PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • November 16, 2020
Nov. 16, 1975: Television crews and reporters converge on the Kennebec River to record the last major log drive in the contiguous 48 U.S. states. The Maine Legislature passed a law in 1971 banning log drives after Oct. 1, 1976, but in 1975 the practice already is dying out for economic reasons, given that it is cheaper to transport logs by truck. The Legislature acted partly in response to pressure from a protest group headed by University of Maine graduate student Howard Trotzky. He sought a court order that the log drives be controlled to enable people to use the waterways for recreational purposes. Ttrotzky acknowledged later that his real motivation was ecological.