ACADIA NATIONAL PARK ADVISORY COMMISSION MEETING
Acadia National Park Headquarters
Bar Harbor, Maine
June 03, 2024 1:00 p.m.
ATTENDANCE:
Ben ‘Lee’ Worcester, Chair
G. Bruce Wiersma, Vice Chair
Carl Brooks, Member
Darron Collins, Member
Jeffrey Clapp, Member
Fred Ehrlenbach, Member
Kirk Emerson, Member
Jacqueline Johnston, Member
Carolyn Gothard, Member
Ken Smith, Member
Kendall Davis, Member
Howie Motenko, Member
Matt Horton, Member
Pearl Barto, Member
Stephen Shea, Member
Kevin Schneider, Superintendent, ANP
Brandon Bies, Deputy Superintendent, ANP
Darren Belskis, Chief of Visitor & Resource Protection, ANP
Keith Johnston, Chief of Facilities, ANP
Matt Outhier, Chief of Project Management, ANP
Amanda Pollock, Public Affairs Officer, ANP
John Kelly, Management Assistant, ANP
Eric Stiles, President & CEO, Friends of Acadia
Nick Fisichelli, President & CEO, Schoodic Institute
Congressional Representatives
Members of the Public
Staff of ANP
News Media
ABSENT MEMBERS:
Bonnie Newsom
PLATFORM:
In-person & Virtual via Zoom
OPENING REMARKS
The Commission Chair, Ben (Lee) Worcester, called the meeting of the Acadia National Park Advisory Commission, Monday, June 03, 2024, 1:00 p.m. to order.
APPROVAL OF THE AGENDA
A motion was made by Matt Horton and seconded by Darron Collins to accept the agenda for the June 03, 2024, meeting; all approved as is, no opposed. Motion carries.
APPROVAL OF THE MINUTES
A motion was made by Fred Ehrlenbach and seconded by Ken Smith to accept the minutes of February 5, 2024. All approved, no opposed. Motion carries.
SUPERINTENDENT’S REPORT
WELCOME – Kevin Schneider, Superintendent
Park Updates (Kevin Schneider)
Annual Budget
- Our annual budget is $9.2 million which is $100,000 less than 2023. We have a tight budget with 25 year-round positions vacant. There is a staff hiring freeze. It has been difficult recruiting seasonals with only 110 positions filled out of 150-175 advertised.
Bluffs Vista Cutting
- Maine Department of Transportation (MDOT) has cleared along Route 3. It still needs to be cleared around the signs.
Employee Housing Update
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The design is completed for 28 beds (4 units) at Harden Farms. Solicitation should be going out in the next few weeks for bids to construct with construction presumably beginning after the end of the fiscal year. It is a combination of funding sources, Friends of Acadia, National Park Foundation, and federal dollars. Rent will be less than the actual market but does have to be charged because we cannot provide free housing to employees.
There are additional beds that we may begin design for at Harden Farms in FY2025 on top of the 28 that we have awarded design for to come out of housing improvement funds.
We have 7 employees who live in Island Housing Trust homes they purchased. We could explore other options. We are exploring public/private partnerships and the laws.
Town Hill Parcel – in 2022, 30 acres was transferred to the Town of Bar Harbor for workforce housing. The boundary survey and wetlands delineation will be completed in August (2024). The town has sent a letter to abutters informing them to the project and letting them know there will be a public listening session. They will come up with a comprehensive plan. 15 acres was retained by the National Park Service for workforce housing.
Seawall Road
- Maine Department of Transportation (MDOT) owns and operates Seawall Road. It is on park land. We have had two storms earlier this year. In February, a permit was issued to MDOT to repair. The road is important to access Seawall Campground, Seawall Picnic Area, Wonderland, etc. It also contains our water, power, and data lines. The Island Explorers uses this route Their routes have been modified for the upcoming season because the road has not been repaired. Ultimately, MDOT is responsible to make the decision and repairs of the road. This s an example of how climate change plays a role. We will continue to partner with MDOT, and they will be holding a public meeting, scheduled for June 27th at the Tremon Town Office at 6:00 p.m.
Concessions
- We have selected a new concessionaire at Wildwood Stables. Carriages of Acadia. They have added an online reservation system.
