ACADIA NATIONAL PARK, Maine — The number of visitors to the park increased in 2007 from the previous year, but the annual count still lags behind historical highs set in the mid-1990s, according to park officials.
Park officials released the figures this week as they met with the Acadia National Park Advisory Commission for the first time in two years. The commission’s original 20-year charter expired in 2006 and was not renewed by Congress until earlier this year.
Charlie Jacobi, recreation specialist for the park, told the commission on Monday that Acadia had 2.2 million visitors last year, the highest total since 2004, when it had slightly more than that amount. Acadia’s busiest summer since 1990 was in 1995, when 2.8 million people visited the park.
“The general trend has been downward since 1995,” Jacobi told the commission.
He added, however, that the park does not count the number of people who enter the park on the seasonal Island Explorer bus system because there is no established method for determining how many Island Explorer riders are park visitors. He said recent figures indicate that the free, propane-powered bus system carries about 350,000 passengers each summer.
“How many [park visitors] that is, who knows?” he said of the Island Explorer statistic.
The commission also heard of efforts by park rangers to curb illegal activities in the park. Ranger Kevin Cochary said that though rangers occasionally find marijuana plants and unsanctioned campsites in the park, poaching of vegetation and other resources are more common offenses.
Rangers have found illegal all-terrain vehicle and snowmobile trails in the park, particularly on the west side of Mount Desert Island, and have found people removing trees, ferns and rocks, and even dumping waste in Acadia, Cochary said.
“Commonly, people are dumping their lawn clippings [across shared boundaries] into the park,” he said. “[But] not everyone is intentionally damaging the park. Sometimes they don’t realize they’re in the park.”
To help inform the public and abutting landowners, the park has been erecting markers to indicate where its boundary lies, Cochary said. Sixty-five miles of the park’s boundary has been so marked, he said, with 22 more miles to go.
The commission also heard about collaborative education and research programs at the Schoodic Education and Research Center at Schoodic Point, on the eastern side of Frenchman Bay, and about park officials’ concerns about the possible development of 3,200 acres of privately owned property abutting the park’s Schoodic section. The Modena family of Italy, which owns the land, has announced plans for an “ecoresort” development project but has yet to submit a proposal for regulatory approval.
“This could literally change the character of the entire peninsula over there if it is developed intensively,” Acadia Superintendent Sheridan Steele said.
Steele also told the commission that the National Park Service still is investigating an alleged assault by a park ranger of a Jordan Pond House employee who was hiking with friends on Day Mountain during the early morning hours of Aug. 18. The investigation likely won’t be completed for another few weeks, he said.
After the meeting, commission and park officials said they are glad Congress reauthorized the commission until 2026. The reauthorization is retroactive to 2006, meaning commission members at that time can resume their roles with fewer procedural hurdles than they would have faced if Congress had decided to review the entire commission-creation process again.
“It means a valuable opportunity for public input has been restored,” commission chairman Steven Katona of Bar Harbor said of the congressional approval.
Len Bobinchock, Acadia’s deputy superintendent, said the commission has proved to be the most effective way for the park to communicate directly with residents. The commission meetings help the park publicize park issues and get feedback from people who are most directly affected by activity in the park, he said,
“Not having [the commission] is a disadvantage to the park and to the public,” Bobinchock said.
The next commission meeting is scheduled for 1 p.m. Monday, Feb. 2, 2009, at park headquarters on Route 233.
On 9/18/08 at 8:01 AM,
ajw2424 wrote:
Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden
I live in Bangor and I find myself in Bar Harbor a few times a year and I can tell you that if it wasn't $20 to get into the park itself I'd visit much more often. I personally think that's very high when often times we'd like to just drive around the Park Loop Road and not even stop and do anything.
On 9/18/08 at 8:49 AM,
anonon wrote:
Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden
Thanks for thew follow up on the abuse report BDN ,,,,now keep on it and give the final outcome of the investigation to the brutal force against the hiker, maybe this has something to the decline in tourisim in acadia,maybe the visitors are being harassed and tormented by the rangers, mabe a survey would be good at visitor center and comment boxes at areas like the sand beach hikeing trails and other stops around acadia to see what people really think about the rangers.
On 9/18/08 at 1:33 PM,
ryanrrobbins wrote:
Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden
AJW, you can buy a season's pass for $20 every December if you're willing to drive to the park to get it, or you can pay $40 for a season's pass for $40. That's a great deal. I buy mine every year. And even though I haven't used mine yet this year, I'll recoup the cost just by going twice, on different weeks, within the next month.
On 9/18/08 at 4:16 PM,
baltimorean wrote:
Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden
I have never heard complaints about rangers harassing park visitors. However, I have heard countless complaints about people engaging in noisy, disruptive, and sometimes illegal behavior (i.e. excessive/ underage drinking or drug use) that ruins the experience for other visitors and their families. Maybe that has something to do with the decline in tourism.
On 9/22/08 at 1:37 PM,
anonon wrote:
Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden
Baltamorean: there have been 2 people that have commented from out of the State of maine that said that the Rangers have made their trips unmemorable and could care less if they returned again. So you better read up on the comments.
On 9/22/08 at 4:52 PM,
SteveyDee wrote:
Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden
baltimorean, do you know any SMIBS? As in St. Marys County people LOL!!!!!!!!!!
On 9/26/08 at 7:30 AM,
anonon wrote:
Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden
Ok!!!!!!!!
I think it is time for another update on the hiker situation.
By now I would imagine that the ranger that was involved with the ill temper that used brutal force on the hiker has returned to the are in which he was dispatched from. As I said before I bet we will never hear the outcome of this one. I think that the bangor daily news should follow up and get the results of the investigation. It is piss poor to run a story and not follow up and let the public know the results.
Post a comment about this story
You must be logged in to post a comment.
click here to log in.
