Spring 2016 Volume 21 No. 1 A Magazine about Acadia National Park and Surrounding Communities Friends of Acadia Journal Spring 2016 1 PURCHASE YOUR PARK PASS! Whether driving, walking, bicycling, or riding the Island Explorer through the park, we all must pay the entrance fee. Eighty percent of all fees paid in Acadia stay in Acadia, to be used for projects that directly benefit park visitors and resources. The Acadia National Park $25 weekly pass and $50 annual pass are available at the following locations: Open Seasonally: Bar Harbor Village Green Blackwoods and Seawall Campgrounds Open Year-Round: Hulls Cove Visitor Center Acadia National Park Headquarters Jordan Pond and Cadillac Mountain Gift Shops (Eagle Lake Road) Sand Beach Entrance Station Thompson Island Information Center Annual park passes are also available at certain Acadia-area town offices and local businesses; contact the park at 207-288-3338 to find additional pass sales locations. NEW! Park passes are now available online. Visit www.yourpassnow.com President’s Message Supporting AcAdiA’S VolunteerS hen Friends of Acadia received ations will enjoy for its next hundred years an invitation this winter to tes- and hopefully well beyond. Wtify as part of a hearing of the Of course, it takes financial resources to U.S. House of Representatives Committee support and supply volunteers, and allow on Natural Resources to discuss funding them to maximize their impact—and even ideas for the National Park Service at the then, volunteer programs should never launch of its second century, we were hon- replace the fundamental responsibility of ored to accept. As I sweated through one Congress to provide adequate funding for cancelled flight out of Bangor and then a our national parks. This was part of my re- lengthy de-icing on the runway as I worked ply to Chairman Bishop and his fellow com- on my testimony, the fiscal challenges fac- mittee members during the hearing: that ing Acadia were foremost on my mind. FOA is proud to continue the long tradition The annual appropriation from Con- of philanthropy and volunteerism at Acadia, gress to support Acadia’s operations has but that it requires a continued investment remained flat over the last ten years—trans- by Congress in order to succeed. lating to a 10% decrease of buying power in FOA Since then, the federal funding picture today’s dollars—despite ever-growing visi- for Acadia has actually brightened (though tation and demands on the park. The ability people to contribute their time, talent, en- we are not so naïve to credit FOA’s testi- for park staff to actually budget and plan thusiasm, and ideas each year has enriched mony for the progress!). Congress and the for the coming year has been severely chal- Acadia in ways impossible to capture on the White House agreed on an FY2016 budget lenged by Washington’s tendency to patch balance sheet. that included modest increases for national one temporary budget resolution onto an- As you read through this issue of the park operating budgets and project-specific other year after year. What could I say in Journal, you will find volunteers interwo- funding for the NPS centennial, as well as my five minutes (and not a second more) ven through practically every story we tell: land acquisition funds directed to Acadia of testimony to convey the importance of planning the Acadia Centennial and recruit- for the first time in many years. Maine’s federal funding for Acadia amidst the $1.1 ing community partners; surveying visitors Congressional delegation deserves credit for trillion federal budget bill? for their feedback about their experience its unwavering support for our park, and it While I came ready with facts and fig- during September’s car-free morning at is my hope that 2016 will bring even more ures—and examples of how our private do- Acadia; grooming Acadia’s carriage roads reasons to grow the partnership to protect nors were particularly motivated by seeing for cross-country skiing and snowshoeing; our beloved Acadia. their gifts matched and leveraged with pub- helping to re-claim scenic vistas through- In the meantime, I know that with spring lic dollars—I was surprised that committee out Acadia’s motor road and carriage road many FOA volunteers are glad to get back members had another topic on their minds: network; maintaining the Wild Gardens of outside on Acadia’s trails and carriage roads, the role of volunteers in parks. What was Acadia. in the Wild Gardens, and other areas where FOA’s experience with volunteers? What Behind each of these projects are people their effort makes such a critical difference motivated them? How could we do more to who are inspired by Acadia. Many are aware for the park. If you see them, thank them attract and retain them? of the extraordinary foresight and generos- for their work—and for inspiring so many Looking back now, I realize I should not ity that went into setting these lands aside of us to become involved in protecting have been