Acadia Gateway Center (John Kelly)
- The Trenton Acadia Gateway Center is now a reality. It has been 20 years in the making. There will be an 11,000 square foot transit and welcome center. Acadia National Park and Friends of Acadia have been funding partners with Maine Department of Transportation. The estimated opening date will be May 2025. Thank you to the Town of Trenton and Fred Ehrlenbach for their support.
Island Explorer (John Kelly)
- Total ridership on the Island Explorer since 1999 is over 9 million. Park fees help fund this fare-free transit. This year they have hired 96 drives with a CDL (Commercial Driver’s License) to run full service and are hiring 20 other seasonal employees to assist people with routes and the transit system. They hope to replace 23 propane buses, purchased in 2019, with electric buses.
Updates on Construction/Maintenance Projects (Brandon Bies)
Bridge Work
- Work has been completed on 2 historic carriage road bridges with historical preservation work. Work was done through our partner, Federal Highways Administration. The contractor did a great job.
Paving on Cadillac
- Paving on the Cadillac Mountain Road is completed. Culverts were previously replaced. Also, the Blue Hill parking lot has been paved. Minor striping still needs to be done.
Otter Creek Causeway
Wildwood Stables
- The board floor in Wildwood Stables is being removed and replaced with a solid floor. We are not getting rid of the floor entirely. The stable floor will be separated by a waterproof membrane that keeps matters from leaching into the dirt. It will be porous, and it is based on recent designs in other states.
Maintenance Facility
- The new maintenance facility is moving along.
Schoodic Water/Wastewater
- We are close to wrapping up the water/wastewater system at Schoodic. There has been an underground electrical failure at Schoodic which we are currently looking into.
Storm Damage (Matt Outhier)
Matt shared a PowerPoint presentation.
- There is some damage on Sand Beach, to the left of the stairs is a landslide area and we have done a bit of mapping by the sand dunes, which is getting bad.
- Rockefeller Hall roof damage, part of the Hall is closed now to mitigate wet plaster.
- 30 other roofs were damaged.
- Little Hunter Beach landslide – 18–20-foot vertical break close to Park Loop Road.
- Ocean path washout: the trails crew has been working on a temporary fix for the season and did an excellent job.
- When we get funding is the big driver for more repairs. We can put in the request, and we are hopeful for a supplemental. We have engineers coming out this week to look at some of the bigger ticket items. We are in the contracting process.
- Schoodic Loop Road has undermining and has shoulder loss.
- Seawall Picnic Area, downed trees and rocks washed over the roads and picnic area.
- Bear Island Boathouse has significant damage to the siding.
- The Blue Duck Boathouse has structural damage and damaged foundation.
Fire Risk (Kevin Schneider)
- There are a lot of downed trees, and we have a fire division with an engine captain and staff with an engine, as well as other employees. We do not have a Fire Management Officer as he left in the spring. We did have a fire earlier this spring, but it was suppressed quickly. We monitor and we have a Fire Management Plan. And we work closely with the Forest Service, and we have great partnerships with our local agencies. We do encourage landowners and communities to create defensible space. Compared to the past, we have a lot more resources and better accessibility, including access to helicopters dropping water. We have a better fire regime. We had a small fire at Sieur de Mont earlier this spring where a helicopter dropped a couple buckets of water on it. It was suppressed quickly, thank you to our local agencies. The fire was human caused but we don’t know the actual cause.
OLD BUSINESS
None
NEW BUSINESS
Update on Election of Officers (Howie Motenko)
- Announcement of nomination for election of 2024 Officers
- The following nominations were made, and all have agreed to continue if nominated and accepted by the full commission.
- Ben “Lee” Worcester, Chair
- G. Bruce Wiersma, Vice Chair
- Howie Motenko, Secretary
Ken Smith made a motion to accept the nominees for ANP Advisory Commission Chair, Vice Chair and Secretary as listed for the 2024-2025 year. It was seconded by Matt Horton. All accepted, No opposed. Motion carries.
