Greenville’s Sherman honored with NRCM 2020 Leadership Award
AUGUSTA — An ecologist, clean energy entrepreneur, community activist and long-time North Woods advocate have been recognized by Maine’s leading environmental advocacy group, the Natural Resources Council of Maine (NRCM), for their significant, long-lasting contributions to protecting the nature of Maine.
On Oct. 22 NRCM celebrated its 2020 Conservation Leadership Awards at a special online event that featured remarks from each awardee and a poem by Kristen Lindquist of Camden.
“This year’s award winners have done remarkable work to protect what we all love and value about Maine,” said NRCM CEO Lisa Pohlmann. “Each of these individuals demonstrates the power of Mainers to make a difference by speaking up, organizing, and advocating for a better future.”
CONSERVATION LEADERSHIP AWARD — Eric Sherman of Greenville was recently presented with the People’s Choice Award by the Natural Resources Council of Maine for his efforts to protect the state’s natural resources.
Among the four individuals honored by NRCM at the 2020 Conservation Leadership Awards was Eric Sherman of Greenville. Sherman was presented with the People’s Choice Award for his tireless efforts on the No CMP Corridor campaign ranging from gathering petition signatures to delivering signs to fundraising and keeping others informed, and for his dedication and hard work for the greater good of Maine’s North Woods. Sherman is a schoolteacher and during the summer is a whitewater guide for Moxie Outdoor Adventures.
The other three honorees are:
Aram Calhoun of Amherst, Conservation Leadership Award for her expertise and leadership in the effort to protect Maine’s vernal pools, including as a scientific expert supporting our work to stop the Central Maine Power (CMP) corridor project. Calhoun is a professor of wetlands ecology at the University of Maine.
Vaughan Woodruff of Pittsfield, Conservation Leadership Award for his tireless efforts, at the Legislature and throughout Maine, to move our state toward a clean energy future, create clean energy jobs for Maine people, and protect western Maine from the CMP corridor. Woodruff is founder of Insource Renewables, a certified, employee-owned B-Corp.
Cathy Johnson of Alna, Lifetime Achievement Award for her tireless advocacy in defense of Maine’s North Woods, and for her ability to inspire and galvanize support for wild places among NRCM members, coalition partners, and communities across Maine. In early 2020, Cathy Johnson from NRCM after serving for almost 30 years as the Forests & Wildlife Director where she helped to create Maine’s Ecological Reserve system and the Katahdin Woods & Waters National Monument, while pushing back against harmful development including Plum Creek’s massive proposal for the Moosehead Lake region.
For more than 30 years, NRCM’s Conservation Leadership Awards have recognized residents across the state who work to protect the natural resources that are so important for Maine’s economy and way of life. Past recipients include U.S. Sen. George Mitchell, natural history author Phyllis Austin, former Baxter State Park Director Buzz Caverly, Olympic champion/clean air activist Joan Benoit Samuelson and more than a hundred other citizen heroes who have made a difference in their communities and beyond.More information about the work of this year’s award winners is available upon request.
More about NRCM’s Conservation Leadership Awards can be found at www.nrcm.org/events/conservation-leadership-awards/.