BY LORI SCHAEFER

Acadia’s new Chief of Project Management, Matt Outhier, was on the job for only a few months when extreme winter storms hit Acadia, causing extensive damage to certain areas of the park. But for him, it was business as usual.

Outhier is no stranger to responding to natural disasters in national parks. A 20-year veteran in engineering and project management, he spent the last five years as a civil engineer at Yosemite National Park in the Design and Engineering Branch, most recently serving as the acting chief.

He also serves on the Department of Interior’s Burned Area Emergency Response Team, assisting with the recovery of Yosemite’s Washburn fire in July 2022. This wildfire made national news because it threatened the giant sequoias of Mariposa Grove with some of the world’s largest and most visited trees.

Acadia’s Chief of Project Management Matt Outhier during a visit surveying erosion damage at Little Hunters Beach. (Photo by Julia Walker Thomas/Friends of Acadia)

“I come from a pretty strong background of disaster recovery work,” Outhier said. “At Yosemite, it seemed we were always battling a natural disaster. We’d get wildfires, which led into rainy season and mudslides, then spring rolled around, and we were back in fire season.”

After the winter storms hit Acadia, Outhier and his new team sprang into action with other park managers to ensure visitor safety, assess the extent of the damage, and begin the process of applying for federal funding to help the park recover. Outhier was instrumental in evaluating most of the significant areas of damage in the park, including sloughing at Sand Beach and Little Hunters Beach, and roof damage throughout the Schoodic Institute campus. He used his networks to bring in other civil and structural engineers who specialize in coastal engineering.

Outhier and Ken Zyga take a measurement to assess the total area of erosion at Little Hunters Beach. (Photo by Julia Walker Thomas/Friends of Acadia)

When Outhier joined Acadia National Park last October, he was tasked with developing a new Project Management division at Acadia to support the park’s growing need for planning and project management related to construction and resource preservation.

The park manages hundreds of projects at one time, all at various stages. These projects are all aimed at maintaining Acadia’s natural, historic, and cultural treasures and ensuring the park is safe and enjoyable for visitors.

Those projects cover a wide spectrum, according to Outhier, ranging from a small culvert replacement to projects like the stabilization and rehabilitation of Wildwood Stables, to construction of the park’s new maintenance facility, a two year project. Most of Acadia’s projects—big and small—were being managed in the Maintenance Division by Chief of Maintenance, Keith Johnston, and his team, but the need and workload had long outgrown one division’s capacity.

The new Project Management division supports park projects from planning to completion, providing comprehensive project oversight. Team members work collaboratively to support the needs of other divisions—especially Maintenance—as they guide park projects through scoping, environmental compliance, contracting, design, and construction.

“We’re here to help,” says Outhier. “Our product is not self-serving. Everything we do benefits other divisions.”

“The storms are case in point of why it’s so important to have engineers and project managers in the NPS. Having this division means we can respond quickly to emergencies,” Outhier added. “Engineers make great project managers because we speak the same language. We have the expertise to review the contract engineer’s design products for compliance and suitability. That ultimately saves the park time and money when working through the design process.”

Outhier inspects the staircase at Sand Beach for structural damage. (NPS photo)

Ken Zyga, a 35-year veteran of planning, design, and management of capital improvement and rehabilitation projects, joined Acadia’s Project Management division this year, thanks to support from Friends of Acadia.

Zyga has a civil, structural, and environmental engineering background, and has managed projects all over the world.

Acadia National Park hired him this year as part of the National Park Service’s Experienced Services Program. He will focus his efforts and expertise on projects where Friends of Acadia has provided financial support, including the Cadillac Mountain Accessible Connector Trail, Bass Harbor Head Light, and housing projects at the Kingsleigh Inn and Harden Farm.

“We are excited to support Ken Zyga to add capacity at Acadia National Park, bringing our visions to reality,” said Friends of Acadia President and CEO Eric Stiles. “Ken brings a wealth of expertise to the already deep bench at Acadia, and it will expedite completion of projects our donors have funded.”

According to Park Superintendent Kevin Schneider, most of the larger national parks such as Yosemite, Yellowstone, and Grand Teton have a Project Management Division and build out extensive professional services.

“Having our own Project Management division means we have staff support who not only are experts in project management, but are experts in Acadia,” said Schneider. “Acadia is such a unique place, it’s so important that we have experts managing projects who understand the context of the resources and infrastructure we are trying to protect.”

Outhier considers it a huge honor to serve within the National Park Service and is thrilled to be at Acadia heading its new Project Management Division.

“I have absolutely loved my time as a civil engineer in the National Park Service,” he said. “It’s an opportunity to marry my professional expertise and interests with my personal interests, and being a steward of our public lands is really special. Plus,” he added, “there’s never a dull moment.”

Outhier and Zyga assess erosion damage at Little Hunters Beach. (Photo by Julia Walker Thomas/Friends of Acadia)

LORI SCHAEFER is Friends of Acadia’s Vice President of Communications and Marketing.