Acadia National Park (Maine)

[Tyco]

This is an update on the nudity ban situation at Lake Wood, in Acadia NP, which was posted here and on other boards last summer.

Not good news.

Today I talked to someone who lives near Lake Wood and has gone there for over 20 years. He told me that the rangers have been ticketing anyone nude there this year (these are folks who did not know about the nudity ban). No first offense warnings. Instant ticket. He also said that one guy, who was sitting there WEARING SHORTS, was approached by a ranger who demanded his name and address, and to see his driver's license. Pure harassment.

Apparently the new head ranger (that took over a couple years ago) has gone ballistic about this, because he's not just targeting Lake Wood, he's going after all of Acadia Park. I was told that rangers have been patrolling the paths along Echo Lake and Long Pond, areas of occasional skinny-dipping, and stamping out any nudity there as well.

Unless something changes with the ranger personnel at Acadia, outdoor naturism is history on Mt. Desert Island.

Thanks for the memories.

[Tyco]

This is an update on the nudity ban situation at Lake Wood, in Acadia NP, which was posted here and on other boards last summer.

Not good news.

Today I talked to someone who lives near Lake Wood and has gone there for over 20 years. He told me that the rangers have been ticketing anyone nude there this year (these are folks who did not know about the nudity ban). No first offense warnings. Instant ticket. He also said that one guy, who was sitting there WEARING SHORTS, was approached by a ranger who demanded his name and address, and to see his driver's license. Pure harassment.

Apparently the new head ranger (that took over a couple years ago) has gone ballistic about this, because he's not just targeting Lake Wood, he's going after all of Acadia Park. I was told that rangers have been patrolling the paths along Echo Lake and Long Pond, areas of occasional skinny-dipping, and stamping out any nudity there as well.

Unless something changes with the ranger personnel at Acadia, outdoor naturism is history on Mt. Desert Island.

Thanks for the memories.

[Soleil Nu]

It looks like Maine needs a law to protect at the state level the right of individuals to skinnydip and sunbathe nude at secluded and well established places, like Vermont. Having been to Maine a few times, I think public opinion would be in favor of this.

[meredith2kp4]

The problem at Acadia National Park has nothing to do with Maine law. In Maine nudity is an offense only if there is an intent to affront or alarm. It is hard to imagine that anyone at the traditional nude area would be affronted or alarmed by nonsexual nudity. Also, a Maine court has ruled that a woman may be completely nude in public because her genitals are internal. The National Park Service is using the NPS regulation against disorderly conduct. This regulation says nothing about nudity. "Disorderly Conduct" apparently is anything the ranger says it is.

[Nu]

quote:

Originally posted by Tyco:
This is an update on the nudity ban situation at Lake Wood, in Acadia NP, which was posted here and on other boards last summer.

Not good news.

Today I talked to someone who lives near Lake Wood and has gone there for over 20 years. He told me that the rangers have been ticketing anyone nude there this year (these are folks who did not know about the nudity ban). No first offense warnings. Instant ticket.

How much of a fine is involved when one receives a ticket?
Is jail time possible?
Could one fight the ticket in a court of law on grounds that have been specified elsewhere on this thread?

[DeathKnight]

It sounds like an enforcement department at Acadia is in desperate need of revenue.

[missouriboy]

quote:

Apparently the new head ranger (that took over a couple years ago) has gone ballistic about this, because he's not just targeting Lake Wood, he's going after all of Acadia Park.

This is the heart of the problem, not the nudity itself. It's a problem of too much power going to one individual, with such power causing the ego to swell.

Forget the particular subject of nudity, the concentration of arbitrary power needs to be reviewed by a higher authority, who might conclude that the "new (big)head ranger" has overstepped his bounds. Is there such an entity that can be appealed to?

[meredith2kp4]

The law and park regulation Park Supt. Sheridan Steele cites follow (I don't see how they apply at Lake Wood, wheere nudity has been common for over 20 years.):

Maine Indecent Exposure Statute:

Title 17 of Maine Criminal Code, Chapter 35-Prostitution and Public
Indecency, section 854:

"A person is guilty of indecent conduct if:
A. In a public place:
1. The actor engages in a sexual act, as defined in section 251.
Violation of this paragraph is a class E crime.
2. The actor knowingly exposes the actor's genitals under
circumstances that in fact are likely to cause affront or alarm.
Violation of this subparagraph is a class E crime."


