: Its Origin and Background. Bangor, ME: Burr Printing Company.

Jacobson, B., and H. Dominie
1988 “Evaluation of Island Resources: Hancock County and Portions of Knox County, ME.” Maine Coast Heritage Trust. Northeast Harbor, ME. On file at Acadia National Park.

Maine Coast Heritage Trust
1988 “Developing a Comprehensive Conservation Easement Monitoring Program at Acadia National Park.” Prepared for the National Park Service, North Atlantic Region by Maine Coast Heritage Trust. Northeast Harbor, ME. On file at Acadia National Park.

Manning, R.E.
1987 “Visitors and Neighbors of Acadia National Park: Planning for the Future.” Prepared for the National Park Service, North Atlantic Region by the School of Natural Resources, University of Vermont. Burlington, VT. On file at Acadia National Park.

Rieley, W.D., and R. Brouse
1989 “Historic Resource Study for the Carriage Road System, Acadia National Park, Mount Desert Island, ME.” Prepared for the National Park Service, North Atlantic Region by Rieley and Associates. Charlottesville, VA. On file at Acadia National Park.

Rieley and Associates
1989 “Recommended Guidelines for the Restoration, Maintenance, and Use of the Carriage Roads at Acadia National Park.” Prepared for the National Park Service, North Atlantic Region by Rieley and Associates. Charlottesville, VA. On file at Acadia National Park.

Steinitz, C.F., A. Wiley, and V. Wiley
1986 Alternative Futures for Acadia National Park and Mount Desert Island. Harvard University Graduate School of Design. Cambridge, MA.

Steinitz, C.F., A. Wiley, and V. Wiley
1988 “Toward the Design of a Sustainable Landscape with High Visual Preference and High Visual Integrity: A Case Study in Acadia National Park.” On file at Acadia National Park.

Stellpflug, T.O., and S.C. Deller
1989 “The Economic Structure of Mount Desert Island.” Prepared for the National Park Service, University of Maine Cooperative Extension, Mount Desert Island League of Towns, and the Maine Agricultural Experiment Station, University of Maine. Orono, ME. On file at Acadia National Park.

Wild Gardens of Acadia
1916 Sieur de Monts National Monument: Sieur de Monts Publications. Bar Harbor, ME.

Winsor, L.S.
1955 “Acadia National Park: A Study of Conservation Objectives Relating to Its Establishment and Boundary Adjustments.” Prepared for the National Park Service by Luther S. Winsor, Seventh Departmental Training Program.

PREPARERS

North Atlantic Region

Isabel Mancinelli, Team Captain, Park Planner/Landscape Architect
Bruce Jacobson, Resource Planner
Cynthia Kryston, Chief of Interpretation
Lauren McKean, Former Community Planner
Dwight Pitcaithley, Former Historian

Denver Service Center

Nat Kuykendall, Natural Resource Specialist
Maurice Miller, Transportation Planner

Acadia National Park

Robert W. Reynolds, Superintendent
Jack Hauptman, Former Superintendent
Len Bobinchock, Chief of Operations
Michael E. Healy, Administrative Officer
Deborah Wade, Chief Interpreter
James Vekasi, Civil Engineer
Norman Dodge, Chief Ranger

Consultants

Benjamin Biterman, Architect (Denver Service Center)
David Dame, Special Assistant to the Manager (Harpers Ferry Center)
Dennis Piper, Landscape Architect (Denver Service Center)
Katy Williams, Concession Specialist (North Atlantic Region)
Lois Winter, Former Outdoor Recreation Planner (North Atlantic Region)

 

Maps from Acadia General Management Plan