OUR VISION
Friends of Acadia seeks an Acadia National Park that is the best funded, best managed, and best maintained national park for its size and volume of use. Mt. Desert Island is distinguished by its intact natural character and the quality of village life. The air is clean, the water pure. Low-emissions public transit, funded primarily by park entry fees, contributes to conserving Acadiaís special qualities. Park visitation conforms to sensible carrying capacities. People feel a powerful reverence for their great national park and its host island. They want to keep this place beautiful for all generations. They help protect its outstanding natural, cultural and economic attributes by supporting Friends of Acadia.
OUR MISSION
The Mission of Friends of Acadia is to protect the outstanding
natural beauty, ecological vitality, and cultural distinctiveness of
Acadia National Park and the surrounding communities, and
thereby to ensure a high quality experience for
visitors and residents.
OUR OPERATING PHILOSOPHY
To accomplish our mission,
- We advocate. We advance park interests before Congress and the Maine Legislature, within the National Park Service and other federal, state or local bodies, and among the general public.
- We make grants. We raise private funds for select capital projects in Acadia and for its enlightened stewardship, creating sustainable revenues through endowments where appropriate. We strive to supplement federal funds and services, not replace them.
- We nullify threats. We mobilize people and forge nonprofit alliances to neutralize threats to park and community resources.
- We promote excellent management. We speak for responsible users in the continual betterment of park operations.
- We operate independently. We function as a free-standing nonprofit, supportive of the park but independent from it. We reserve the right to differ respectfully.
- We seek a broad membership. We seek to maximize the number of park defenders, stewards and donors. We encourage every visitor to join Friends of Acadia as a means of giving something back to the park for the privilege of experiencing it.
- We enhance communities. We promote conservation in border communities through programs and grants that enhance their natural character and complement park values.
- We support volunteerism. We supply a corps of motivated volunteers to meet designated park needs, including the upkeep of foot paths and carriage roads.
- We produce tangible results. We achieve measurable results from programs and funds expended.
- We leverage donated funds. We operate on a sound financial basis, leveraging member dues and other gifts to bring the highest conservation return per donated dollar.
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