Board:
Henry Beeuwkes ’14
Henry Beeuwkes is presently on a leave of absence as Director of Technology at Thornton Academy in Saco to further his education. He has grown up spending summers, and more recently occasional winter vacations at his family's camp on Togue Pond. With the park at his doorstep, he and his family enjoy hiking and camping in Baxter throughout the summer and have introduced many friends to Katahdin. The camp, in the family since the 1920s, was purchased by his grandfather Tom Clark. Tom inspired a love of the Katahdin wilderness and a respect for nature that has been passed down through four generations. Indeed, any suitor to an heir of Tom's must pass a "Camp Test" to be taken seriously! Henry has served for many years as a technology educator in Maine schools. He is a past board member of the Maine Association of School Libraries, a volunteer with Maine Handicapped Skiing and is looking forward to working with the Eastern Trail Alliance. He and his wife Peg are the parents of Claire, a college sophomore and they live in Saco.
Barbara Bentley ‘13
Barbara Bentley is a retired teacher of French, Spanish, and English. She began her yearly adventures in the Park during the 1950's at Camp Natarswi on Togue Pond and led the Junior Maine Guide Program there ten years later. To this day, she carries on a life-long family tradition of annual trips to Russell Pond each August. On a student- exchange in Morocco, then as a Fulbright scholar in France, and later living in Scotland, she has climbed mountains abroad as well as in the USA. Chair of the Selectmen in the Town of Hope and involved in numerous other volunteer causes, she keeps very busy but still finds plenty of time for walking the woods and hills, rock and ice climbing, white water canoeing, and skiing. A Founding Member of Friends, she was the original Administrative Manager and continues to serve as Newsletter Editor. Barbara has served as Friends of Baxter President for the past 3 years. She lives in Hope with her husband Bill, also a Founding Member and former Board Member, whose photographs portray the splendor she experiences in the Park.
Lindsay Bourgoine ‘12
Lindsay Bourgoine completed her eighth winter climbing trip to Katahdin this February with her father. After visiting the park in the summer months as a child, both with her family and at nearby Camp Natarswi, she wanted to see the Knife’s Edge with snow, and started attending the four day trip with her father and his buddies. Lindsay would like to think that perhaps she is the youngest female to summit in full winter conditions, at 15. Lindsay grew up in Readfield, and attended Skidmore College in Saratoga Springs, NY where she received a B.A. in Environmental Science and Geology. She spent summers working at the Appalachian Mountain Club’s huts in the White Mountain National Forest. Lindsay now works full time for the AMC in Portland as the Maine Policy Associate, focusing on land conservation policy and advocacy. Lindsay lives in Falmouth.
Denise Clavette ‘12
Denise Clavette served as a Parks and Recreation Director for 20 years in several communities, including the City of Portland, where she oversaw 1,200 acres of parks and open space, including Baxter Woods. Hiking in the woods at her family home in Daigle Pond in northern Maine inspired her passion for the outdoors. Her love for Baxter State Park was sparked by relatives, Ivan and Virginia Roy, rangers at Daicey Pond for 15 years. This helped shape her decision to obtain a B.S. in Parks and Recreation. She continues to hike Katahdin and other mountains in Maine and NH. She provided leadership for friends groups, commissions and committees, also as President of the American Park and Recreation Society, and has presented at conferences. Denise was project manager for over 40 park and facility projects, guided community needs assessments, and co-authored grant proposals for trails. Most recently, Denise has worked with FBSP members to write the Recreational Trail Program (RTP) Grant that awarded the FBSP with $35,000 toward an over $45,000 trail project for Baxter State Park. Denise lives in Scarborough with her husband Larry Mead, and three children.
Bruce Hancock '14
Bruce Hancock was raised to appreciate the outdoors at his family’s camp in the Adirondacks. He has served on the Baxter State Park Advisory Committee and has been a member of the Citizen’s Advisory Board for Maine Public Broadcasting. Bruce enjoys fly-fishing the ponds of Baxter State Park and has consistently volunteered opening and closing the Park. A retired postal employee, Bruce worked for five years in the camping department at LL Bean and is currently on the Business Team at Apple Computer.
