On Earth Day 2023 we celebrate the launch of the International Appalachian Trail, which was the brainchild of Dick Anderson, who many in Maine will remember as the first Executive Director of the Maine Audubon Society, and then the Commissioner of the (old) Department of Conservation during Joe Brennan’s two terms as Governor of Maine (1978-1986).
The IAT was launched at a press conference held by Joe Brennan, at which Don Hudson spoke about the ecological and geological connections between the state of Maine and the provinces of New Brunswick and Quebec. The IAT was proposed to link the highest points in these three jurisdictions, and now it extends around the North Atlantic to Europe and North Africa.
Dick Anderson has served on the Board of Directors of the Maine IAT since its founding in 1994, and will be stepping down in May to become an Honorary Director.
Three cheers for Dick, and for the tireless energy and enthusiasm he has poured into bringing the dream of a special long distance trail to a reality that none of us would ever have imagined in 1994!
