Fall/Winter 2013 Volume 18 No. 3 A Magazine about Acadia National Park and Surrounding Communities Friends of Acadia Journal Fall/Winter 2013 1 PURCHASE YOUR PARK PASS! Even in winter, your park pass purchase helps make possible vital maintenance projects in Acadia. Eighty percent of all fees paid in the park stay in the park…and park passes make a welcome holiday gift! The Acadia National Park $40 annual pass and $20 weekly pass ($10 in the shoulder seasons) are available all winter at the Acadia National Park Winter Visitor Center at Park Headquarters on the Eagle Lake Road in Bar Harbor. In addition, annual passes are offered for $20 each in the month of December only at these locations: Acadia National Park Winter Visitor Center Town Office of Mount Desert Town Office of Tremont Town Office of Gouldsboro For more information visit www.friendsofacadia.org President’s Message Shut Down but not out “ ’m sorry,” the Bar Harbor resident told While several meetings, events, and visits Acadia’s chief ranger Stuart West at a were cancelled, one important gathering public forum during the government did proceed on schedule. On October I th shutdown that forced Acadia’s closure in 7 , Friends of Acadia convened an initial early October, “but I can’t stay out of the conversation among 50 or so local residents park. It is part of who I am.” She contin- and organizations concerning how to help ued, “I am not taking my daily bike ride out celebrate Acadia’s centennial in 2016. On a of disrespect for you or the law. I am not dark and drizzly morning during the height making a political statement through an act of the political standoff in Washington, of civil disobedience. I just need Acadia to we were overwhelmed with the energy make me whole as a person, as a mom, and and ideas in the room, the creativity and as a teacher.” optimism, and most importantly, the sense Yes, the shutdown caused confusion, of pride and ownership that our community frustration, and real economic impact here feels for Acadia. Stay tuned and look for in our community during the two-week pe- opportunities to join the planning for what riod that saw our trailheads, parking lots, should be a historic celebration of Acadia’s and motor roads gated off while the autumn first one hundred years, and the launch foliage peaked under brilliant sunny skies. of a second century of conservation and But it was also a time of rare and vivid Yes, the shutdown caused inspiration. clarity as to the importance of Acadia to confusion, frustration, and A few weeks later, that same palpable many people’s lives and livelihoods. real economic impact here in sense of community stewardship was evi- Another community member wrote on dent at our annual Take Pride in Acadia Facebook: “Thank you George Dorr! With our community . But it event. The park was open by this time, and the government shut down, I can now was also a time of rare and while the shutdown was barely mentioned imagine what this wonderful island would if at all, there was a sense of increased ap- feel like if you and your colleagues had vivid clarity as to the impor- preciation for the magnificent setting in not purchased all that private land that tance of Acadia to many peo- which the nearly 400 volunteers worked, as would become ours, in the form of Acadia ple’s lives and livelihoods. well as a collective but unspoken message National Park. We would never have such to the carriage roads, to the park founders, easy access to the shoreline, the mountains, and to the park staff: Don’t worry, we’ve got the lakes and streams of Mount Desert fully without our essential partners at the your back. Island. Thanks, too, to our National Park National Park Service. And as the first snowflakes fall on Aca- Service stewards and Friends of Acadia, The skeleton crew of a dozen or so rang- dia this week and our volunteers shift their who have provided access to Acadia for ers who stayed on duty to ensure public attention from raking the carriage roads to nearly a century.” safety did an exemplary job in the unenvi- grooming them for cross-country skiing, all Here at Friends of Acadia, one of the able task of politely asking people to stay out of us at Friends of Acadia want to express advantages to being a an independent and of their beloved park. They interpreted the our appreciation for the commitment and nonprofit organization was that none of our orders from Washington with a healthy dose support that all of you provide to make our employees were furloughed—in fact, our of common sense, respect for the surround- work possible. � office ranks swelled as we provided extra ing communities, and appreciation for what desk space for several of FOA’s seasonal em- makes Acadia so unique. I heard from many