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Research Brief: Understanding how people value Acadia National Park's water resources

park sign public water supply, no swimming, no dogs. Next to a lake on a cloudy day.
Park sign indicating a public water supply on Lower Hadlock Pond

C. Schmitt/Schoodic Institute

Kate Ruskin, University of Maine


Acadia’s lakes and streams support many human uses, including drinking water supply, fishing, boating, and scenic viewing. Freshwater also provides habitat for wildlife like insects, loons, and turtles, and streams influence the quality of coastal waters. Managing the different uses of water is a challenge, especially when activities come into conflict. Meanwhile, lakes and streams are changing. Increased precipitation has flushed more organic matter into lakes, making them less clear. Winter ice and snow dynamics are more variable, and temperatures are warming.

Acadia’s scientific staff have a good set of long-term data on the physical and ecological characteristics of lakes and streams, but social characteristics are not well known. Kate Ruskin’s research combines ecological and social science methods to address conservation issues. In this project, conducted with undergraduate students in an environmental science field course at UMaine, Ruskin is surveying park visitors, local residents, managers, and others (using anonymous questionnaires) to identify what they think about Acadia’s water resources, what they value, and whether people’s actions agree with their own values or those held by others. Ruskin will map the perceived social values and ecosystem services, providing a picture of human values and potential areas of conflict across the park to inform decisions and actions related to managing lakes, streams, and wetlands in Acadia. Ruskin applied some of these methods, including working with students, in a previous study of the Schoodic Woods Campground

If you would like to participate in this study, you can fill out a survey for the project.

Last updated: April 13, 2021