COMMITTEE REPORTS
Science & Education Committee – Bruce Wiersma
The full committee met and went on a great field trip to Great Meadow, led by Becky Cole-Will, Chief of Cultural & Resource Management, and Kate Petrie, Education Coordinator. Thank you to Abe Miller Rushing for organizing it. We got to look at the restoration efforts at Great Meadow and looked at Sieur de Mont. The product they are applying is state of the art science. This is a project worth doing. It will be a long time before we will be seeing results.
Fred Ehrlenbach made the motion to accept the report as stated. Kendal Davis seconded. All accepted. No opposed. Motion carries.
Park Use Committee – Jackie Johnston
Jackie shared a PowerPoint presentation of the committee’s review of Acadia National Park’s firing range. There is use by non-park law enforcement as well but is not as frequent. The range is made available to the Fish & Wildlife Service, US Coast Guard, the Mount Desert Police Departments, and the Bar Harbor Police Department. Records show that since 2018, area law enforcement agencies used it about 13 times. Past emergency training supported broader engagement with the Department of Natural Resources, Marine Patrol, Maine Warden Service, Maine State Police and other federal and local agencies. As many know, Park Rangers often team with local law enforcement in cross- jurisdictional incidents and emergency situations.
The range facilities are used for only official qualification training practice. Only agency approved firearms are used and approved. The range safety officer is always present during each National Park Service operated range used and rangers are in regular contact with their dispatch. Park Rangers must meet minimum policy requirements to include two passing firearms qualifications and eight hours of firearms training per year. Firearms proficiency and professional standards that officers must maintain requires regular practice well beyond minimum policy standards. Maintaining proficiency is necessary to carry out their responsibility safely. The job requirements often include individuals traveling to remote locations. Statistics show that within the federal government our DOI folks and officers have the highest risks of being assaulted. We have policies in place for maintenance and reporting.
I will add, I parked near local houses with my dog for 90 minutes while the range was in use. There was a distant echo, but I did not find it to be very intrusive.
It is the recommendation of the Park Use Committee that use of the existing Park Firing Range continues as it is currently being operated.
Kevin Schneider: We will do everything we can to mitigate the sound.
Fred Ehrlenbach made a motion to accept the Park Use Committee’s report and recommendation as stated. Kendall Davis seconded. All accepted. No opposed. Motion carries.
Lands Committee – Darron Collins
At the February 5 meeting the Advisory Commission, the Lands Committee was charged for reviewing the proposal for expanding the boat launch. And then to come back and make a recommendation to this commission. The Land Committee, to include Ken Smith, Lee Worcester, Kirk Emerson, Howie Motenko, and myself, Darron Collins, with park liaison, Emily Seger Pagan, Land Resource Specialist, met via zoom on March 29 at 0930. We discussed the proposal in length and considered the ecological footprint and the costs, and the current use. And importantly, we also considered discussions from the February meeting as to whether policies could or should be implemented at the federal level that might allow Acadia National Park to simply give away land instead of engaging with a land swap process between the federal government and the town. And as a committee, we acknowledge that the park has no authority is to simply give away land. We did not feel it was the purview of the lands committee to weigh in on whether such policy change would be feasible or beneficial. With the universal agreement across those issues, we proposed a motion that reads as follows, recognizing that the units within the National Park Service does not have the legal authority to donate lands. National Park lands are of national interest. We recommend that any expansion of the Otter Creek boat launch should be realized through a land exchange agreement between Acadia National Park and the town of Mount Desert. The motion was carried by unanimous vote of five in favor and zero opposed. And zero abstentions. That is our recommendation.
Ken Smith made the motion to accept the report as stated. Fred Ehrlenbach seconded. Fourteen accepted. One opposed (Brooks) Motion carries.
Durlin Lunt, Town Manager Town of Mount Desert: Thank you to the Lands Committee and for allowing my presentation last meeting. I will take your recommendation to our Selectboard and see how they want to proceed.
History Committee – No Report
FRIENDS OF ACADIA –Eric Stiles, President and CEO
The 2023 Impact Report is posted online. The 2024 Annual Meeting will be held at the Bar Harbor Club on July 10th. This is an opportunity to meet with supporters, community members, etc. It is free and open and I encourage you to attend.