ployees who could not report for their usual visitors who reported enjoying their time in duties within the park. the park more than ever during the shut- But at a critical time of year for wrapping down, due to the absence of motor vehicles up fieldwork, planning and budgeting for and a quieter, more peaceful atmosphere in the coming year, and serving the visiting which to enjoy Sand Beach or Otter Cliffs— public during the increasingly popular fall as well as the satisfaction from having to season, it was impossible to do our jobs work just a bit harder to get there! —David R. MacDonald Friends of Acadia Journal Fall/Winter 2013 1 BOARD OF DIRECTORS Edward L. Samek, Chair John Fassak, Vice Chair Michael Cook, Treasurer Emily Beck, Secretary Fred Benson Brownie Carson Gail Clark Hannah Sistare Clark Andrew Davis Nathaniel Fenton Chris Fogg Fall/Winter 2013 Jill Goldthwait Volume 18 No. 3 C. Boyden Gray Anne Green A Magazine about Acadia National Park and Surrounding Communities Cookie Horner Jan Kärst Jack Kelley Meredith Moriarty Lili Pew Donna Reis Jack Russell Hank Schmelzer Nonie Sullivan Christiaan van Heerden Dick Wolf Bill Zoellick HONORARY TRUSTEES Eleanor Ames Robert and Anne Bass Curtis and Patricia Blake Robert and Sylvia Blake Frederic A. Bourke Jr. Tristram and Ruth Colket Gail Cook Shelby and Gale Davis FEATURE ARTICLES Dianna Emory Frances Fitzgerald 8 Exciting Partnership with Canon U.S.A. Enables Lisa Horsch Clark Sheldon Goldthwait Neva Goodwin Inaugural Projects for a Wild Acadia Paul and Eileen Growald A committed corporate sponsor steps up for Acadia’s natural resources John and Polly Guth Paul Haertel Lee Judd 10 Rehabilitating the Sieur de Monts Spring Pool Rebecca Cole-Will and Debby Lash Where natural and cultural resources intertwine Judy Hazen Connery Linda Lewis Liz Martinez Gerrish and Phoebe Milliken 12 My Summer as a TRT DeLene Hoffner George J. and Heather Mitchell Joseph Murphy A Teacher-Ranger reflects on a once-in-a-lifetime experience Janneke Neilson Nancy Nimick Jack Perkins 14 Managing Invasive Plants in Acadia’s Gateway Communities Anna Adams Nancy Pyne A new volunteer liaison tackles problem plants on MDI Nathaniel P. Reed Ann R. Roberts David Rockefeller 16 What Is Happening to Bats on Mount Desert Island? Bruce Connery Jeannine Ross We all can help these important mammals to survive Howard Solomon Erwin Soule Diana Davis Spencer 32 Why I’m a Friend of Acadia Nate Levesque Julia Merck Utsch Lessons and Connections in Acadia EMERITUS TRUSTEES W. Kent Olson Charles R. Tyson Jr. ACTIVITIES AND DEPARTMENTS 1 President’s Message Shut Down but Not Out FRIENDS OF ACADIA STAFF Theresa Begley, Projects & Events Coordinator 3 Superintendent’s View Acadia’s Night Sky Rediscovered Mary Boëchat, Development Officer 5 Special People Priscilla and Jack Hirschenhofer Sharon Broom, Development Officer Aimee Beal Church, Communications & Outreach Coordinator 7 Where in Acadia? Stephanie Clement, Conservation Director Lisa Horsch Clark, Director of Development 21 Updates Sarah Curts, Accounting & Administrative Associate 27 Advocacy Corner An Active Fall for Acadia’s Advocates David R. MacDonald, President & CEO Diana R. McDowell, Director of Finance & Administration 28 Book Reviews Mike Staggs, Office Manager 31 Chairman’s Letter “Don’t it always seem to go . .” 2 Fall/Winter 2013 Friends of Acadia Journal Superintendent’s View Acadia’s Night Sky Rediscovered urious visitors to Acadia sometimes tember, it offers more than 40 programs for ask, “How big is the park?” The all ages and interests, including stargazing Cstraightforward answer would be programs, lectures, films, hikes, and art nearly 48,000 acres, but you could also say exhibits. It is steadily attracting more and it’s as big as the universe—just look up on a more visitors to the area during the fall clear night. For decades, the scenic beauty shoulder season: this year, around 4,600 of Acadia’s landscape has attracted visitors, people from New England and beyond par- but in recent years the night sky has re- ticipated in the 5th Annual Acadia Night Sky ceived increasing attention. Festival. Many were excited to see the Milky Once just a backdrop, the National Park Way in its full splendor for the first time. Service (NPS) now considers the night sky Another important step is to retrofit an integral part of the park and is taking outdoor lights on park facilities to reduce steps to preserve and interpret this redis- light pollution. In 2009, the NPS received covered resource. The current NPS man- a grant from the National Park Foundation agement policies, adopted in 2006, state for to assess the park’s outdoor lighting and the first time that “the Service will preserve, Travers complete a demonstration project.