Research Permits in Acadia National Park 2025

81 total

Updated October 9, 2025

Schoodic Institute publishes annual lists of research permits as part of our partnership with Acadia National Park. In collaboration with the National Park Service, we review and manage research and related communications, ensuring that research informs management and stewardship to protect park resources.

Wildlife & Biodiversity (26)

Forest bird monitoring
Aaron Weed, National Park Service, Northeast Temperate Network

Protecting White Nose Syndrome-affected bat populations
Bik Wheeler, Acadia National Park

Black bear population assessment
Bik Wheeler, Acadia National Park

Opportunistic mortality and disease response
Danielle D’Auria, Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife

eBird observations in Acadia National Park
Emma Albee, Schoodic Institute

Nature’s Notebook observations in Acadia National Park
Emma Albee, Schoodic Institute

iNaturalist observations in Acadia
Emma Albee, Schoodic Institute

Sea Watch: A citizen science monitoring project of fall seabird migrations off Schoodic Point
Seth Benz, Schoodic Institute

Long-term monitoring of fall raptor migrations in Acadia National Park
Seth Benz, Schoodic Institute

Have bird populations in spruce-fir forests changed over the last 65 years?
Christopher Nadeau

Marine-to-land subsidies
Hannah Webber, Schoodic Institute

Phenology of Jonah crab (Cancer borealis) appearance on Schoodic Peninsula
Hannah Webber, Schoodic Institute

Waterbirds in the Isle au Haut region
Glen Mittelhauser, Maine Natural History Observatory

Bird sound recording to enhance bird ecology research
Laura Sebastianelli, Schoodic Notes: Bird Sounds of Acadia

Seabird survey of Acadia National Park islands
John Anderson, College of The Atlantic

Evidence of a commensalism between ruby-throated hummingbirds (Archilochus colubris) and yellow-bellied sapsuckers (Sphyrapicus varius)
Nicholas Lapic, College of The Atlantic

Ecology and co-occurrence of bat species in relation to white-nose syndrome in the Northeast
Chloe Meyer, College of The Atlantic

Hiding in plain sight? Occupancy patterns of cryptic species in a mixed-use landscape
Brittany Slabach, College of The Atlantic

Coastal vernal pools as breeding habitat for spotted salamanders (Ambystoma maculatum)
Brittany Slabach, College of The Atlantic

Beaver colonization and dispersal patterns
Brittany Slabach, College of The Atlantic

How landscape ecology and human disturbance shape small mammal communities
Brittany Slabach, College of The Atlantic

Exploring the bird and mammal communities of the Maine islands
Grant Bowers, New Jersey Institute of Technology

Evaluating and integrating long-term bird monitoring and public engagement for effective conservation
Veronica Winter, Pennsylvania State University

Protecting amphibian pathways: using citizen science to map and predict amphibian road crossing hotspots
Noah Charney, University of Maine

American goshawk bioregional monitoring in the Northeast U.S.
Adrian Naveda, University of Maine

Long term ecological monitoring of tick populations to establish a statewide surveillance network
John Nugent, University of Maine

Plants (14)

Forest health monitoring at Acadia National Park
Aaron Weed, National Park Service, Northeast Temperate Network

Investigate the holocene history of freshwater wetlands to inform Wabanaki co-stewardship of restoration
Rebecca Cole-Will, Acadia National Park

Northeast Forest Inventory and Analysis
Ronna Coleman, Maine Forest Service

Rare and exemplary plants and natural communities survey and inventory
Emily Carty, Maine Natural Areas Program

Monitoring climate change refugia using Citizen Science
Christopher Nadeau, Schoodic Institute at Acadia National Park

Acadia Summit Restoration Project
Christopher Nadeau, Schoodic Institute

Does enhancing genetic diversity increase the long-term success of subalpine-plant restorations under climate change?
Christopher Nadeau, Schoodic Institute

The CMBG Seed Bank: Conserving seeds of the most vulnerable plant species of Maine
Bret Bemis, Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens

The New England Plant Conservation Program (2025-2029)
Erik Sechler, Native Plant Trust

Microhabitat characterization of Dryopteris fragrans on vertical cliff habitats in Maine, USA
Conrad Kortemeier, College of The Atlantic

Rare plant monitoring on Cadillac Mountain summit
Jill Weber, College of The Atlantic

Linking microclimate and tree regeneration to assess future composition of Maine coastal forests
Colby Bosley-Smith, University of Maine

Assessing the natural, cultural, and educational resources of Acadia National Park
Katharine Ruskin, University of Maine

Enhancing forest monitoring in through airborne LiDAR data
Xinyuan Wei, University of Maine

Intertidal & Marine (12)

Elevation monitoring of salt marsh habitats at Acadia National Park
Kaitlyn Button, National Park Service, Northeast Coastal and Barrier Network

Rocky Intertidal Monitoring Program
Adam Kozlowski, National Park Service, Northeast Temperate Network

Schoodic Education Adventure, Intertidal Exploration
Alexa Pezzano, Acadia National Park

NOAA Marine Debris Monitoring and Assessment Project Nationwide Survey
Victoria Fulfer, University of Rhode Island and NOAA Fisheries

USET Region 1 Botany and Wetland Delineation Training Seminar
Michael Purvis, United South and Eastern Tribes, Inc.