surprised. While one tends to for public enjoyment one hundred years Acadia! � fall back on dollars and cents to describe ago, and many are proud to be part of a tra- the impact of FOA, the contributions of our dition of dedication and hard work that has citizen volunteers are in fact the heart and maintained and enhanced the park in the soul of our organization and the very reason decades since then. I suspect that most feel why FOA was formed thirty years ago. The a pride of ownership of this public land— —David R. MacDonald volunteer program at Acadia is recognized their land—as well as a desire to give back nationally as a model partnership between to a place that has enriched their lives, as a national agency and the local commu- part of a commitment to ensure Acadia con- nity. The willingness of many hundreds of tinues to thrive as a place that future gener- Friends of Acadia Journal Spring 2016 1 BOARD OF DIRECTORS Edward L. Samek, Chair Hank Schmelzer, Treasurer John Fassak, Vice Chair Emily Beck, Secretary Fred Benson Jack Kelley Brownie Carson Rob Leary Gail Clark Story Litchfield Spring 2016 Hannah Sistare Clark Meredith Moriarty Andrew Davis Lili Pew Volume 21 No. 1 Bill Eacho Donna Reis Nathaniel Fenton Jack Russell A Magazine about Acadia National Park and Surrounding Communities Jill Goldthwait Nonie Sullivan C. Boyden Gray Christiaan van Heerden Anne Green Julie Veilleux Cookie Horner Bill Zoellick Linda Jensen HONORARY TRUSTEES Eleanor Ames Liz Martinez Robert and Anne Bass Phoebe Milliken Curtis and Patricia Blake George J. and Heather Sylvia Blake Mitchell Frederic A. Bourke Jr. Joseph Murphy Tristram and Ruth Colket Janneke Neilson Gail Cook Nancy Nimick Shelby and Gale Davis Jack Perkins Dianna Emory Nancy Pyne Frances Fitzgerald Nathaniel P. Reed Sheldon Goldthwait Ann R. Roberts Neva Goodwin David Rockefeller Paul and Eileen Growald Jeannine Ross Polly Guth Howard Solomon Paul Haertel Erwin Soule FEATURE ARTICLES Lee Judd Diana Davis Spencer 8 A Sense of Immensity Ronald H. Epp Debby Lash Julia Merck Utsch Linda Lewis Dick Wolf A historical perspective on Acadia Transportation 10 Immersion in the Landscape Tom Blagden and Ken Olson EMERITUS TRUSTEES A conversation about a new book on Acadia W. Kent Olson Charles R. Tyson Jr. 14 New Exhibits for a Changing Climate Lynne Dominy FRIENDS OF ACADIA STAFF David R. MacDonald Redesigning the Sieur de Monts Nature Center Mary Boëchat President & CEO Development Officer Diana R. McDowell 16 Celebrating Our Past and Inspiring Our Future! Aimee Beal Church Sharon Broom Director of Finance & Top stories from the first months of the Acadia Centennial Development Officer Administration Aimee Beal Church Carol Potter 30 The Acadia Digital Quest and 100-Mile Challenge Kerry Gallivan Communications Director Finance & Development Using technology to connect kids and adults with nature Assistant Stephanie Clement Conservation Director Mike Staggs 32 Why I’m a Friend of Acadia Tom Ayers Office Manager Finding Depth in the Details Lisa Horsch Clark Director of Development Paige Steele Conservation Projects Sarah Curts Manager Accounting & ACTIVITIES AND DEPARTMENTS Administrative Associate Julia Walker Thomas Communications Assistant 1 President’s Message Supporting Acadia’s Volunteers Shawn Keeley Senior Development Officer 3 Superintendent’s View Envisioning the Next 100 Years 5 Special Person Betty Massie: Ambassador for Acadia 7 Where in Acadia? 18 Development Notes Celebrating the Annual Benefit’s LoyalPRST AuctionSTD Donors 20 Updates U.S. POSTAGE 27 Recommended Reading PAID 31 Chairman’s Letter 100 Years: Looking BackLEWISTON, and Moving MAINE Forwards PERMIT #82 2 Spring 2016 Friends of Acadia Journal n Blagde m To Friends of Acadia preserves, protects, and promotes stewardship of the outstanding natural beauty, ecological vitality, and distinctive cultural resources of Acadia National Park and surrounding communities for the inspiration and enjoyment of current and future generations. Friends of Acadia 43 Cottage Street PO Box 45 Bar Harbo r, Maine 04609 207-288-3340 800-625-0321 Superintendent’s View Envisioning thE nExt 100 YEars s I write my first of many columns This summer we’re going to welcome for the Friends of Acadia Journal, I nearly three million visitors to this incredible Aam wrapping up my second week park for our 100th birthday. And if our on the job as superintendent of Acadia Na- visitation goes up another 10% as it did last tional Park and Saint Croix Island Interna- year we may cross that 3 million mark. How tional Historic Site. With 2016 marking the are we going to serve the needs of these celebration of the Acadia Centennial and visitors? How will we deal with that many the centennial of the National Park Ser- cars on a relatively small island? How are we vice, this is an incredibly exciting time to going to insure that we don’t compromise be coming to Acadia to serve as the park’s the values, resources, and experiences that fourteenth superintendent.