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Q&A: FOA’s Eric Stiles on budget, major projects at Acadia

Eric Stiles, president & CEO of Friends of Acadia since July 2022

Eric Stiles, president & CEO of Friends of Acadia, has presided over big expansion of housing for Acadia National Park’s seasonal workforce. (Photo provided by Friends of Acadia)

The Friends of Acadia charity is helping advance some major projects at Acadia National Park. The philanthropic group is led by Eric Stiles, who started as president and CEO of Friends of Acadia in July 2022. Formerly leader at New Jersey Audubon, Stiles lives in Bar Harbor with his family including wife Lydia, a teacher at Mount Desert Island High School. Stiles spoke with Acadia On My Mind about a wide variety of issues, including the record-long federal government shutdown, an expansion of housing for seasonal workers at Acadia National Park, the Trump administration’s treatment of federal employees and major projects at Acadia such as the initially estimated $850,000 East-West Connector Trail on Cadillac Mountain, called a “visionary project” by FOA. Here are edited questions and responses:

Q. No entrance pass was required during the federal government shutdown that ended Nov. 12, and the park lost a significant amount of entrance fees that normally would have been collected during October and part of November. Entrance fees could be used on major projects such as the Cadillac East-West Connector Trail, considered a visionary project by FOA.

ERIC STILES: You can’t make up for the lost visitor fees. The park may have lost $1.7 to $1.8 million in entrance fees considering it collected $1.5 million in October 2024 and there was a 5 percent increase in visits this October and fees were not collected during two weeks in November. That is big money. Eighty percent of those fees would have remained at the park to fund visitor service programs, personnel and infrastructure projects. In addition, the staff that worked during the shutdown were largely being paid from prior entrance fee revenue. The park was spending its existing kitty at a much higher rate while starving revenue that would be important for the future. It’s a double whammy.

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US government shutdown at Acadia and rest of nation ends

The government shutdown at Acadia National Park and the remainder of the country ended on Wednesday night, clearing the way for the park to reinstate entrance fees, return staff to work and repair and reopen a popular boardwalk hiking path.

The Sand Beach entrance station, marked “Closed” during the government shutdown, is expected to reopen with rangers selling entrance passes to visitors who don’t have them.

In Washington, the House of Representatives on Wednesday night voted 222-209 to pass a Senate-approved bill that temporarily funds the government. President Donald Trump then signed the bill into law on Day 43 of the shutdown, the longest in history.

“It’s an honor to sign this incredible bill and get our country working again,” Trump said at a bill signing event.

What does it mean for Acadia National Park?

The free ride for visitors will be over. During the shutdown, which began on Oct. 1, entrance passes for the national park were not required. If Acadia returns to normal, entrance passes will be reinstated. The Park Loop Road fee station near Sand Beach was closed during the federal government shutdown at Acadia but it is expected to reopen with rangers who will sell passes to those without one. Automated fee machines, closed during the shutdown, are also expected to be running again.

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Government shutdown at Acadia could close Cadillac access

UPDATE: Department of Interior on Wednesday released a plan for Acadia National Park and other national parks to operate during a government shutdown that started on Wednesday after Congress failed to approve a bill to fund the government at the start of the new fiscal year. In a release, the National Parks Conservation Association says the DOI plan calls for parks to be largely left open with minimal staff. The DOI plan does not urge parks to discourage visitors. Campgrounds, most of the Park Loop Road at Acadia, entrance stations, viewpoints and trails to remain open.

A federal government shutdown at Acadia National Park could hit on Wednesday, closing at least some parts of the national park during one of its busiest months of the year and hurting local businesses.

The Hulls Cove Visitor Center at Acadia National Park would likely be closed during a federal government shutdown. The flag, photographed flying at half-staff on Sept. 12, was lowered under a proclamation by President Donald Trump, to honor the memory of conservative activist Charlie Kirk, who was assassinated Sept. 10.

The shutdown of the federal government would come on Wednesday, Oct. 1, if Congress remains deadlocked on a bill that would extend federal appropriations beyond the end of the 2025 fiscal year on Tuesday. In past shutdowns, thousands of federal workers were put on furloughs, including employees at Acadia, but this year there could also be extensive firings of workers under a plan by President Donald Trump’s Office of Management and Budget.

President Donald Trump was scheduled to meet on Monday with leaders in Congress from both political parties in attempt to reach an agreement that would prevent a government shutdown at Acadia and much of the rest of the federal government.

How would Acadia be affected by a federal government shutdown?

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Climate change consequences hot topic in Acadia, US news

With the United States planning to pull out of the Paris climate accord and Al Gore’s new movie, climate change is a hot issue this summer.

Topography map of Acadia and Mount Desert Island at the Nature Center shows the potential impact of climate change on shorefront, roads, plants and wildlife.

The topic is also sharply in focus at Acadia National Park, where an exhibit at the Sieur de Monts Nature Center explores current and future climate change consequences at the park including the flooding of salt marshes, the survival of a parasite that is killing hemlock forests and the threats of rising temperatures on summit plants, trees like red spruce and balsam fir, and nesting sites of Puffins, Arctic Terns and Loons.

Lynne Dominy, chief of interpretation and education at Acadia, said it is important that the exhibit helps people understand the environmental changes that may occur over the next several decades in the park.

Dominy said the displays are based on science, but they allow people to make their own decisions about climate change.

“The main message is to be educated and to make responsible choices,” she said. “You have to understand we live on a complex planet and that things change. It is important to be a part of that and to understand where we are going and make responsible choices.”

Scenes of climate change consequences are also on the big screen in Maine and elsewhere in “An Inconvenient Sequel: Truth to Power,” the new movie by the former vice president that’s being released 10 years after the Oscar-winning “An Inconvenient Truth.”

The movie trailer includes President Donald Trump pledging during the campaign to end the federal EPA and cut billions in climate change spending. In a speech on June 1, Trump said he was ceasing all implementation of the Paris accord – a global agreement aimed at reducing global warming and pollution – because he said it imposes too many draconian financial and economic burdens on the United States.

The Trump administration has also opted to dissolve the 15-member Advisory Committee for the Sustained National Climate Assessment, after its charter expired, the Washington Post reported on Sunday.

The panel is intended to advise policymakers on how to incorporate the government’s climate analysis into long-term planning, the Post reported.

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