FRIENDS OF ACADIA PROJECTS

Membership in FOA supports conservation efforts in Acadia and the communities. If you would like more information about our projects or would like to support our work, please contact Terry Begleyat 207-288-3340 or terry@friendsofacadia.org.

Annually, over 3,000 Friends of Acadia Stewardship Volunteers contribute thousands of hours in Acadia National Park, clearing drainage along carriage roads to reduce erosion, re-opening and maintaining vistas, cutting along park boundaries for fire protection, maintaining village connector trails, and reconstructing existing and abandoned trails. Friends of Acadia provides transportation, tools, training, and the salaries of two field crew leaders to organize volunteer activities through the summer.

Acadia Youth Conservation Corps using a highline to move rocks on the Pond Trail

Through the Acadia Trails Forever program, Friends of Acadia supports maintenance of Acadia's 130-mile footpath system, used by hundreds of thousands of people each year. Some trails have been made wheelchair accessible. Some abandoned trails are being restored, and new village connector trails are being established to encourage people to walk (rather than drive) from island towns into the park.

This summer, Friends of Acadia and Acadia National Park initiated an Acadia Youth Technology Team – four high-school-aged interns and two leaders – working to generate and assess ideas on the best ways to use technology as a portal, rather than an obstacle, to engage young people in nature.

The Acadia Youth Conservation Corps (AYCC) employs 16 high school students and 4 Acadia NP leaders for 8 weeks each summer. They make visible improvements to Acadia's trails and carriage roads, reconstruct stone drainages and retaining walls, clear vistas, cut wood at campgrounds, and assist wherever else needed. FOA provides salaries and equipment and the park provides leadership and training. (Housing not provided.)

The Island Explorer is a fare-free, seasonal, propane-powered bus system that runs through Acadia National Park and its surrounding gateway communities. Since its first day of operation in 1999, more than 3,711,000 passengers have ridden the buses. An estimated 1,373,687 private vehicle trips have been eliminated, along with 20 tons of smog causing pollutants and 13,000 tons of greenhouse gases. Friends of Acadia has been involved with the bus system since its inception. FOA has secured $3 million in funding from L.L.Bean to enable continued growth of this innovative transportation system.

Ridge runner Katie builds a cairn with volunteers.

FOA grants funds toward the ongoing upkeep of Acadia’s 44 miles of historic carriage roads. Off-limits to motorized vehicles, the scenic gravel roads and stone bridges are used by hikers, runners, bicyclists, and equestrians.

Ridge Runners work with park staff to monitor visitor use on mountain summits..

Each year Friends of Acadia funds several interns to work in Acadia, with park staff. Ridge Runners and the Recreation Technician are typically college-age students who serve as roving educators and researchers in the park. They are hired and trained by park rangers to spend the summer hiking Acadia's trails, educating hikers in "Leave No Trace" principles, performing light trail maintenance, and carrying out trail censuses and other park research.

The Wild Gardens of Acadia at Sieur de Monts offer park visitor an award-winning microcosm of Acadia's uniquely varied plant communities in a serene brookside setting. Planned and maintained by volunteers since 1961, the Gardens are now supported by Friends of Acadia, who hires a head gardener and assists with fundraising, publicity, and administrative tasks.

Since 1996, Friends of Acadia has been putting Village Connector Trails on the map. These trails re-establish the tradition of walking and/or biking into Acadia National Park, into town, and in neighborhoods. Village connector trails enhance the character of Mount Desert Island's villages, and improve the quality of the island's air by reducing the number of cars on island and park roads and at trailheads. Connector trails complement the Island Explorer buses, providing another option to get into the park, out into quiet landscapes, or to in-town destinations. The trails provide an opportunity for a long, one-way hike or bike ride with a return by bus.

Friends of Acadia also helps fund the Peregrine Falcon/Hawk Watch program. Each year, thousands of visitors to Acadia National Park attend a Peregrine Falcon/Hawk Watch program to learn more about the 13 species of raptors that migrate through this area. Spotting scopes are set up at the base of the Precipice so visitors can view nesting peregrine falcons. On Cadillac Mountain, binoculars are used to watch birds of prey circling overhead. An intern helps visitors identify the birds while discussing their biology and protection efforts.