Former manager, state settle lawsuit

The state Department of Conservation and the former manager of the Allagash Wilderness Waterway have settled a lawsuit filed by Tim Caverly that claimed his civil rights were violated when he was forced to leave state employment after 33 years.

Neither party would discuss terms of the settlement, which ends a year of legal wrangling.

Caverly, who managed the Allagash for 18 years, was terminated in June 1999 for insubordination and unfair treatment of his employees, according to the state. He sued later that year, claiming he was forced to take early retirement because he spoke up against what he viewed as the state’s mismanagement of the Allagash, a 92-mile scenic river in northern Maine.

Caverly said Thursday that he was pleased with the terms of the settlement, which was reached late last month. He was especially pleased that the state, in the form of a letter from Conservation Commissioner Ronald Lovaglio, acknowledged his years of service.

“I am writing to acknowledge your thirty-three years of dedication and hard work in striving to preserve Maine’s valuable natural resources, including the Allagash Wilderness Waterway,” Lovaglio wrote in the Nov. 27 letter to Caverly. “The Department of Conservation recognizes your dedication, commitment and love of the Allagash.”

“While we regret that differences arose in the course of your employment, we are pleased to reach an agreement in regard to those differences that allows both parties to move on,” the commissioner concluded.

Soon after leaving the Allagash, Caverly was named director of the Maine branch of Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility, a group that aids whistleblowers. Now that a settlement has been reached, Caverly said, he will be more able to advocate changes in the management of the Allagash and other public lands in Maine.

Caverly has been an outspoken critic of state plans to create a new boat launch at John’s Bridge in the Allagash. He spoke against such a proposal while he was still manager of the waterway.