Brian Henkel, Friends of Acadia’s project coordinator at Wild Acadia, and Abe Miller-Rushing, Acadia National Park’s science coordinator, will speak on the topic of climate change for the Acadia Senior College panel discussion on March 18. PHOTOS COURTESY OF ASC

Acadia National Park is measurably different than it was at its founding 105 years ago. Temperatures have warmed, rainfall has intensified, snowpack has diminished, and sea level has risen. These types of changes are likely to continue or even accelerate and they have dramatic, but sometimes difficult to see, impacts on the natural and cultural resources of the park.

Management of those resources needs to take into account the changes already experienced and those anticipated in the coming decades. This is a significant shift in the traditional approach to management of Acadia and other national parks, which have traditionally sought to preserve historic conditions.

LEARN MORE: Join Abe Miller-Rushing of Acadia National Park and Brian Henkel of Friends of Acadia in a FREE virtual discussion to be held Friday, March 18, at 9 a.m., presented by Acadia Senior College.

Rushing and Henkel will discuss Acadia’s new Resist-Accept-Direct approach to managing the impact of climate change on the park. The Resist-Accept-Direct framework, adopted by the National Park Service and its partners, Friends of Acadia and Schoodic Institute, is an updated framework that helps managers understand where resistance to the impacts of climate change makes sense, where accepting those changes is the best alternative, and where directing the change may be an option. This discussion will offer an overview of changes in the park, near-term anticipated changes, the Resist-Accept-Direct framework and some examples of how that framework is applied.

Miller-Rushing is the science coordinator at Acadia National Park, where he has worked for 11 years. He oversees research in the park and helps to lead work to adapt resource management practices for changing climate conditions. His own research focuses on climate change ecology, phenology, citizen science and conservation.

Henkel is the Wild Acadia project coordinator. The Wild Acadia initiative is a collaboration between Acadia National Park and Friends of Acadia that takes a watershed-based approach to improving degraded ecological conditions in and around Acadia National Park. Within this collaboration, Henkel works with park staff and area partners such as university faculty, students, local towns and conservation nonprofits to collect data, assess resource conditions, plan and initiate projects and coordinate efforts of the park and stakeholders.

This free event is open to everyone and is part of Acadia Senior College’s winter Coffee Clash series.

Register for this event online at www.acadiaseniorcollege.org or email learn@acadiaseniorcollege.org.

For more information, contact Acadia Senior College at (207) 288-9500.