Rangeley Lakes Heritage Trust presented its Angus King Award for Conservation Excellence to Richard “Dick” Spencer of Portland at its annual gathering on Aug. 12.

The award, inaugurated by Sen. King in 2019, publicly acknowledges individuals who have worked to conserve lands and waters for the benefit of the community and future generations in Maine and beyond.

In 1991, Spencer partnered with Edward Kfoury and many others to conserve lands around Mooselookmeguntic Lake, ultimately founding the trust. He and Kfoury were presented with the Calder Award in 1993, the highest conservation award in the country, for this achievement.

The project saved Bald Mountain and the western shore of Mooselookmeguntic from imminent development. This collaborative effort among numerous stakeholders has served as a model for conservation in Maine and informs the trust’s current work, including the 10,000-acre Kennebago project.

Spencer’s advice, counsel, and mentoring have been invaluable to trust for more than 30 years, according to a news release from the trust.

Beyond his many years of work as co-founder and general counsel to the trust and the Rangeley region, he has been a force for conservation statewide. He is co-founder and past president of Portland Trails, former vice-chair of Maine Coast Heritage Trust, past president of Maine Audubon, and worked in Mongolia to write a clean water act to protect its rivers from being polluted by mining interests.

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