Forest
Explorations
at Acadia National Park
May 21-23, 2004

Friday

noon-1 pm:  Arrival at Nutting Hall

1-3 pm:  Students tour UMaine Campus, parents meet with program representatives

3-5 pm:  Students take bus to Appalachian Mountain Club Camp, Mount Desert Island

5-6 pm:  Check-in, assign tents, orientation to camp

6-7 pm:  Dinner

7-10 pm:  Introduction to forestry and forest science programs at UMaine, overview of the Maine forest, social in dining hall

Saturday

7-8 am:  Breakfast, take prepared lunch into field

8-9 am:  Introduction to activities, program descriptions, safety training.

9-12 noon:  Acadia National Park Information,
Introduction to the Acadian Forest & Tree Inventory

>       Introduction to ANP, examine how visitor usage influences park management

>       Identify important trees and plants

>       Explain niches of various species

>     Basic inventory procedures

>      GPS locations of morning activities

12-1 pm:  Lunch on site

1-3 pm:  Low impact harvesting for vista management, Acadia National Park

>       Explain need for vegetation management to maintain vistas

>       Select trees for removal

>       Demonstrate skyline logging

>       GPS boundaries of management area

3-5 pm:  Return to AMC camp, work with GIS and mapping

>       Enter collected data into GIS database

>       Work with aerial photos and satellite images

>       Produce maps

5-6 pm:  Free time

6-10 pm:  Bar-b-q, trip to Cadillac Mt. for sunset, camp fire

Sunday

7-9 am:  Breakfast, take prepared lunch into field

9-12 pm:  Forest Fire Ecology & Park Management, Acadia National Park

>       Hike to a site that was affected by the catastrophic 1947 forest fire

>       Learn to recognize plants and indicators of past fire

>       Measure fuel load

>       Discuss fire policy and park management

12-1pm:  Lunch

1pm:       Students picked-up at AMC camp or return to campus to meet parents.