The Discover Acadia Blog

Acadia and Bar Harbor are a green ecotourist destination! That’s right… if you are the environmentally conscious type — and many of us are these days, then an Acadia National Park vacation just might be the right choice for you.  There are many examples of how “green” the area is these days…

• Bar Harbor hosted the first national conference on ecotourism in 2005.
• The Island Explorer shuttle bus line helps reduce traffic and pollution in the Park and surrounding areas by using clean, propane-powered buses.
• The College of the Atlantic in Bar Harbor was the named greenest college in the US in 2007.
• Many restaurants in this area use locally grown produce, locally caught seafood, and organic foods.
• Recycling is big, even in public areas too.

So, as you can see… it’s a very green vacation destination! To learn more about vacationing in Acadia National Park, visit Discover-Acadia.com.

I’ve been reading with some interest about a planned new resort on the Schoodic Peninsula, one of the wildest, most beautiful spots in Acadia National Park. In all our visits, I’ve only been there twice, mainly because of its distance from the main part of the park and always trying to squeeze in as many hikes as we can.

It’s gorgeous, though, so when I started to read about how a developer wants to build a fancy new resort right at Acadia’s Schoodic doorstep, I was a bit dismayed. I can only imagine how much more upset local area residents are.

According to an article in yesterday’s Ellsworth American newspaper (online), the so-called green “eco-resort” is a done deal, despite the fact that they’ve been holding meetings where concerned citizens and groups like the Friends of Acadia are raising a lot of questions. Developers seem open to discussion, but not negotiation over whether to actually build the resort. It’s coming, and it doesn’t look there’s a lot that can be done to prevent it.

On the upside, local authorities are predicting it will a significant number of jobs to the area, not to mention increased revenues. Still, it’s a shame that such a wild spot is going to be changed forever.

Wow! … is all I can say after reading a story in the Bangor Daily News about an Ellsworth-area developer who has turned over what looks like a totally new leaf after violating EPA regs while building a new development in wetlands near Acadia National Park.

Apparently Ray Builders discharged waste into wetlands around the Union River, and got caught by the EPA. On his own, Robert Ray not only paid the civil fine to the EPA, he also donated 17 acres near downtown Ellsworth as a conservation easement to offset the wetlands damage. That land will be protected from all future development… how nice for Ellsworth!
On top of all that, he’s also funding a 3-year program to control invasive species in a freshwater wetland area of Acadia, an $87,000 expenditure over 3 years. I’d say that’s pretty impressive for a developer to do that!

One of the allures of Acadia is its natural flora and fauna, so anything that helps preserve that is certainly welcome. You can get the whole experience of Acadia in the Acadia Auto Tour.