SENATORS SNOWE, COLLINS ANNOUNCE NEARLY $4.7 MILLION IN FUNDING FOR SCHOODIC EDUCATION AND RESEARCH CENTER IN ACADIA NATIONAL PARK

U.S. Senators Olympia J. Snowe and Susan Collins today announced that the U.S. Department of Interior, National Park Service will provide $4,682,000 to support ongoing efforts to convert a former military facility into the Schoodic Education Research Center in Acadia National Park. In addition, Senators Snowe and Collins had previously worked to successfully secure $4.5 million in federal funding for this project, and they were instrumental in facilitating the transfer of the property from the U.S. Navy to the Department of the Interior.

The Schoodic project will reconfigure roads, remodel three buildings into classrooms and laboratories, and complete the majority of work converting the former Winter Harbor naval base into the Schoodic Educational Research Center, part of a national network of National Park Service research learning centers.

"The Schoodic Education and Research Center will offer innovative educational programs that combine natural science research with field-based education," said Senators Snowe and Collins in a statement. "This funding is terrific news and we are pleased to be strong supporters of this important project."

This latest funding is being distributed through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, which Senators Snowe and Collins helped author last year.

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