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Marla O’Byrne : 'Eco-resort' near Acadia stirs debate
Friday, April 04, 2008 - Bangor Daily News

Anyone who has traveled to the Schoodic Peninsula knows what a rare pleasure is in store at the end of land. After passing through the communities of Gouldsboro or Winter Harbor, the road weaves through forested landscape until vistas begin to open onto the ocean. The Schoodic Peninsula offers a rocky coastline, winding trails, summit views from Schoodic Head and, most especially, the opportunity for quiet discovery and experience.

Schoodic is a beautiful area for humans to live and visit. Two towns, Winter Harbor and Gouldsboro, share the peninsula. Schoodic is also home to many species worthy of conserving. The land provides valuable breeding, nesting and stopover habitats for migratory songbirds. Hundreds of plant species thrive on the peninsula. The jack pine stands and maritime shrubland communities are listed as "Rare and Exemplary Natural Communities" by the Maine Natural Areas Program. Acadia National Park has been protecting and sharing the Schoodic experience on 2,300 acres for 80 years.

Recently, the Schoodic communities, Acadia National Park and other stakeholders were alerted to the possibility of large-scale resort development on the approximately 3,200 acres directly abutting Acadia. Labeled an "eco-resort," the development is proposed on land that separates the park from the rest of the mainland and that is an integral part of the complex wildlife habitats of Acadia and the Schoodic region.

A large-scale development like the one being explored would have significant regional effects and deserves a regional discussion. This is the time for residents and neighbors to ask important questions about their preferred vision for the Schoodic Peninsula. What is most valued about the Schoodic area? Does a large-scale resort development fit the values of the communities? Is it appropriate on the boundaries of a national resource like Acadia National Park?

The plans that have been discussed recently — to be clear, no formal proposal has been made — include a golf course, two hotels, a beaver ecology center, a captive bird breeding center, affordable housing, and a green corridor that proposes trails and electric trams for transportation, among other features. How many lodging and housing units would be acceptable? What would be the impact of 500, 1,000 or more units, with associated traffic, on the character of the communities? On the quiet experience of the peninsula?

Can a green corridor interspersed with trails and electric trams transporting visitors from lodging to golf course to ecological center provide an adequate habitat corridor for the rare and exemplary wildlife and plant species? It has been suggested that these areas will be open to the public — add parking lots and increased use of the "habitat corridor"?

If affordable housing is provided, who would live there? Would it benefit the local communities with housing for year-round residents and perhaps more children in the local schools? Or will it provide seasonal housing for workers who come to the area to work at the eco-resort?

A beaver ecology center, a captive bird breeding center and a nursery for jack pine stands may be fine objectives in landscapes that have already lost their natural habitats. But can an eco-resort be "eco" if it destroys what it should protect through touted sound ecological practices?

Are there alternatives that would treat the landowners fairly, protect the characteristics most valued by the communities, protect the traditional public enjoyment of the land, and preserve the integrity of the ecosystems that sustain valuable wildlife habitats and migration? Many believe a creative, innovative conservation solution is possible.

Twelve years ago, when the land was threatened with a proposed clear cut, Friends of Acadia and partners protected the integrity of the Schoodic landscape and negotiated a sensitive timber cut with the landowner. Today, Friends welcomes a broad and dynamic regional discussion about a truly ecologically sound and visionary future for the Schoodic Peninsula.

Marla O’Byrne is president of Friends of Acadia, a nonprofit that preserves and protects the natural beauty, ecological vitality and cultural distinctiveness of Acadia National Park and surrounding communities.