Toward a Sustainable Landscape with High Visual Preference and High Ecological Integrity: the Loop Road in Acadia National Park

This paper explains the sensitivity of both the ecological landscape and the visual landscape, and the importance of each to the design of The Loop Road in Acadia National Park. In 1919 Congress established Acadia National Park as a sustainable landscape; and preservation of its scenic and naturalistic qualities for future generations was paramount. A study was conducted to address the impact the Loop Road was having on the park from ecological and visual standpoints. In 1986 over 4 million people visited the park and continues to rise. The level of impact was not sustainable for the existing infrastructure. Legislation passed 50 years after the park became operational, initiated the development of the first General Management Plan. Vegetation and Terrain GIS maps were made to locate the highest areas of impact. Surveys were administered to obtain who was going through the park and why. The collecting of this data allowed for suggestions to be advised implemented; mixed woodlands and open spaces key to habitat diversity were segregated from areas of development. When polled, people often expected to see views that where to their definition of high visual quality. The areas also showed to be the areas of highest ecological significance. After years of research and analysis, a landscape planning strategy for the loop road is proposed in the hopes that the visual and ecological can be enhanced and preserved for future generations, while having as little impact on the site as possible.