Acadia National Park Though the affluent of the turn of the century came here to frolic, they had much to do with preserving the landscape that we know today. It was from this social strata that George B. Dorr came. He devoted 43 years of his life, energy, and family fortune to preserving the Acadian landscape.
Thanks to the foresight of Dorr and others like him, Acadia became the first national park established east of the Mississippi. Located on the coast of Maine, Acadia encompasses 47,633 acres of granite-domed mountains, woodlands, lakes and ponds, and ocean shoreline. Such diverse types of habitat make Acadia a haven for wildlife and plants.
Entwined with the natural diversity of Acadia is the story of people. Evidence suggests native people first lived here at least 5,000 years ago. Subsequent centuries brought explorers from far lands, settlers of European descent, and arising directly from the beauty of the landscape -- tourism and preservation.
Carlton Pond WPA Established November 24, 1965, Carlton Pond WPA is the only Waterfowl Production Area in Region 5. Purchased with funds from the sale of duck stamps, the area is open for hunting, trapping, fishing and other public uses. Black terns, an endangered species in Maine and a Category 2 species nationally, nest on the area. Wood ducks, hooded mergansers, and common goldeneyes nest in the numerous nesting boxes originally erected by the State of Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife, but now managed by FWS.
Cross Island NWR Cross Island NWR is an island complex donated to the FWS by Thomas and Virginia Cabot. Located in Cutler, the complex includes Cross Island , Scotch Island, Outer Double Head Shot, Inner Double Head Shot, Mink, and Old Man Island. Cross, Mink, and Scotch are forested islands. Cross Island hosts mature stands of yellow birch, populations of furbearers, white-tailed deer, and nesting eagles and osprey. Waterfowl, shorebirds and raptors stop here on their migrations. Atlantic Salmon Inc. has had an aquaculture site just offshore Northwest Head since 1987. Hurricane Island Outward Bound runs a camp on Cross Island. The Double Head Shots and Old Man are grass covered and are important to colonial nesting seabirds, attracting colonies of eiders, Leach's storm petrels, black guillemots, and double-crested cormorants. Old Man Island is one of only four nesting sites for razorbills in the Gulf of Maine.
Maine Acadian Culture Maine Acadians share beliefs and experiences tying them to a river, the land, their families, and to their common religion, languages, and history. The land borders the St. John River, flowing between the United States and Canada, and extends away from the river to the "back settlements." Here people speak Valley French, a mixture that includes old French, Quebecois, and English terms ? sometimes mixed within a sentence.
Maine Acadians' French ancestors settled during the 1600s in what is now the Maritime Provinces, Quebec, and Maine. Both France and England claimed this territory. In 1755 the English government deported thousands of French neutrals from present-day Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island, then known as Acadia. Spurred by the Acadians' refusal to strengthen their pledge of allegiance to the British Crown, the authorities shipped most of them to British colonies. Some fled to Quebec. Others, today's Cajuns, sought a new start in Louisiana. The majority maintained their Acadian identity. During the 1780s Acadians settled Malecite homelands in the Saint John Valley, and here they were joined by settlers from the St. Lawrence River valley.
The National Park Service aids local efforts at cultural conservation in the Saint John Valley via the Maine Acadian Heritage Council, an association of historical societies, cultural clubs, towns, and museums that work together to perpetuate Maine Acadian culture.
Moosehorn NWR The Moosehorn National Wildlife Refuge is located in eastern Maine's Washington County. The Refuge consists of two units. The 17,257 acre Baring Unit off U.S. Route 1 SW of Calais and the 7,189 acre Edmunds Unit near Dennysville. A total of 7,460 acres has been set aside as part of the National Wilderness Preservation System. Moosehorn is primarily forested (90%), and is managed to provide habitat for migratory birds with emphasis on American woodcock and breeding waterfowl. Forest management is based on a 60 year cycle of cutting to improve woodcock habitat. The refuge manages 55 marshes and lakes for maximum wildlife production. The threatened Bald Eagle nests, feeds and rests on the refuge. The refuge provides habitat for 35 species of mammals, 220 species of birds, 23 species of reptiles and amphibians, and 33 species of fish. Part of the Gulf of Maine ecosystem, the refuge also focuses on declining native Atlantic salmon populations in the Dennys and St. Croix River watersheds. Recent acquisition has targeted Cobscook Bay, a major migratory stop over and wintering area for the black duck and habitat for a variety of other wildlife species.
Petit Manan NWR Petit Manan NWR is a coastal Maine refuge which covers 130 miles of coastline and includes three mainland parcels and 15 offshore islands. Petit Manan Point has over 10 miles of shoreline with habitats of red and white spruce, mixed hardwoods, jack pine stands, coastal raised heaths, blueberry barrens, old hayfields, fresh and saltwater marshes, cedar swamps, granite shores and cobble beaches. Wetlands of this area have been enhanced by constructing three impoundments which provide habitat for thousands of waterfowl and wetland associated species. To date over 300 bird species have been recorded on Petit Manan Point. Bois Bubert Island is much the same as Petit Manan Point in character and wildlife. Petit Manan Island is a treeless island and lies two and a half miles south of the Point. This island is now one of the most important islands in the Gulf of Maine for colonial nesting seabirds, including the endangered roseate tern, due to a restoration effort conducted jointly by the FWS and the College of the Atlantic. It is also the site of a 123 foot U.S. Coast Guard lighthouse tower and associated buildings that are on the National Register of Historic Places.