The Wild Gardens of Acadia plant sale is coming up on June 15 from 9 AM to noon at the St. John's Episcopal Church. The proceeds will help fund the Wild Gardens of Acadia Friends of Acadia made a $1 million contribution to the Acadia Gateway Center. We received a one-half million-dollar grant from the National Park Foundation to put solar panels on the new maintenance building. This will save around $70 to $80,000 a year, which Acadia can invest in staffing.
We are hosting Pints for Purpose this Thursday evening, 5:00 pm. There is a large variety of people attending from for local community, to visitors and seasonals. There are amazing lectures and will be held every Thursday through the end of September.
We had a very successful 23rd Annual Earth Day Roadside cleanup with 259 volunteers who collected about 340 trash bags.
We are on task and on budget for completion this October for the Dane Farm Project. I want to thank Howie as he has been very helpful in engaging the neighborhood. Friends of Acadia purchased a 4.25-acre inholding at the request of the national park. At the request of the park, we are putting in a five-bedroom unit and a three-bedroom unit using their vendors and their designs. This is where I have to give a shout out to Senator Collins, Senator King, Representative Golden, as well as Representative Pingree, who have been outstanding advocates for the park in DC. I have never worked with a better delegation.
Just a few things to recognize: Sens. Collins and King with the congressionally directed spending for appropriations for the Stonington landing of the Isle au Haut boat ferry services. That is absolutely essential. Senator King had been leading on elevating the need for a housing solution for the national parks and his staff here and in DC is doing an excellent job. Representative Golden is a tireless champion for recreation and Shelly Pingree has also been wonderful to work with as a leader on national parks appropriations. I want to thank our congressional delegation for doing an amazing job. That being said, we need to give Acadia National Park more resources and support. While the park’s visitation has doubled, our permanent staff is down 25%. I want to see what we can do to increase funding for this amazing national park. But also, for America's greatest lands.
Ben Worcester: Does anybody have any questions? Thank you very much. On to Schoodic Institute.
SCHOODIC INSTITUTE UPDATE – Nick Fisichelli, President & CEO, Schoodic Institute
Thank you to Bruce Wiersma and the Science and Education Committee for getting me out in the field today. I don’t get out in the field as much as I would like to, and I appreciate it. This winter was a doozy. You saw that in the slides presented by Matt and certainly that was true on the Peninsula and at Schoodic Institute campus. There was a huge amount of damage from those storms. Currently 4-5 buildings at Schoodic are without power. Despite this, we are busier than ever.
We have had 80 people on the payroll this year already. But half of those are science and education staff. Most of the rest are hospitality and operations, especially kitchen and housekeeping staff. For seasonal positions, specifically science and education positions, we drew from all over the country, 13 different states, just for the staff who are already here. About 80% are from Maine, but we have folks from California, Colorado, Massachusetts, New York, etc. We tried to hire local from the state but also bring in folks from away to show them the great place that we have here.
Projects that we are working on include a lot of Climate Adaptation work, big restoration projects for the Great Meadow and Bass Harbor Marsh and the summits. We have a lot of intertidal and bird ecology projects. Environmental Education is ongoing, and the Schoodic Education Adventure is ongoing that Kate Petrie leads. There were a couple hundred students here for the program. The Maine Association for New Americans was here in the spring which brings immigrants to the campus to immerse in the National Park experience at Schoodic.
An international workshop was held at Schoodic, led by the National Park Service Office of International Affairs. We hosted a group of international conservation professionals. Represented was Australia, Belgium, Sweden, Italy, the UK, Canada, and South Africa. The partnerships we have here were on display, working with stakeholders, working on rapid change, and Indigenous knowledge. Workshop participants identified global change issues, including climate change, invasive species, habitat fragmentation, and pollution. It was a big opportunity for us to share as a model for others around theglobe. Change is happening globally. And so, we have a lot to learn from other places, as well.
The 2nd Century Stewardship is now rebranded as the Acadia Science Fellowship, which were awarded to two graduate students. This year they are both from University of Maine. We have two projects:
- Amphibian crossing of roads in the park at night and the challenges. (Lisa Munroe)
- Digitizing old aerial imagery of the park, dated back to the 1940s. (Peter Howe)
I will end saying we are still hiring. We are looking for kitchen and housekeepers. You are welcome to apply on our website. And come on down and see what we are doing.
