BAR HARBOR – Friends of Acadia recently announced the winners of its 2002 Nature Poetry Competition. “Ten Tourists Visit Baker’s Island, ca. 1900” by Carl Little of Somesville won top prize. “Packrat” by Heidi LaMoreaux of Rohnert Park, Ca., and “The Phoebes” by Alan L. Steinberg of Potsdam, N.Y., took second and third prize respectively. The prizes carry cash awards of $350, $200, and $100.

Marion Stocking, editor of the “Beloit Poetry Journal” and judge of the competition, had her work cut out for her: more than 364 poets submitted 800 poems, a record for this biannual competition.

“I was astonished by the number of entries from all over the globe – from Tasmania to the United Arab Emirates – all concerned with the natural world,” Stocking said.

Among the 15 honorable mentions were four poets from Maine: Robert Chute of Poland, Dawn Potter of Harmony, Haines Sprunt Tate of Waterville and Elizabeth Tibbetts of Hope.

Friends of Acadia is an independent membership organization working to preserve and protect the outstanding natural beauty, ecological vitality and cultural distinctiveness of Acadia National Park and the surrounding communities.

For information about Friends of Acadia, visit www.friendsofacadia.org.