Bicameral legislation announced by U.S. Rep. Bruce Poliquin (R-ME) this week would revise Acadia National Park boundary policies to address disputes between local harvesters of marine resources and the National Park Service.
An anonymous donor deeded 1,400 acres on the Schoodic Peninsula to Acadia National Park in 2015. Boundary issues involve public concern about the park’s impact on the tax base, harvesting rights, and National Park Service use of a 1929 law to make the land transfer.
“For generations, Maine families have been harvesting and working the flats of the intertidal zone here in Acadia, and it is critical that their right to use the flats — providing for their livelihoods and businesses — is protected,” Poliquin said. “I’m pleased to push forward this comprehensive solution to these harvesting issues and to provide much needed revisions to the boundary policies at Acadia to help the park, its surrounding communities and all those who come here to enjoy its beauty.”
Under the bicameral bill announced by Poliquin and U.S. Sen. Angus King (I-ME), the 2015 land transfer would be allowed, but the bill would make clear that boundaries outlined in a 1986 law will remain permanent.
Additionally, restrictions on a parcel of land that has been unusable for decades would be released so that it could be used for public purposes to be determined by the local community, and an Acadia National Park Advisory Commission would be established to seek local input regarding park issues.
“Washington may not understand it, but in Maine there is a time-honored tradition of open access to tidal land – and that tradition has allowed Maine harvesters to work the flats of the intertidal zone at Acadia for nearly one hundred years,” King said.
“Congressman Poliquin and I are committed to ensuring that these longstanding local rights are respected by the federal government and that no Maine harvester will ever be denied access to the resources that have supported their livelihoods and their families for generations.”