Sea level monitoring
Catherine Schmitt, Schoodic Institute

Comparing the Project ASCO rockweed weighing method to existing rockweed weighing methods
Hannah Webber, Schoodic Institute

Event response: Winter 2024 storms in Acadia National Park
Stefan Claesson, Nearview LLC

Naturalized or nuisance? Quantifying Littorina littorea’s role in New England intertidal ecosystems
Christopher Wells, Bowdoin College

Biodiversity of microbial eukaryotes in Acadia National Park: Testate (shelled) Amoebae at Big Heath and Ciliates in tide pools
Laura Katz, Smith College

Salt marsh monitoring
Tonya Prentice, Tremont Consolidated School

Intertidal community assembly and dynamics: Integrating broad-scale regional variation in environmental forcing and benthic-pelagic coupling
Catherine Matassa, University of Connecticut

Experimental evolutionary cell biology using the Porphyra model system
Susan Brawley, University of Maine

Freshwater & Air (10)

Freshwater wetland monitoring
Camilla Seirup, National Park Service, Northeast Temperate Network

Jordan Pond, Seal Cove, and Witch Hole Pond water quality monitoring
Kathleen Brown, Acadia National Park

Water monitoring of Cromwell Brook for Wild Acadia project
Kathleen Brown, Acadia National Park

Regional Lake Monitoring Network
Jeremy Deeds, Maine Department of Environmental Protection

Northeast Creek Volunteer River Monitoring
Hailey Bondy, Town of Bar Harbor

The Dragonfly Mercury Project – engaging citizen scientists in monitoring mercury contamination in national parks
Hannah Webber, Schoodic Institute

Stemming the tide of PFAS contamination in coastal watersheds
Jane Disney, MDI Biological Laboratory

Assessing water levels in Great Meadow
Glen Mittelhauser, Maine Natural History Observatory

Understanding Cronobacter diversity, distribution, and ecology to inform Cronobacter control strategies in the dairy industry
Martin Wiedmann, Cornell University

Visitor Studies (9)

Volpe National Transportation Systems Center data collection
Adam Gibson, Acadia National Park

Game camera pond usage study for Upper Breakneck, Lower Breakneck, and Halfmoon Ponds
Ashley Houle, Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife

Surveying users and activities at the Bar in Bar Harbor
Jane Disney, MDI Biological Laboratory

What approaches lead to better outcomes in National Park Service interpretation?
Kelley Anderson, Virginia Tech

Carriage road congestion
Frederick Bianchi, Worcester Polytechnic Institute

Dark sky management
Frederick Bianchi, Worcester Polytechnic Institute

Developing an e-bike policy and etiquette framework
Frederick Bianchi, Worcester Polytechnic Institute

Crowdsourcing plan: Gathering visitor data
Frederick Bianchi, Worcester Polytechnic Institute

Feasibility study on establishing smart park technologies
Frederick Bianchi, Worcester Polytechnic Institute

Pests, diseases, & invasive species (6)

Emerald ash borer monitoring
Emma Lanning, National Park Service

Southern pine beetle early detection monitoring
Jesse Wheeler, Acadia National Park

Long-term monitoring of beech leaf disease (BLD)
Cameron McIntire. USDA Forest Service

Exotic wood boring bark beetle survey
Anthony Slowik, USDA APHIS

Wetland monitoring and invasive species suppression in Great Meadow and Bass Harbor Marsh
Christopher Nadeau, Schoodic Institute

Why is purple loosestrife SO invasive?
Dominique Costarella, Kent State University

Cultural resources (2)

Initiate survey and analysis of spruce root for Wabanaki gathering under 36 CFR 2.6 Plant Gathering Regulation
Rebecca Cole-Will, Acadia National Park

Engage Wabanaki harvesters in wetland restoration work through sweetgrass harvesting
Rebecca Cole-Will, Acadia National Park

Geology (2)

Schoodic Education Adventure, Soil Exploration
Alexa Pezzano, Acadia National Park

Catastrophic events at the end of the last ice age and their impact on mountain lake ecosystems in North America and Europe
Stephen Norton, University of Maine