PUBLIC COMMENT
Jim Bright, Mount Desert Resident: A couple of maintenance concerns,
- Past Wildwood by Bubble Pond, there is a chunk of granite sticking up on the Carriage Road. A cone would be helpful.
- The Carriage Road up by Parkman, the views are closed in. Can we bring them back?
- The parking lots by Eagle Lake and Brown Mountain needs to be lined to provide more parking.
- The Bikes on the Carriage Roads is an issue, now e-Bikes, has now become a bike park. It would be nice to have one day a week for pedestrians only. A lot of people can’t walk up trails. It would be nice to just be able to go out and not have somebody coming up behind you at 20 miles an hour. I hope this can be taken seriously. It’s not a good park experience anymore.
- Is Schooner Head overlook an area that could possibly be looked for vista clearing.
Lee Worcester: Is this something the park use Committee should look at before our next meeting?
Kevin Schneider: It would be a challenge to enforce it. We don’t allow class 2 & 3 e-bike. But they are out there. Again, it is a challenge to enforce it.
Lee Worcester: We will mull this over and if we wish to bring it up again, we can.
Keith Johnston: Some of Schooner Head is cleared and some is not, which may be intentional. I will say we are behind on our vista clearing.
3:05 Darron Collins, Advisory Commission member, had to leave.
Lincoln Millstein, Mount Desert Resident: The park is preparing to build housing off Crooked Road. Has the park service ever had a conversation with the Towns of Southwest Harbor or Mount Desert or public works in regard to their operations and capacity and connecting to public water? I am bringing it up because next Tuesday, the Town of Bar Harbor may vote on these land use ordinances.
Lee Worcester (SWH) and Kendall Davis (MD) gave their personal thoughts on the park connecting to local public water/sewer in their represented towns.
Also, the park states it has 4 million visits. The Federal judge ruled against the plaintiffs on cruise ships, and stated the park has 4 million visitors. On a small island, 4 million visitors are a lot compared to 4 million visits. Which is it? Visits or visitors?
Kevin Schneider: It is individual visits. When I visit on Saturday and again on Sunday, I am two visits. It is how many times one visits the park, i.e. one person comes two times would be two visits. It is not individual people. We oftentimes use those terms interchangeably. What we are really interested in is the volume. It is the standard across the agency.
Tanya Ivanow, Member of the Public: If the function of the Acadia Gateway Center is to relieve traffic congestion on MDI and in the park, how will this concept be marketed to the general public? Second question is how many cars will the Acadia Gateway Center accommodate? Is there a marketing strategy?
Kevin Schneider: The Acadia Gateway Center has two purposes. One is to serve as a welcome center for Acadia National Park and the State of Maine. It will provide information and orient visitors while allowing for fee collection and provide opportunity for visitors to learn all the things to do in and around the State of Maine. It will also provide for visitors to leave their vehicle, especially for those not overnighting on MDI, and take the Island Explorer. There will be new bus routes from the Gateway Center with expanded service, or expanded service, to and from, Bar Harbor and key destinations. We want to see people take advantage of leaving their vehicles there. There will be a marketing strategy. We have our website, and we work with area lodging and with the Chambers of Commerce to get the word out. Those are important ways we get information about Island Explorer, the reservation system, and the need for a reservation for Cadillac Mountain. We will certainly be promoting the Acadia Gateway Center and for people to stop and get an orientation.
Durlin Lunt, Town Manager, Town of Mount Desert: The park is charged with protecting natural and cultural resources. I want to talk about the cultural historic resources, which is where Acadia needs to do some more work. I think we have done an excellent job of managing the natural resources. I understand, believe me, I have been involved with local government for over 30 years. So, I am very aware of what the relationship is between the National Park Service and communities. The information in regard to Otter Creek situation is challenging due to the loss of its natural resources. During the 1936 Rockefeller decisions it is had such a dramatic experience, as Acadia National Park’s evolution and acquisition of lands in process of setting boundaries. The dual mandate is complex, a challenging one, and will build conservation resources simultaneously while protecting cultural resources, but as I said it is very complex and challenging.
3:25 pm, Ken Smith, Advisory Commission member had to leave.
