An article on the Down East Environmental Award, with brief profiles of recipien

Source

Down East

Date

5-1-2004

Pages

60-65, 86-87

Abstract

An article on the Down East Environmental Award, with brief profiles of recipients since 1979 and a longer profile of Percival Baxter, 2004 recipient of the award. Baxter fought to create, expand, and protect Baxter State Park and had a particular passion for preserving Mt. Katahdin for the people of Maine. He managed to offend nearly every opinion-maker in the state in pursuit of that goal. Born in 1876, he was the youngest son of James Phinney Baxter, a wealthy and popular Portland mayor. As a legislator, Baxter's first bill to create "Mt. Katahdin Centennial Park" was defeated, but a seemingly innocuous bill he proposed passed, allowing the state to accept gifts of land. As Senate president, he became governor by accident when Gov. Frederick Parkhurst died in 1921. After he lost a seemingly easy election for the U.S. Senate, he devoted himself to creating the park, despite resistance from the paper industry and most of the Maine press. For four decades, he bought parcels of land around Mt. Katahdin, donated them to the state, and set up a unique governing authority to ensure that the park would remain "forever wild." With details on those who influenced Baxter in his quest.

Subjects

Baxter State Park, Down East Environmental Award, Rewards, prizes, etc, Baxter, Percival P

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