BAR HARBOR – Whether your plan is to explore the sights of Acadia National Park on Mount Desert Island or to travel further downeast to see Schoodic Penninsula on the mainland, it appears that the Park and the neighboring towns live in balance with one complementing the other.

For the most part, they do, but it isn’t without a lot of hard work.

Founded in 1986, the Friends of Acadia, a non-profit charitable organization, goes a long way toward melding the mixture of everyday life for thousands of people with a vacation destination for many more.

It is hard to visit Acadia and not come in contact with something Friends of Acadia hasn’t built, repaired or endowed.

With deep roots of volunteerism in the park’s early years as first the Hancock County Trustees of Public Reservations, then Sieur de Monts National Monument, it was only fitting that Friends got off the ground the same way. Marianne Edwards and others saw a need that the government was not fulfilling and stepped in to help.

Most of what Friends does is not readily visible to the millions of people that visit the park each year. In contrast, however, everyone would notice if Friends of Acadia was not there to work alongside the National Park Service.

“Friends of Acadia is a fantastic organization,” said Acadia’s Deputy Supertintendent Len Bobinchock. “Their contributions to the carriage road renovations and the Acadia Trails Forever programs mean that things people come here to see and experience will be there long into the future.”

Friends advocates for the park in Congress, as well as identifying needs and critical issues involving not just Acadia but all of Mount Desert Island and working to find solutions before it is too late.

“I have great respect for the projects they have accomplished over the years,” said U.S. Congressman Mike Michaud. “Conservation works best when it combines the government, private partnerships and popular support to sensibly manage our national environmental resources.”

Not every National Park has the benefit of an organization such as Friends. There are about 160 “Friends”-type groups in the country for 388 National Park units.

According to Friends of Acadia President W. Kent Olson, the organization is unique.

“We are unique in a couple of ways. First of all, we are an philanthropic organization as well as an advocacy group,” said Olson. “Most groups like ours don’t try to do both.

“Second, the park history is unique. Originally it was all privately owned and families donated land to create what he have today. Many of those families are still here, and they want a voice in how the park is run and what is done. There is no better way than to join an organization like Friends of Acadia to be involved.”

Visitors hike on trails reclaimed or built by FOA programs and walk or bike on the extensive carriage road network that also has been the beneficiary of the volunteer group. The group funds about 20 percent of the seasonal workforce in the park.

Working out of a non-descript commercial building on Cottage Street in Bar Harbor, a visitor can walk by and not know the organization is there. What they can’t miss is Friends of Acadia’s most visible contribution to residents and tourists alike. Although you would be hard pressed to know the group is involved at all.

With the one-way-in and one-way-out nature of the island as well as many other traits that make New England what it is, Friends identified the pressure of the increasing numbers of visitors to the Park as a major threat to the future of Acadia.

Beginning in 1999, Friends along with others concerned about the effects of air pollution and traffic gridlock on the island, park, and local communities launched the Island Explorer transportation system to help alleviate the congestion in local communities and reduce the number of vehicles on the Park’s roads.

The propane-powered bus fleet, free for riders, has proven wildly successful. A total of 281,000 passengers took advantage of the program in 2002, a 107 percent increase over the previous year. Friends estimates that 316,000 vehicle trips to Mount Desert Island have been eliminated by the program. It was announced just recently that the system carried its one millionth passenger in late July. That all occurred in just four years.

There are eight different routes covered by the buses offering all kinds of opportunities for hikers, bikers and sightseers. All are equipped to carry bicycles. There is even a stop in Trenton, before the traffic gets heavy, so visitors can take in all the beauty without driving onto the island at all.

A $1 million dollar gift from L.L. Bean will mean that the Explorer system will run well into October beginning this fall.

“The Island Explorer is a model of success for other parks to follow,” said Michaud.

“What they have been able to accomplish with the Explorer is truly amazing,” said Bobinchock. “It is the best way to go and play in the park.”

While the Explorer system has been very successful, it is only a beginning in what Olson calls Project Tranquility.

“We need to reduce traffic even further off the island,” said Olson. “We need to give people a real option of not driving onto the island at all. It will take a while, and it will be another partnership effort involving Acadia National Park and the Maine Department of Transportation.”

pmullen@sunjournal.com

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