ACADIA NATIONAL PARK – Though the Navy has left Schoodic Point and research institutions have not yet moved into the former military base, the part of Acadia that many view as its quiet haven has gained in one respect: It has a new group of friends.

A nonprofit organization called Friends of Schoodic was formed in November 2002, a few months after the Navy moved out of a 100-acre base it had occupied near Schoodic Point for more than 60 years.

Now that Acadia National Park has taken over the facility, the group is helping the park with volunteer projects and is developing an active role in how the Schoodic section of the park is used.

Tom Mayer, chairman of the group, said Friday that it has a mailing list of approximately 150 volunteers and donors.

The group was founded with the goal of assisting the park, which often is faced with limited government funding, in addressing issues specific to the 2,400 acres that make up the park’s Schoodic portion on the eastern side of Frenchman Bay.

Mayer, a retired biology professor who lives in Winter Harbor, said that the Schoodic section of the park is facing changes.

Increased park visitation on Mount Desert Island, where most of the park is located, is diverting more tourists toward the peninsula. The conversion of the former Navy base into Schoodic Education and Research Center is affecting usage of the surrounding parklands, he said.

“The park over here is a very quiet kind of place,” Mayer said. “The [park] administration wants to keep it that way and we want to keep it that way.”

Among projects the Schoodic group has been involved with are staffing the gatehouse at the former Navy base, which the group turned into an information center, and assisting in area cleanup efforts, according to Mayer.

The group also has taken an active interest in how to manage unsanctioned “social” trails at Schoodic and in the park’s plans for SERC, he said.

Mayer said the mission of his organization differs somewhat from that of Friends of Acadia, a larger, more well-known group in Bar Harbor.

Friends of Acadia has been involved in some of the bigger issues that have come up on the Schoodic Peninsula in recent years, such as whether the entire base would revert to park ownership and a proposal to clear-cut trees on abutting land, but wants to maintain its focus on MDI, he said.

“We felt there might be some issues over here Friends of Acadia might not be aware of,” Mayer said. “They’re really busy over there on the island.”

Ken Olson, president of Friends of Acadia, said Friday that his organization is focused on transportation issues that affect the park and Mount Desert Island and does not want to spread itself too thin.

Friends of Acadia will continue to monitor major policy issues in all areas of the park, he said, but will steer clear of smaller projects on the far side of the bay.

“We think it’s totally appropriate and a good thing,” Olson said of the work done by the Schoodic group. “It’s the kind of stuff best done by volunteer stewards.”

John Kelly, Acadia’s park planner, said Monday that without Friends of Schoodic, there would not be organized cleanup efforts twice a year along the roads and shore of Schoodic, a task the Navy performed before it left.

He said the group also helps maintain flowerbeds at the former Navy base, has helped move equipment and furniture at the site, and has helped park staff prepare for programs at the facility.

“There’s a void Friends of Schoodic has filled,” Kelly said of the group’s cleanup efforts. “That’s an amazing benefit to the park.”

One of the Schoodic group’s major accomplishments to date is taking down the chain-link fence that surrounded the former military site.

Kelly said the park had plans to remove the fencing but probably would not have done the task as soon as it did without the help of Friends of Schoodic.

According to Mayer, the barbed wire and chain-link fencing prevented wildlife from getting to Schoodic Point, which lies at the tip of the peninsula.

“We were really offended by this fence,” Mayer said. “The rangers have told us they see deer in the [former base’s] ball field now.”

The group worked all winter to take down the fencing and barbed wire that surrounded the site. But the posts, which are set in concrete, are still in place, he said. The group and park officials hope the posts eventually will be removed as well.

Other goals for the group include increased fund raising – it has been given only $3,000 in its 18 months of existence – and to achieve official nonprofit status, according to Mayer.

It also has to organize its annual picnic, an event open to the public that is scheduled for 4 p.m. July 31, at SERC, he said.

In the meantime, Mayer said, the group would continue to establish a rapport with park officials and help preserve the resources at Schoodic.

“My position is that we have to establish some credibility,” Mayer said. “You can’t ask for that [right away].”

For information about Friends of Schoodic, the group can be contacted online at www.friendsofschoodic.org or by calling Mayer at 963-2791.