Now, the National Park Service [management?] report has evolved over the years. Started off as an idea. Now it is to the point where the park service is mandated to consider the views and opinions of the communities in proximity. Acadia National Park Advisory Commission plays a vital role in this process. It is membership consisting of communities involved in close proximity to the park. A couple of vocal points.
First, we’ll talk a little bit about the Otter Creek harbor. It is very limited, if you have ever been down there during low tide. But despite those limitations, prior to 1936 acquisition it was a working harbor with fishing and clamming activities and in the late 19th century even had a working quarry. So, it was and is a historic and working harbor. There is still some commercial activity. But obviously it is limited due to the inadequacies of the town landing in its current iteration. Should that be revisited, we cannot predict to what degree the commercial and recreational activities might be enhanced. I think the opportunity would certainly present itself to the occurrence. I will not say to what degree. But I think the opportunity would certainly present itself should that occur. What is Acadia National Park’s responsibility in all of this. They have the responsibility to preserve cultural and historic resources of Otter Creek.
This would enhance vehicle access in the landing area. We will prepare to present to the town meeting at such time we can acquire the land down there to make that so. Again, one of the options are to go into the land swap route. The other option is for the National Park Service to donate land which has been rejected by the Advisory Commission, as well as the Congressional Delegation. And I do respect that. The thirdoption might be for the Acadia National Park to build it themselves. This will enhance the park’s access to area.
A couple more things I would like to see as a representative of the Town of Mt. Desert and the Board of Selectmen. The park to restore any village trails that existed prior to the 1936 land acquisition. That would be a very good step to honoring the mandate to preserve the cultural and historic resources of the village. Number two, the harbor at Otter Creek should be visible from Grover Avenue, by vista clearing. I do have a letter to Senator George Mitchell from the park service, with the signature of the superintendent (though I don’t think he actually wrote the letter), the park service said the vista clearing was not allowed per park regulations. I did go in and do some research Public Law 99-420,1986, governance of parks regulations. I did not find anything on vista cutting at Acadia National Park. If I missed that, please feel free to send me at your convenience the piece of legislation. I did not see that.
This might sound strange but many years ago in the late 1990s, I visited Richard Nixon's Library in California and obviously, the Nixon presidency could not be adequately explained without some reference to Watergate. I was curious to how they were going to end with that. Were they just going to ignore it. In the Nixon library, there is a whole wing just donated to Watergate. What I want to see is a complete and thorough representation of the 1936 land acquisition of Otter Creek, and all the park in general, for a historical record, so the history is on record. So, the visitor center should have physically, and visibly, the 1936 land acquisition to fully explain the history of Acadia National Park. I can go a little bit deeper into that. But I think it is very important to maintain the history and thank you. You have had a long day.
Stephen Smith, Resident of Otter Creek: – First, I have not gotten a copy of the minutes. I don’t believe the purpose of the commission is the way it is today. You might as well have park uniforms on. It is a medium to be between the citizens and the Secretary of the Interior. For you to tell the Secretary what the problems are (inaudible). For the citizens to have some contact with big brother. It’s almost as bad now as it was then. (inaudible) As far as Friends of Acadia, I don’t think they should even be allowed to feed the deer. They are going to ruin the park. They are so dependent on Friends of Acadia. Now they are getting all this money for them and doing all this stuff. (inaudible) If the federal Government can’t pay to get the park going, they need to get out of here. It’s about time that you people start to listen.
Howie Motenko: I wish you would address the commission and not… (cut off by Mr. Smith but inaudible, and Mr. Smith walked out).
No further public comments.
CLOSING COMMENTS
The Commission Chair made closing comments.
ADJOURNMENT
The next meeting is scheduled for Monday, September 9, 2024, 1:00 p.m. at Schoodic Institute, in Moore Auditorium, Winter Harbor, and will continue to be an in-person and virtual meeting as published in the FEDERAL REGISTER.
I move we make a motion to adjourn. Fred Ehrlenbach made a motion to adjourn. Howie Motenko seconded. All agreed – no opposed.
FEDERAL REGISTER.
Meeting adjourned at 3:40 pm
Minutes Submitted by Kathy Flanders
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