Cornelia T. “Fly Rod” Crosby, Maine’s first-ever registered Maine guide, will soon be honored with a life-size bronze statue at the entrance to the new headquarters for the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife. Contributed photo

AUGUSTA — Cornelia T. “Fly Rod” Crosby, Maine’s first-ever registered Maine guide, will soon be honored with a life-size bronze statue at the entrance to the new headquarters for the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife, which is scheduled to open in the late fall of 2026.

Contributed photo

Crosby was especially active through the 1880s to the early 1900s as an enterprising outdoor writer, promoter of the state’s natural resource attractions and activities, and a wilderness guide herself. Her achievements included catching and releasing 200 trout in a day, fishing with Teddy Roosevelt, befriending Annie Oakley, being the last to shoot a caribou in Maine, and earning registered Maine guide license #1.

Her storied life and legacy have been the subject of books and reenactments, and in 2018 she was inducted into the Maine Women’s Hall of Fame at Colby College.

Already in the design stage and planned to go out to bid later this fall, MDIFW’s new building, on a site directly across the Kennebec River from the Maine Capitol, will bring together four department offices and storage facilities that are currently in separate locations around Augusta.  The new site will also offer an outdoor learning and recreation area that includes water access, learning trails and fishing areas.

Department of IF&W Commissioner Judy Camuso, along with the Friends of Fly Rod, a group of registered Maine guides, have selected sculptor Erin McCarthy to create the statue. When the new offices open in just over two years, visitors will be met near the door by the figure of Fly Rod Crosby herself.

While the budget for the new IF&W headquarters includes a line for enhancements to public spaces, funding for the statue itself is being pursued by the Friends of Fly Rod. For more information, visit friendsofflyrod.org.

Check out other upcoming area events!