Trees & Democracy: Forest Inspiration on Mount Desert Island In-Person / Online

Join us for a presentation by Catherine Schmitt, science communication specialist at the Schoodic Institute at Acadia National Park and author of the forthcoming Trees of Acadia (Spring 2026). This program is based on her article, On Western Mountain, in the 2026 edition of the history journal Chebacco.

Parts of Mount Desert Island have been continually forested for thousands of years, a reflection of unique landscape setting and millennia of human relations. From Wabanaki caretakers to the European explorers, investors, and colonists who sought to make the forest their own, the history of people here is intertwined with the trees. The pursuit of white pine that inspired the American Revolution reached the shores of Frenchman Bay, while hills of oak and pitch pine helped fuel the emerging economy of a nation. As the island’s conifers filled sluiceways, tanneries, and sawmills, concern for the fate of the forest inspired another revolutionary idea, of people coming together and making decisions about the future of the landscape, preserving the forests that today remain vital to the pursuit of democracy.

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This program is a collaboration between the Northeast Harbor Library and the MDI Historical Society. It will be offered in person and via Zoom, and recorded for later viewing. If you do not receive a confirmation email after registering, please check your spam or junk folder.