NATIONAL PARK SERVICE DISORDERLY CONDUCT REGULATION:

TITLE 36--PARKS, FORESTS, AND PUBLIC PROPERTY

CHAPTER I--NATIONAL PARK SERVICE, DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

PART 2_RESOURCE PROTECTION, PUBLIC USE AND RECREATION--Table of Contents

Sec. 2.34 Disorderly conduct.

(a) A person commits disorderly conduct when, with intent to cause
public alarm, nuisance, jeopardy or violence, or knowingly or recklessly
creating a risk thereof, such person commits any of the following
prohibited acts:
(1) Engages in fighting or threatening, or in violent behavior.
(2) Uses language, an utterance, or gesture, or engages in a display
or act that is obscene, physically threatening or menacing, or done in a
manner that is likely to inflict injury or incite an immediate breach of
the peace.
(3) Makes noise that is unreasonable, considering the nature and
purpose of the actor's conduct, location, time of day or night, and
other factors that would govern the conduct of a reasonably prudent
person under the circumstances.
(4) Creates or maintains a hazardous or physically offensive
condition.
(b) The regulations contained in this section apply, regardless of
land ownership, on all lands and waters within a park area that are
under the legislative jurisdiction of the United States.

[48 FR 30282, June 30, 1983, as amended at 52 FR 35240, Sept. 18, 1987]

[Soleil Nu]

quote:

Originally posted by meredith2kp4:
"Disorderly Conduct" apparently is anything the ranger says it is.

And that's my point meredith. If nude sunbathing and skinny dipping were explicitly mentionned in a law as being legal in secluded and well established places, then those activities simply couldn't be bundled as a simple "disorderly conduct", no matter how much the ranger would like them to be.

[John P]

Meredith, have we met? Perhaps we're fellow frequenters of alpine meadows.

As I've heard it explained by Naturist Action Committe people, the situation at Lake Wood is that what the chief ranger has started doing may be beyond his authority. And he may need a special regulation against nudity, if "disorderly conduct" can't be made to stick in court, in a case of peaceful and non-sexual nudity.

But proving any of this requires someone who's willing to fight the case in court, which means hiring an attorney. As always, it's much cheaper and less trouble just to pay up and get it done with.

If there were some naturists in the Bar Harbor area who'd get together and form a "Friends of Lake Wood" group, there might be hope. But unfortunately it seems that Acadia is more of a place that people visit occasionally from far away, so there's no chance of organizing locally.

I'd love to be rong about this, but that's the way I understand the situation.

[KetchumMaine]

Anyone with direct knowledge (you were cited, or were there and witnessed the event) of citations being issued at Acadia National Park Citations please contact Dennis Kirkpatrick at [email protected]. He is in contact with someone who is in the area and planning on speaking with the Rangers about the situation.

[missouriboy]

quote:

He is ... planning on speaking with the Rangers about the situation.

Great! And I hope he speaks with someone over the Rangers' heads, too. Someone the Rangers have to answer to!

[KetchumMaine]

That is essentially what I meant, I just didn't state it clearly. Sorry.

[meredith2kp4]

As I understand it, anyone contesting a summons must appear before a federal magistrate. The magistrate may enforce both federal regulations and Maine state law. In enforcing Maine state law the magistrate is supposed to apply case law developed by Maine courts. The interpretations of Maine courts would not seem to make the indecent exposure statute applicable to the situation at Lake Wood. As a practical matter, it is very inconvenient for any visitor to return to appear before the federal magistrate. Therefore, Supt. Sheridan Steele can often get away with issuing summonses where there is no law violation.

[NuderThanYou]

Any updates? Any info about the term of the superintendent? Any news? I went the other day, and it was so WRONG to be there wearing clothes. And there were fewer people there than there would have been (on similar days, in similar weather, etc., without clothes). The superintendent's letter on the friendsofacadia site laments the reduction in visitors, but he's made ME not bother with ANP/BH. I used to visit the entire area while there for Lake Wood. *sniffle*