Al Howlett ’14
Al has been climbing Katahdin since he was a boy. He had a career in international development that started with the Peace Corps in Chile as a forestry volunteer, then with the United Nations in Brazil and Paraguay, and for many years with the World Bank in Washington, DC working on Latin America and Asia. While living in Northern Virginia he was active in the Nature Conservancy in West Virginia. Al and his wife Lois have two grown children. They now live in Yarmouth, where Lois is a naturalist and yoga instructor. Al is the Treasurer of Friends of Baxter State Park. He is the president of the Maine Chapter of Partners of the Americas. He also sits on Yarmouth's Recycling Committee. Al and Lois enjoy outdoor activities including gardening, biking and hiking-- none more than their trips to the unsurpassed beauty of the wilderness of Baxter State Park.
Charlie Jacobi ‘13
Charlie Jacobi is a natural resource specialist at Acadia National Park. His focus is visitor use issues. He has worked for the NPS since 1982. His responsibilities include identifying and facilitating needed visitor impact and social science research, monitoring visitor use numbers and behaviors for the park, mitigating visitor impacts to natural resources, Leave No Trace education, and contributing to a variety of park planning efforts. He has worked on the development of park management plans for Isle au Haut, the carriage roads, rock climbing, hiking trails, and commercial services. Charlie previously served on the board of Friends of Baxter State Park for eight years, including three years as President. He lives in Bar Harbor.
Robert Johnston '14
Robert “Bob” Johnston is a geologist with the Maine Geological Survey, Maine Department of Conservation. He has been with the Department for over 31 years, first as a cartographer and then as a geologist. He was involved in the production of the new Maine Geological Survey publication on the geology of Baxter State Park. Bob gives interpretive geology talks in Maine State Parks and for the last two years has led the geology hike up Mt. Katahdin for the Friends of Baxter’s Maine Youth Wilderness Leadership Program. His first visits to Baxter State Park took place in the mid-1970’s when he moved to Maine after college. He has hiked almost all the trails in the Park. Bob is a long time high school and college swim coach and is an active masters swimmer. He lives in Vassalboro with wife Mary Ellen and has twin daughters in college in Maine.
Richard Klain '14
Richard “Dick” Klain is a past educator in various communities in Maine and currently works part time as a technician aboard the US EPA research vessel Bold. He first visited Baxter State Park as part of his Junior Maine Guide training at Camp Buckskin in Franklin, ME. While at the Park he was “recruited” by a young ranger named “Buzz” to help put down a lightening-caused conflagration somewhere in the Park. After a fast ride in the back of a pick-up and a faster hike with an indian pump on his back, the fire was soon put out. The next day, he climbed to Baxter Peak. He has been hooked ever since. For many years, he made it a point to climb Mt. Katahdin at least once a year. He created a hiking program for kids and has hiked the Hundred Mile Wilderness several times as well as many other sections of the AT. After marriage and children, other areas of the Park were explored more fully. When his children come home, one of their favorite places to visit is Baxter State Park. While an educator, Dick was a 25-year member of the Board of Directors of the Maine Conservation School at Bryant Pond, serving in a variety of capacities. He was also active in several professional organizations at the state, national and international level. He enjoys travel, photography, reading, hiking, and sailing. He and his wife of 36 years, Ellen, live in Falmouth.
Ralph Pope ‘12
Ralph Pope received a BA in Economics from Bowdoin College in 1969 and spent most of the following 30 years building and managing a printing company in Woburn, MA. In 2000 Ralph sold his printing company and begin an Environmental Studies Master’s program at Antioch University New England. Following his graduation from Antioch in 2003 Ralph wrote a book on alpine zone lichens (featuring several Katahdin photos) and taught botany courses at Antioch until he and his wife Jean moved to Arrowsic in 2006. Ralph has served on several non-profit boards, is currently board Treasurer for the Maine League of Conservation Voters, and serves on his town’s Conservation Commission. His connection to BSP dates to 1957 when his Dad wisely stopped a Katahdin hike after hitting nasty weather above Chimney Pond, provoking tearful complaints from 10-year old Ralph and his big brother. Fortunately his Dad was game to try again successfully in 1958. Through the years Ralph & Jean have maintained an interest in the Park and visit frequently.
