Wilderness Partners: Buzz Caverly and Baxter State Park (Paperback)

Description

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Buzz Caverly’s inspiring story reveals the minefield of people and issues he negotiated to save the park’s wilderness character.

Buzz Caverly first joined the ranger staff at Baxter State Park in 1960, when the new park was just taking shape under the direction of Helon Taylor and the park's donor, Percival Baxter, who wished the park to be forever wild. Caverly's legendary career in the park one of the most unusual wilderness areas in the nation culminated when he became park director in 1981. Over the years he saw tremendous changes in attitude about land conservation, public access, and park management. From the Wild West days of the 1960s to the intensely managed years of the 1990s and beyond, the clash of personalities and politics is entertaining and inspiring, and reveals the minefield of people and issues Buzz had to negotiate to save the park's wilderness character.

About the Author

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Journalist Phyllis Austin (Brunswick, Maine) has covered environmental and forestland issues in Maine for more than 30 years, including many years at the Maine Times. Her books include Queen Bee: Roxanne Quimby, Burt's Bees and her Quest for a New National Park, On Wilderness and Wilderness Partners.

Praise For…

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...not only a biography of Buzz but also a history of the park for those
45 years. Histories can be dull slogging, but this biographical story
(or historical biography) is a page turner because it has all the
elements of a good novel. The first and most important of those elements
is a strong central character, Buzz himself....Also deserving of the
title 'wilderness partner' alongside Buzz and Governor Baxter is, for my
money, Phyllis Austin, who has held high the wilderness banner both
during her long career as a reporter and now with this monumental,
diligently researched, and thoroughly engaging tribute to Buzz Caverly.
Percival Baxter, Buzz Caverly, Phyllis Austin - wilderness partners
indeed.
— Northern Woodlands

...a delight to read and rich in information....Although packaged as a
biography of Irvin Christoper 'Buzz' Caverly, who served Baxter State
Park for half a century as a ranger, supervisor and director, the book
is more a fascinating political and administrative history of the park's
metamorphosis in modern times...a solid addition to the park
history...
— Maine Sunday Telegram

...expansive 586-page tome that follows Caverly from his childhood
through his early career in the park to his retirement. The result is an
impressive, warts-and-all look at Caverly and the park thanks to
Austin's exhaustive research and attention to detail....the storyteller
in this case is top-notch, and readers are likely to start wishing the
book was even longer before they reach the halfway mark...
— Bangor Daily News