Update November 21, 2024: The Energy Committee passed end-of-Congress Public Lands Bills. The package includes provisions to expand access to Katahdin Woods and Waters National Monument and the renaming of an Acadia Visitors Center to honor former U.S. Senator George Mitchell, as well as bipartisan legislation to reduce dependence on China for critical minerals and legislation to provide coastal communities with infrastructure funding from fees associated with offshore wind development.

The package will now head to the Senate floor for full consideration.

December 18, 2003: Visitor Center Could be Renamed After George Mitchell

A bill to designate Acadia’s Hulls Cove Visitor Center as the “George J. Mitchell, Jr. Visitors Center” has been introduced by U.S. Senators Susan Collins and Angus King, Chair of the Senate Subcommittee on National Parks. The legislation honors former Majority Leader U.S. Senator George Mitchell.

George Mitchell, born in 1933 in Waterville, is an American politician and diplomat who served as a member of the U.S. Senate (1980–95), as majority leader (1989–95). He later served as a special adviser to the peace process in Northern Ireland under President Bill Clinton (1995–2000). Mitchell also served as a member of the special envoy to the Middle East under President Barack Obama (2009–11), and spent time in the judicial branch, when he was appointed by President Jimmy Carter in 1979 to serve on the U.S. District Court of Maine.

“We would like to thank Senators King and Collins for their efforts to recognize Senator George Mitchell who has given so much to Acadia National Park by naming the Hulls Cove Visitor Center in his honor.  As National Parks tell the story of America’s greatest natural and cultural places, it is important to recognize its champions,” said Eric Stiles, President and CEO of Friends of Acadia.

Completed by December of 1986, Hulls Cove Visitor Center originally served as the park’s administrative headquarter and visitor center. Funding for the building came from the Mission-66 Program, a nationwide effort to improve infrastructure in America’s national parks from 1956-1966.

The Hulls Cove Visitor Center is often a first stop for visitors coming to Acadia, where they can board the Island Explorer bus and get helpful information and recommendations from park rangers.

Read the full text of the bill

Additional coverage:

Sens. King, Collins want bill to name Acadia National Park visitor center after George Mitchell – via News Center Maine

Proposed bill could change name of ‘Hulls Cove Visitor Center’ to honor former U.S. Senator – via WABI