History, mission, methods :

Founded: 1986, 501(c)(3) nonprofit charitable organization, independent from Acadia National Park.

Mission: To preserve and protect the outstanding natural beauty, ecological vitality, and cultural distinctiveness of Acadia National Park and the surrounding communities.

Methods: Raise private funds for the park and communities, advocate before Congress, counter threats to the park, and represent users in the betterment of its operations.

Milestones:

1986-1998

• Raised $3.4 million endowment to maintain the park’s 44-mile carriage road system in perpetuity
• Halted proposed heavy timber cut on 1,600 acres of land touching the park’s Schoodic border
• Achieved, with the park, a first-in-nation legislative jet-ski ban on all ponds inside a national park
• Donated two wheelchair-accessible horse-drawn carriages and endowed their maintenance
• Constructed and endowed 4,700-foot Acadian Ridge Trail, a public footpath on conserved private property

1999-2002

• Co-developed and co-funded the fare-free, propane-powered Island Explorer public transit system
• Raised $13 million for rehabilitation of 130-mile trail system, making Acadia the first national park with an endowed trail system
• Finished construction of the Great Meadow Loop Trail and Western Mountain Connector Trail
• Obtained $1 million grant from L.L.Bean to support and expand the Island Explorer bus system

2003-2007

• Purchased 369 acres in Trenton for the Acadia Gateway Center and attracted $7 million in congressional appropriations for the project, which will lessen the impact of traffic in the MDI region
• Received an additional $1.25 million from L.L.Bean to support the Island Explorer and establish the L.L.Bean Research Fellowships and Kids in Acadia programs
• Surpassed $10 million in cumulative grants to the park and communities
• Purchased and protected 25 acres on Acadia Mountain, threatened by development

By the Numbers*

Endowments and other investments: $20 million
Grants to park & communities (1995-2007): $10.5 million
Projected grants (2008): $2.3 million
Operating budget: $5.2 million
Number of staff: 9 (full-time)
Number of FOA-funded seasonal staff serving park: 114
Number of members: 3,014
Magazine: Friends of Acadia Journal (3 issues/yr.)

*As of October 2007

Download our Accomplishments & Milestones Brochure