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As every Mainer knows, our state is
truly one of the most beautiful places on earth.
This is due in no small part to the plentiful
natural and wild places located within our state,
including our state’s jewel, Acadia National Park.
Acadia
epitomizes many of our State’s most indelible
qualities. Its 47,000 acres are located downeast
along Maine’s rugged coast. Situated largely on Mt.
Desert Island but also on Isle au Haut and Schoodic
peninsula, Acadia contains mountains, woodlands,
lakes and ponds, and a magnificent ocean shoreline.
These attributes not only make for striking scenery
but they also create diverse habitat that houses a
wide range of plants and animals.
Besides its natural beauty, the Park brings in $130
million a year into the State's economy.
Thanks
to the foresight of our ancestors, Acadia became the
first national park established east of the
Mississippi and we are now able to enjoy the
scientific, educational, and recreational
opportunities it provides. In order to ensure that
Acadia remains a treasure for the future, we must
actively work now to protect it. That is why
Senator Collins and I recently introduced
legislation in the Senate to improve the park by
allowing local residents' input into the management
of the Park, increase Acadia's ability
to conserve land, and reduce traffic and improve the
park experience for residents and visitors in future
years. This legislation is a critical framework to
conserve land, allow local community input into the
management of the park, and improve the park’s
overall future well being.
Specifically, this legislation extends
the Advisory Commission for 20 additional years,
allows the Park to receive a greater amount of
federal funds that can be used for land acquisition,
and authorizes the Secretary of Interior to
participate in and spend appropriated monies to
participate in work on an off-island transportation
facility that would be accessible by more than one
type of transportation system, thereby reducing
traffic and congestion.
The Acadia National
Park Advisory Commission provides local residents
with a means of providing their input into the
management of Acadia. Our legislation requires the
superintendent of Acadia National Park to request
the advice of the commission on matters relating to
the management and development of the park.
The Maine Department
of Transportation,
Friends of Acadia, and other groups are
continuing to explore the development of a facility
in Trenton that would allow Downeast
Transportation and Island Explorer to meet with a
parking lot, in an effort to reduce traffic on Mount
Desert Island. The
legislation will allow the Park to locate such a
center outside of park boundaries off of Mt. Desert
Island to give even more assistance to the one road
entering and exiting the Park by alleviating auto
traffic to and on the island and to achieve cleaner
air. With the Park Service's involvement, this site
could eventually be home to a visitor center.
The bill also
increases Acadia National Park's land acquisition
ceiling by $10 million, to $28 million. There are
still many tracts of private land within Acadia's
authorized boundary that can be developed in ways
incompatible with the purposes of the park. Congress
established the official boundary in 1986. The
National Park Service was directed to buy properties
within the boundary from willing sellers to complete
the park; however, due to escalating real estate
prices on Mount Desert Island, the park is now
limited in its ability to protect additional lands.
Acadia
and other parks throughout Maine provide our
citizens and our many visitors an opportunity to
enjoy our great and beautiful state. This summer,
when you, a friend or family member travel to
Acadia, remember that this treasure must be
preserved for the future and it is only together at
the local, state and federal levels that we will
ensure its long term health and survival.
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