For Immediate Release

Thursday, September 8, 2016

Contact: John Bott, (207) 287-3156

LePage Administration recognizes forest stewardship efforts

Maxwell L. McCormack, Jr. receives the prestigious 2016 Austin H. Wilkins Forest Stewardship Award 

THE BLAINE HOUSE, Augusta — The LePage Administration today presented Maxwell L. McCormack, Jr. with the prestigious 2016 Austin H. Wilkins Forest Stewardship Award. This award recognizes people or organizations that stand above their peers to further forestry, forests, or forestland conservation in the State of Maine. Started by the Maine TREE Foundation in 2004, it is the only award in Maine that recognizes stewardship of the working forest. 

“Maine’s working forests are a vital part of our past, present, and future economy. The Austin H. Wilkins Forest Stewardship Award is an opportunity to publicly recognize Maxwell L. McCormack, Jr. for his contributions to Maine’s working forests and to future generations,” said Commissioner Walt Whitcomb.    

Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry (DACF) Bureau of Forestry Director Doug Denico and Sherry Huber, Executive Director of the Maine TREE Foundation also commended Maxwell L. McCormack, Jr. for his lasting impact on Maine’s forest. The DACF Commissioner and the Maine TREE Foundation choose award recipients. 

Named after one of Maine’s longest contributing professional foresters, the Austin H. Wilkins Forest Stewardship Award is the only award in Maine that recognizes stewardship of the working forest. Started by the Maine TREE Foundation in 2004, the award is given periodically, but no more than annually.

Previous Austin H. Wilkins Forest Stewardship Award Recipients:

Austin H. Wilkins – 2004
Pingree Associates & Seven Islands Land Company – 2005
No award given - 2006
Sherry Huber & John Hagen – 2007       
Roger Milliken Jr. & Baskahegan Company – 2008
Jensen Bissell & Baxter State Park Scientific Forest Management Area – 2009
Prentiss & Carlisle Company – 2010
Robbins Lumber Company – 2011
Robert Linkletter & the Linkletter Family – 2012
Maine Tree Farm Committee – 2013
Chadbourne Tree Farms, LLC – 2014
Irving Woodlands, LLC - 2015

Maxwell L. McCormack, Jr.

For six decades, Maxwell L. McCormack, Jr. has devoted his time, energy and talents to the proper stewardship of forests in Maine and New England through his research, education, review of international forests and by pursuing fact-based evidence. His innovative research, well-crafted studies, and adherence to objective analysis has benefited generations of students.

Appointed by the LePage Administration to the Panel of Experts for Outcome Based Forestry and to the Forester Licensing Board, Maxwell L. McCormack, Jr. has also contributed his leadership to the Society of American Foresters and the University of Maine Cooperative Forest Research Unit. He is widely credited for helping lead the vibrant recovery of the Maine spruce-fir forests after the cataclysmic 1970-1980 spruce budworm epidemic. Throughout the years, he has shown a willingness to speak to any audience about sound, fact-based forest practices.

The Maine TREE Foundation was founded in 1989 to provide Maine people with accurate information about the forest resource. The foundation sponsors several education programs, including: Long Term Education About Forests (LEAF), Project Learning Tree (PLT), the Maine Tree Farm Committee and the Certified Logging Professional program. 

For more information about the Maine Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry, go to: http://www.maine.gov/dacf  

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