National Park Service Grant for Visitor Experience Enhancement on Isle au Haut District of Acadia National Park

THIS ANNOUNCEMENT IS NOT A REQUEST FOR APPLICATIONS. This announcement is to provide public notice of the National Park Service’s intention to award financial assistance for the following project activities without competition.

Under the cooperative agreement, the National Park Service and Isle au Haut Boat Services will offer a limited opportunity for park visitors to experience the Isle au Haut according the Visitor Use Management Plan.  Public access to the island is limited to private vessels and the ferry. Ferry service to Duck Harbor on Isle au Haut is the most vital, if not exclusive, means of managing park lands on Isle au Haut in a manner consistent with Public Law 99-335 and the mission of Acadia National Park.  The National Park Service anticipates a greater role for Isle au Haut Boat Services in providing visitor access and managing visitor use levels on parklands consistent with the Visitor Use Management Plan.

The Isle au Haut Boat Services has delivered passengers to the Town of Isle au Haut and Acadia National Park lands at Duck Harbor for many years.  The company was formed by Isle au Haut residents in 1973 as a for-profit venture to ensure that ferry service to the island continued and was operated primarily under the control of and for the benefit of island residents.  Because of the need to provide year-round service, the company operated at a loss each year and, in 2002, incorporated as the Isle au Boat Services, a nonprofit tax-exempt organization.   Ferry service is provided to maintain the integrity of the community, especially those who live there year-round.  It is a vital link for the long-term viability of the island community and the only practical means of public access to Acadia National Park on Isle au Haut.

Maintaining a ferry service under the control of residents and operating on a year-round basis is in the best interest of the community.  It is in the best interest of the National Park Service to support the existing ferry service to the community by using it to continue to deliver visitors to the park at Duck Harbor.  Without the park visitor business to Duck Harbor, Isle au Haut Boat Services would have greater financial losses and might not be able to continue service.