They knew at the onset that restoring and reopening trails in Acadia, was going to be expensive. To address this undertaking, the Acadia Trails Forever campaign was initiated, and in less then a year it reached it's goal at $13 million. From the funds, not only are the trails to be restored, but it will also fund all of the required maintenance for them. Friends of Acadia started the campaign which closed much earlier then anyone expected. This was attributed to a lead donation of $5 million and several hundreds of private donors. The love and care for Acadia National Park is great, and was really shown during this fund-raising drive!

This was a public and a private initiative. The Friends of Acadia raised $9 million and the last four million came from park entrance donations. With this money, the biggest restoration project for the trails during modern time will take place. Three endowments have been made; $5 million is for maintaining the trails when they are restored to their proper condition, $1 million is for the Acadia's Youth Conservation Corps (YCC) and $500,000 to the Ridge Runnners (RR), who are like 'Good Samaritans' that aid people hiking in the park when needed.

The donation for the YCC is a private initiative, as well as the $500.000 for the RR's. The $5 million donation from Ruth and Tris Colket, was the start of the fund. They donated $2 million in cash outright and $3 million in a challenge grant. One chairman of the fund credits this donation as the biggest trigger for the general publics generosity towards the cause. The public donatations came from more than one thousand contributors to the fund- the average range is from $5 to $100. Out of the $13 million total, 60% came from this type of donation, which Mrs. Colket herself said, "how important they are." She is so right! Without the money donated, even in small amounts, this project could never have come to be a reality! The campaign is complete but will continue in silence and raise more funds from prospective donors that can be added to the park trails or to specific special projects. One of these special projects is to make two sites (not revealed as of yet) wheelchair accessible.

The fund over the next ten years will aid the restoration of 130 miles of trails, the most part on Mt Desert Island but also some on Isle Au Haut and the Schoodic peninsula. The work will be mostly done by Park trail crew, but also with a lot of help from the volunteer organizations that are connected to the Park; Friends of Acadia and YCC, to name a few.

In the end we will have more trails to allow us even more opportunities for relaxation and fun in the park. Make sure you visit often and stay tuned to whats happening with your favorite Park. Start at the visitor center where you will find a donation bin, and if you can, make a small donation to the restoration of the park. No matter the sum, every donation counts! Let us all help and preserve the wonderful scenery and landscape that make Acadia National Park so special!

Veine K Vikberg