Paddle Raise

Acadia is changing. So are we.

There is no more pressing issue for Acadia than the rapid changes we are seeing in the climate. Average temperatures have warmed three degrees since 1890. Six inches more precipitation falls each year on average, with bigger storms, more rain, and less snow than in the past. Sea level has risen by eight inches since 1950, and the ocean is warmer. The park has lost one out of every six plant species formerly found on Mount Desert Island, and non-native, invasive plants and insects are moving in as the climate becomes more hospitable for them.

While Acadia’s landscape has always been changing, the pace of change has accelerated and uncertainty has increased. That’s why Friends of Acadia is partnering with the National Park Service and Schoodic institute to take action now to ensure that Acadia’s beauty and vitality endures, whatever the future may hold.

The Wild Acadia initiative 2.0 is helping to restore important park habitats, but with an innovative forward-thinking approach of managing for future expected environmental conditions rather than looking to the past.

Your gift to the Wild Acadia 2.0 Paddle Raise in 2022 will help Friends of Acadia contribute to the long-term resiliency of park ecosystems.

Join us at the Benefit Auction on Aug. 13 for the live Paddle Raise. Or raise your virtual paddle by making an online contribution via our Benefit Auction site: bidpal.net/acadia.

The Work We’re Doing

While Wild Acadia initiatives are continually adapting to suit the shifting needs of the park’s ecosystems, here is what we’re working on right now:

• We are supporting experiments on Acadia’s summits, testing a variety native plant species and planting techniques to determine the best approach for helping Acadia’s summit plant communities thrive as conditions change.
• We are supporting efforts at the Bass Harbor Marsh to remove invasive glossy buckthorn shrubs and test methods, such as shading or planting of native species, to prevent recolonizing.
• We are enhancing the park’s work at the Great Meadow to restore natural water flow, improve aquatic organism passage, and enrich species diversity.

Please join us for the 2022 Friends of Acadia Annual Benefit and participate in the Paddle Raise for Wild Acadia on Saturday, August 13. Register for the Annual Benefit.

If you cannot attend, but would still like to make a contribution toward this important effort, you can do so via our Benefit Auction site: bidpal.net/acadia.