IMPROVING ACADIA PARK

Congress, in 1986, told Acadia National Park to buy land to round out its boundaries. The park is currently looking at about 20 parcels it would like to purchase, but it has no money to buy land. Congress, if it wants the park to fulfill the mission lawmakers set for it, must come through with the necessary funds.

Sen. Susan Collins and Rep. Mike Michaud have sponsored bills that will help. The Acadia National Park Improvement Act is co-sponsored by Olympia Snowe in the Senate and Tom Allen in the House.

First, it would increase by $10 million the land acquisition ceiling the park works under. Because Acadia was made up of mostly private land that was donated to create the park, many private parcels are within its boundaries. The park was directed to buy land from willing sellers to round out its holdings with $18 million allocated for that purpose. It has purchased 62 parcels, with more than 150 parcels left to acquire. Due to escalating real estate prices on Mount Desert Island, the park quickly used up all the money.

While raising the land allocation ceiling is helpful, the money must also be appropriated. The Senate has included $162 million for federal land acquisition in its Interior Department appropriations bill. The House bill includes far less. None of that money, however, is specifically earmarked for Acadia National Park. That means the earliest the park could get more money for land acquisition is 2007.

In the meantime, the Friends of Acadia is trying to raise private funds to buy specific parcels. The groups aims to raise “millions of dollars” says its director Ken Olson. The group is indispensable to the park’s operations, granting the park $3.6 million since 1995. Another $1 million has gone to park-related projects, such as the Island Explorer bus system. The group is also holding nearly $16 million in endowments and investments for park projects.

While the group’s philanthropy is appreciated, private money should not be so heavily relied upon to ensure the park fulfills its mission.

The Acadia legislation would also extend the Acadia National Park Advisory Commission for another 20 years. Through the commission, local residents have expressed their views on park management and weighed in on important decisions such as the location and maintenance of the park’s trails and decisions on what types of vehicles are allowed in the park. The commission recently asked park staff to develop a plan to protect the park’s natural resources. Continuing such public input is important for a park that is a resource for local communities, the state and the country.

Lastly, the act will give a boost to the successful bus system that reduces traffic congestion and pollution on the island. The Island Explorer bus system, which runs propane-fired buses around the park and MDI, has removed the equivalent of 558,000 vehicles from the island’s roads in its six seasons. The system wants to build a bus station and visitors center in Trenton. Since this is outside park boundaries, this legislation is needed to allow park officials to work on this worthwhile project that will further reduce the number of cars on the island.

Acadia is among the most visited parks in the country. To ensure visitors enjoy their time there, the park needs public input and public money.