We all know rugged veterans of the outdoors who are committed to making the Maine woods a better place, and now L.L. Bean is publicly beginning to recognize unsung contributors with its (first) annual Outdoor Heroes Awards.

The initial three to be named are Dave Field, a supervisor with the Appalachian Trail Club of Maine; Kay Henry, creator of the Northern Forest Canoe Trail; and Greg Ponte, executive director of the Maine Trout Unlimited Trout Camp.

(An aside: I ruefully list of the names of these good citizens because I had thought of writing a book titled, "Faces in the Forest," which would be comprised of short biographies of the many useful people who help sustain the Maine wilderness. But I have done nothing about it - yet).

Dave Field has been helping to clear trails for the Appalachian Mountain Club for more than five decades. Much of his work has been in the Saddleback area, and he was honored for his achievements in conservation and trail maintenance.

Kay Henry, who bunks in Vermont, has been the driving force behind the Northern Forest Canoe Trail, a set of waterways running from Ft. Kent to Old Forge New York. Her connected route of rivers, lakes and streams runs through New York, Vermont, Quebec, New Hampshire and Maine. The entire "watertrail" is 740 miles, with more than 300 miles in Maine. Most people travel only part of the route, of course, but in 2006 a paddler named Donnie Mullen of Northport became the first to complete the whole trip. It took him 55 days.

Greg Ponte uses the Evergreen Campgrounds in Solon as his home base for the Maine Trout Unlimited Trout Camp. Since the summer of 2004, close to 60 teen-agers have come to this retreat to learn about fishing, conservation and advocacy of the outdoors. He was honored for education and conservation.

The Outdoor Heroes is a great idea. Many of the conservationists who are in the public eye are involved in the political arena. That is fine, but it's also refreshing to learn about people who are make huge contributions without necessarily expecting anything in return.

Their prize? A bright shining trophy in the form of an L.L. Bean lantern.

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