For the past 45 years, Kyle Vietze of Newton, Massachusetts, and his family have been frequent visitors to Acadia National Park.
“My sister and her two kids are here to check out the wild gardens and Jesup path,” remarked Vietze. “They’re not like adventurous hikers, so, you know, something that’s pretty user friendly is what we wanted to do today.”
Although his stay at the park’s Seawall Campground this summer is going well, Vietze said he has observed a few minor changes that he believes are caused by the National Park Service’s budget cuts under the Trump Administration.
According to him, there was only one ranger at the campground this year when he checked in, as opposed to the usual two or three.
“No one else would notice that if it was their first time there,” Vietze stated. “But I said, yeah, that has to be due to the cuts.”
He added that he is worried about what it’s like for park employees even though services seem to be intact.
“The people that are there must be working twice as hard,” remarked Vietze. “I would guess that. They’re performing admirably.
When evaluating the current staffing situation, those near the park are more straightforward.
Eric Stiles of the nonprofit Friends of Acadia stated, “We need to have the hiring freeze lifted, we need for seasonal hiring to occur as usual, because too much is at stake.”
Although the specifics of the employment cuts are unknown, he cited estimates that indicate the National Park Service has lost almost 25% of its permanent staff since January. Additionally, seasonal staffing has decreased by almost 40% during the summer.
“So when you take a look at the carriage roads, for example, if there was a big hurricane that hit down east Maine, we’re not going to have the staff that’s needed to really just get in there and restore it,” Stiles explained.
Understaffing, according to national park advocates across the United States, will cause maintenance to be delayed, visitor centers to operate fewer hours, and medical response times to be slowed down.
However, park authorities are keeping quiet about the cuts and how they may affect services.
“As expected, Acadia National Park has had a very busy summer,” said Amanda Pollock, a spokesman for the park.
In response to a question concerning the park’s personnel levels, Pollock stated that the goal has been to make sure guests have an amazing day.
“It’s great to have visitors out and about and watching them make connections with such an important landscape and an important park,” she stated.
Businesses in Bar Harbor, meanwhile, are keeping a wary eye on that relationship with the park.
According to Everal Eaton, executive director of the Bar Harbor Chamber of Commerce, “we often say, ‘Well, what happens in Bar Harbor affects the national park and what happens in the national park affects Bar Harbor.'”
This summer, members of the chamber are facing several uncertainty.
Historically, 4% of visitors to the region have been Canadian, but this summer, they are avoiding the region due to tariffs and President Trump’s remarks about annexing their nation.
Additionally, Eaton stated that as town limits on cruise ship tourists go into force, cruise ship traffic is also decreasing.
“I think where I’m most concerned and looking towards cruise ships, historically have helped us booster our shoulder seasons after Labor Day,” he stated. “So I think kind of going into the fall, that’s an area that we have a little bit concern on.”
It’s still difficult to predict how it will impact the season overall or how businesses will need to adjust for the upcoming year, Eaton said, because so many adjustments are still being made.
Kyle Vietze, a tourist to Acadia, is optimistic that the staffing issue won’t have a significant negative impact.
“Is it long-term? “I’m not sure,” he said. However, you inquired as to whether I was extremely worried. To truly appreciate life, it’s one of the things I look forward to.”
