News Release

National Park Service developing Environmental Assessment of plant gathering at Acadia National Park

Date: December 20, 2023
Contact: Amanda Pollock, 207-288-8806

BAR HARBOR, MAINE – The National Park Service is developing an Environmental Assessment (EA) of gathering of sweetgrass for traditional purposes by enrolled members of the five federally recognized tribes in Maine. 

The Houlton Band of Maliseet Indians, the Mi’kmaq Nation, the Passamaquoddy Tribes at Pleasant Point and at Indian Township, and the Penobscot Nation, referred collectively as the Wabanaki, are culturally affiliated with lands and waters of Acadia National Park. The establishment of Acadia National Park in 1916 prohibited traditional practices of gathering sweetgrass. The park is actively working with the Wabanaki to establish new and meaningful relationships that center around the reconnection of these lands with the Wabanaki. 

In 2016, The National Park Service issued regulations allowing park units to negotiate and enter into agreements with federally recognized tribes for the gathering of plants or plant parts. Tribes must be federally recognized, have cultural affiliation with the park, and provide the park with information about the plants of cultural interest. NPS must evaluate the potential for plant gathering to impact the environment in an EA. As a response to this regulation, Acadia National Park initiated a project to assess the environmental impact of traditional harvesting practices on sweetgrass in designated areas of the park. Since 2015, park resource managers, tribal scientists and gatherers have conducted research to document the impacts of sweetgrass harvesting on salt marshes. NPS will evaluate the location of harvesting, the methods for gathering sweetgrass and relationships with other marsh plants and wildlife in the EA, informed by Traditional Ecological Knowledge (TEK) for sustaining cultural practices.  

“This work will help us continue building co-stewardship practices with affiliated Tribal nations and allow us to take a step forward in making Acadia a more welcoming place for Wabanaki people” said Acadia National Park Superintendent Kevin Schneider. 

Submit comments on the scope of the EA, including the issues and alternatives the EA should consider, to the National Park Service’s Planning, Environment and Public Comment website at https://parkplanning.nps.gov/acadiagathering. Comments will be accepted from through January 17, 2024.