[at-l] ATC stuff

[ellen at clinic.net (Bob C)]

"I'm sure Weary will be too modest to boast of receiving ATC's
highest honor for his decades of tireless devotion to the Trail and
the wild lands of Maine. ?Dave Field did a most impressive job in
recounting the accomplishments of this great man among us. ?I hope all
the members of this list are proud of him. ?And it was a joy to meet
him in person. ?So many are the protectors of the Trail that I can't
help but be excited about the future, no matter the challenges we
shall face, for we shall face them with a unity of spirit and purpose
and energy that will not be defeated."

Many over the years have devoted more hours and more dedication to the trail than I have. I was just lucky to have had  a job that allowed me from time to time write a little about some things that were at least partially, a hobby -- land protection and a love for the trail.

As a result when a wise, but by conventional standards an eccentric person, approached me in 1963 with the message , "Bob, You have to write about the public lots," I listened and pondered. As near as I can tell, others with access to the columns of newspapers who got the same plea, either didn't listen, or ignored the message, or simply thought the issue was too complex to deal with.

Anyway. For practical and logistical reasons, nine years later I wrote the story. When the initial response suggested my informant might be right, I resolved to keep the issue alive at least long enough for the political and legal process could respond.

On the face of it, it was a silly story. My editors certainly thought so. The mainline environmental groups in Maine thought so. Rational organizations deal with current issues, not century old claimed mistakes. 

A decade later, 1982, the Maine Supreme Court decided that these long forgotten, 400,000 acres, really belonged to the state of Maine, that my informant was right. That my editors and Maine environmental groups were wrong. As a result, the trail in Maine now bisects broad corridors of public land along places like the Mahoosucs, Bigelow, Four POnds and Nahmakanta.

Anyway. It was nice to have the ATC recognize me for some wisdom I may have had three plus decades ago. Newspapers are a nebulous media. Nobody remembers three decades old stuff. Few remember stuff newspapers print for more than a day or two. Anyway, thanks to Steve Clark, Dave Field, and especially State Rep. Herb Adams, who was the catalyst, I've joined 50 others in the 80 years since the foundig of ATC among the  honorary membership. I'm both proud and humbled. 

Though my lungs didn't permit me the hikes I longed to do, I found the conference enjoyable. I urge those who tend to find such events boring to try one. Think seriously about attending the 2007 biennial conference in 2007 in New Jersey. I'll be there -- I hope. We can chat then.

Weary