For all its successes, FOA is still facing challenges. In particular, many of its members are concerned about the escalating tide of local development. In the past 20 years, many have decided to make the area a full-time home rather than just a vacation destination. Development has encroached on the park, setting off alarms about water quality in particular, which is already vulnerable to the acid rains prevalent in a region that is home to so many big cities.
‘People use fertiliser, landscape their property, lay tarmac,’ says David Manski, the park’s resource management chief. ‘If it gets into the water supply and estuaries, then we could see the same kind of algae blooms that have done such damage to marine life in other parts of the country.’
The juxtaposition of park land and civilian populations is the source of a tenuous balancing act: businesses want to expand to take advantage of the tourists, but expansion unchecked will ultimately destroy the reason tourists are coming in the first place.
Recent plans for an ‘eco-resort’ by an Italian developer on Schoodic peninsula have caused a great deal of concern. Businessman Bruno Modena’s proposals for golf courses, lodges, and homes have worried many who fear that the balance between conservation and development will be completely up-ended.
The strip of highway leading to Mount Desert Island provides a cautionary tale of unrestrained development. Travellers must run the gauntlet of gargantuan Walmarts, Home Depots, and shopping malls on their way to the park.
‘Acadia is an economic resource to the community, and the community knows that,’ says O’Byrne. ‘We understand that there are land-owner rights. We just want to balance that with the impact on the larger community.’
For all the concerns about development, however, Acadia still makes it easy for even the casual visitor to escape the crowds.
‘I have a favourite trail that meanders along a mountainside and opens out to a lovely view of the ocean and surrounding islands,’ says O’Byrne. ‘It’s my secret place and I’m not going to tell you where it is.’
Find out more
Acadia National Park
www.nps.gov/acad/index.htm
This is a wonderful overview of Acadia’s history and challenges. Once people experience the park, whether rock climbing 60 feet over the pounding surf on Otter Cliffs or kayaking with a group in Western Bay at sunset, they are sure to come to CARE about Acadia, too. Every guide or tour I know are sensitive stewards of this eco-system. And the great restaurants on Mount Desert Island support organic farmers and cheese makers there as well. For an insider’s view of exploring, eating, and relaxing during a trip to Acadia, your readers can supplement the U.S. National Park Service Web site with this one:
http://www.ouracadia.com