FRIENDS OF ACADIA

Friends of Acadials mission is to provide citizen support in partnership with the National Park Service to preserve and protect Acadia National Park and the communities that surround it.  The quality of the resource, the visitor experience, and the quality of life on this island are precious and irreplaceable.  The responsibility for their stewardship rests with each and every one of us - residents, park, business community, and visitors alike.  Friends of Acadia has accepted this responsibility, and we urge you to join us.

Friends of Acadia was incorporated in Maine as an independent, non-profit organization in 1986.  Today we have more than 2,500 members from around the country, and we have directly contributed more than four million dollars for projects and programs of lasting benefit to Acadia National Park.

A QUALITY RESOURCE
A QUALITY EXPERIENCE.

Friends of Acadia is an organization dedicated to getting things done.  We have undertaken more than 30 separate initiatives designed to educate, preserve, protect, and maintain a "quality resource" and a "quality experience" for residents and visitors.  Time, effort, and funds raised by Friends of Acadia staff, members and volunteers, have achieved the following:

More than a million dollar increase in Acadia National Park's annual budget.

 - joint public/private sector partnership which raised eight million dollars for the restoration and permanent maintenance of the historic carriage roads.

 - volunteer program that has helped turn Acadia's 120-mile hiking trails system from a national disgrace to something in which we can once again take pride.

 - grant which has helped re-establish peregrine falcons in Acadia National Park, the most successful nesting site in New England.

A Resource Sensitive Tourism program that has helped educate residents,. visitors, area businesses and state government about the need to protect our precious resources and what practical actions they can take.

A Natural History Enrichment program for area schools designed to create a sense of understanding and community stewardship of our natural resources.

A regional transportation initiative to provide low-impact alternatives for access to Acadia National Park and Mt.  Desert Island.

An informational and educational campaign to promote safe, courteous, lowimpact usage of the carriage road system.

How You CAN HELP.

With a donation of $35 or more, you can  become a Friend of Acadia.  You'll be providing supplemental private support for a national 
park suffering from limited resources and inadequate funding.  In retum, you will receive our
informative quarterly Journal and Acadia Report, a membership decal, and the satisfaction of helping to preserve a treasured place and way of life for your own enjoyment as well as the enjoyment of generations to come.