Jym St. Pierre ‘12
Jym St. Pierre has visited Baxter Park scores of times since the 1960s, and co-led more than 25 winter trips. He has been involved in many Park issues, including supporting the West Branch and Katahdin Lake additions, stopping trapping in the sanctuary, and arranging regional and national awards for former Park Director Buzz Caverly. He participated in the organizational meetings of Friends of BSP and is a charter member. Jym earned BA and MPS degrees at UM. He has held senior positions in Maine in the Dept. of Conservation, The Wilderness Society, and Sierra Club. Since 1995, he has been Maine Director of RESTORE: The North Woods. Jym has also been involved with many other public interest initiatives, including Citizens to Protect the Allagash (Founding Chair), Maine Public Lands Policy Advisory Committee, Maine Development Foundation's Leadership Maine Program, Maine League of Conservation Voters (Co-founding Director), Maine Forest Biodiversity Project (Steering Committee), Kennebec Land Trust (Founding President), and Capital Area Camera Club (President). A Maine native, Jym is a published author, an award-winning photographer, and a sometime poet.
Mike Stillman ‘13
Mike Stillman learned about Baxter Park early in his work life. Volunteering with the Student Conservation Association in 1987 gave him his first exposure to this unique park. He was the Assistant Trail Crew leader for a number of years and with this experience went on to serve as a team leader for the Maine Conservation Corps, Maine Appalachian Trail Club, National Park Service, and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Mike feels he owes the park and the people who work there a huge debt of gratitude for helping him gain confidence, management skills, and logistical training at a young age. Skills that he continues to use every day, making the park a big part of who he is today. Mike would like to see Friends increase the size and age diversity of our membership and help provide the same opportunities that he had at a young age. The opportunity to learn and develop in one of the most beautiful places on earth is one we should protect and make available to as many people as possible. Mike Stillman lives in Farmington with his wife Carmen and four dogs.
Milton Wright ‘12
Milton Wright is a former teacher and teacher advocate who retired as Executive Director of the Maine Education Association. In retirement he has just completed a two-year term as President of the Maine Appalachian Trail Club which oversees the maintenance of the 270 miles of the Appalachian Trail from Grafton Notch at Route 26 to the summit of Mt. Katahdin. He served for many years as Chair of the Readfield Planning Board and then served as Chair of the Readfield Select Board. He has also served on many non-profit boards including Friends of the Cobbossee Watershed, Training and Development Corporation, Maine Appalachian Trail Land Trust, Fee Arbitration Panel of the Board of Overseers of the Maine Bar, Readfield Trails Committee, Old Fort Western and various other non-profit groups. Milt first summited Kathadin in 1949 at age 10 with his father and a sister. He continued to hike to the summit of Mt. Katahdin for 58 consecutive years. And it isn’t only Mt. Katahdin, but the beauty of the rest of the park and its wildness that holds his fascination. Milt lives in a circa 1791 house in Readfield, Maine.
Chaitanya York ‘13
Chaitanya York is a humorist ("Henry Bascomb") and handyman. He has over 30 years of natural resources experience and organizational development, including positions as president of Maine Conservation School, executive director of Maine Organic Farmers and Gardeners Association, director of Maine Department of Agriculture's Division of Resource Development, and founding director of Common Ground Country Fair. He has served on numerous boards and two Governor's study commissions. Chaitanya has hiked extensively in the Park, canoed most of the ponds, and for 20 years acted as volunteer coordinator for a men's team specializing in carpentry projects one weekend annually. He enjoys exploring old discontinued trails. Chaitanya said, "The Maine Woods was my day care center where my woodsman grandfather took me, starting when I was three years old and where I first embraced wildness." Chaitanya is the chair of the Friends' Membership Development Committee. He lives in Leed
Friends of Baxter State Park Historian
Howard Whitcomb
Howard Whitcomb taught American politics and constitutional law for a period of 35 years prior to retiring as an Professor Emeritus of Political Science from Lehigh University in 1999. In 1973-1974 he served as a Supreme Court Fellow in the Office of the Administrative Assistant to the Chief Justice of the United States. Howard first climbed Katahdin in 1951 and continues to enjoy hiking in the Park. He is a Founding Member of Friends and compiled/annotated for Friends the four-volume set, Percival P. Baxter's Vision for Baxter State Park in 2005. He also published in the aftermath of the Katahdin Lake acquisition, Governor Baxter's Magnificent Obsession: A Documentary History of Baxter State Park, 1931-2006 (2008). He and his wife live in Georgetown.