News Release

Collect Wood Rounds through a $25 Permit

Date: October 16, 2018
Contact: Christie Anastasia, 207-288-8806

BAR HARBOR, MAINE – The National Park Service is offering an opportunity to community members to collect wood rounds piled in a pre-designated area with value as firewood or for other uses. A limited number of households (approximately 15) who reside within a 50-mile drive of Otter Creek, Maine will be allowed to gather this wood. This wood is mixed soft and hard, in piles of un-split, limbed rounds of 16”-20” diameter. Wood permits costing $25 will be issued for the collection of this pre-gathered wood with a maximum of two cords. These wood rounds were created when winter tree cutting occurred in the park to clear historic scenic vistas along roadways. The most feasible use of these wood rounds is to be offered to residents living close enough to limit the potential spread of invasive pests or diseases beyond the local area.

“We experimented with this program last April,” said Superintendent Kevin Schneider. “Most of the wood that was taken down to maintain historic scenic vistas in the park was distributed into the local community.”

To be considered to collect up to two cords of wood rounds from a staged area in Acadia National Park (near Otter Creek, Maine) please call Acadia National Park Dispatch Office at 207-288-8791 from October 20- 26 between the hours of 9 a.m. - 3 p.m. If you reside within a 50-mile drive to Otter Creek, your name will be placed on a list of those interested in the opportunity (one name per residence is eligible). If the park receives more than 15 requests, a random selection process will generate the final list, with non-selected names placed on a waitlist. In April 2018 the park received 10 calls and distributed approximately 10 cords of wood.

Those selected to collect the wood rounds will be notified via email the week of October 29. Permits will then be issued, in person, to those selected, at Acadia National Park Headquarters (McFarland Hill Road/ Route 233), Bar Harbor, ME from the Dispatch Office. The cost of the Wood Permit is $25, payable only by check.

Wood pick-up may then be scheduled between the dates of October 30- November 2, one permit holder at a time, in Acadia National Park, near Otter Creek, ME. Wood collection must be completed between the hours of 9 a.m. - 3 p.m. and the actual permit holder must be present.

A park ranger will meet individuals on-site and review permit. No wood rounds may be collected without a permit. Collecting wood rounds without a permit is illegal and subject to fines. Trailers can be used although no chain sawing or wood splitting may be conducted in the park due to sawdust and noise concerns. The park ranger will verify that no more than two cords of wood has been collected.

If you see piles of wood rounds in Acadia National Park, such as on the sides of the Park Loop Road or the Carriage Roads, these stacked piles are waiting for park rangers to pick them up. All of this wood is a park resource and used within or to the benefit of Acadia National Park. Tree cutting in Acadia National Park has shifted to the winter season since 2015 to protect the maternity season of the northern long-eared bat, a federally listed threatened species under the Endangered Species Act. Trees that have naturally fallen in the forest are recycled back into the forest to provide soil nutrients, animal and insect shelter, and a host of other benefits.

To learn more about environmental factors, such as ““Non-native Species” or “Scenic Vistas” among others, visit https://www.nps.gov/acad/learn/nature/environmentalfactors.htm