The Tarn: Community Recollections and Reflections Acadia National Park

Fiske, Shirley; National Park Service, Acadia National Park

A recording of historical interviews of individuals who have recollections and memories of the uses and meanings of the Tarn. A portion of the offical Executive Summary from the document: "The Tarn is a small, shallow pond and emergent wetland in Acadia National Park located between Bar Harbor and Otter Creek along State Highway 3 in an area known as The Gorge. Formerly known as Little Meadow, the stream flowing through the meadow was modified nearly 100 years ago by the construction of an impoundment at its outflow. As a result of the dam, the pond known as the Tarn was formed. Through the twentieth century, the Tarn’s condition fluctuated from the original meadow to a more open pond with vegetation around the perimeter. In the last twenty-five years, since the 1990s, the Tarn became noticeably shallower and the area of open water diminished due to extensive growth of aquatic vegetation. At the current time the Tarn is considered an emergent wetland by the park (Calhoun, et al. 1994). The Tarn is a place valued by local residents, having important qualities they appreciated and experienced for most of the twentieth century—that is, a pond with mostly open water. It has been a destination for recreational activities by Otter Creek and Bar Harbor families for three to four generations. In addition to recreation, the individuals interviewed value its aesthetic qualities for reflecting the surrounding mountain scenery and profile of Dorr Mountain in the water. A citizens group, Save the Tarn, has been organized to advocate for preservation of these qualities of a place that they fear will be lost as changing ecological conditions affect the water body. The objectives of this study are to record historical interviews of interested and knowledgeable residents of Otter Creek and Bar Harbor who have recollections and memories of the uses and meanings of the Tarn. Members of these two communities were chosen because they are in closest geographic proximity to the Tarn and have strong associations with the Tarn as compared to other Island communities..." /STUDY LOCATIONS:/ /Bar Harbor/Otter Creek/Dorr Mountain/The Tarn/