They discovered that the plant communities in Acadia have changed dramatically over that time-one out of six species no longer occur in the park, many have declined in abundance, and several nonnative species have arrived and are becoming more common. In the 2000s Craig Greene, Glen Mittelhauser, and colleagues resurveyed the plant inventory begun by the Champlain Society members in 1880. In partnership with the local Mount Desert Island Historical Society, these efforts have been collected and digitized and will continue to grow over the years. Their records continued to be used and referenced today to examine the impacts of climate change and other influences on Acadia's natural environment. Their citizen science (science that involves the participation of people who are not “professional scientists”) largely inspired the protection of Acadia as a national park. In the 1880s, a group of Harvard College students spent summers on Mount Desert Island the Champlain Society did some of the first recorded detailed inventories of plants, birds, fish, geology, and waters of the island. Members of the Champlain Society at camp during one of their summer field sessions on Mount Desert Island.Ĭourtesy of Northeast Harbor Library The Champlain Society
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