One of the most important programs to support our mission is building a coalition of individuals and organizations who can help us to preserve Maine’s sporting camps.
Our mission involves conserving land around sporting camps, and assisting on common business and marketing issues. We are very fortunate that Maine’s large outdoor and tourism communities are very experienced in these tasks. Our challenge is to focus them on sporting camp issues.
One of our coalition building opportunities is the “Roundtable” event hosted by Maine Woods Forever. The Roundtables were started in 2004 to foster collaboration between those who are devoted to conserving our forests and woodlands for today and for future generations.
Left to Right: Aaron Megquire (Executive Director, Friends of Baxter State Park, whose organization nominated Mathias Deming); John Rust (Chairman, Teddy Roosevelt Maine Conservation Award Committee, Maine Woods Forever), Mathias Deming (Award recipient)
John Rust of the Maine Sporting Camp Heritage Foundation volunteered to chair a Maine Woods Forever committee that recently announced the first-ever recipients of the “Teddy Roosevelt Maine Conservation Award,” at the 30th Roundtable event, held at Unity College.
The “Teddy Roosevelt Maine Conservation Award,” is a youth-oriented award created to recognize young people and youth groups whose efforts are in the spirit of Roosevelt’s conservation ethic and achievements. The new award recognizes what Maine’s youth are doing to conserve our forest heritage and encourages them to become future conservation leaders.
Left to Right: John Rust (Chairman, Teddy Roosevelt Maine Conservation Award Committee, Maine Woods Forever), Jim Robbins (Robbins Lumber & Waldo District BSA member, who nominated the Katahdin Area Council), Michael Aspinal (Scout and Camp Roosevelt staff), Scott Harvey (Scout Executive, Katahdin Area Council)
“Many credit Theodore Roosevelt’s rugged sojourns in Maine during the late 1800s with shaping his determination to conserve our natural world,” notes John Rust, chairman of the award committee. “The recipients, Mathias Deming, 17, of Winthrop, and the Katahdin Area Council of the Boy Scouts of America, have both very clearly lived up to this ethic.”
For more about the Teddy Roosevelt Maine Conservation Award Winners.
For more about Maine Woods Forever and the “Roundtable,” please visit www.mainewoodsforever.org.
