For the full article honoring Edmund S. Muskie, the 2008 recipient, see the May 2008 issue of Down East Magazine

1979 - Charles Bradford - father of Maine's state parks.
1980 - The Maine Voter - for approving the Bottle Bill.
1981 - Robert Cummings - Portland Press Herald reporter who rediscovered the public lots.
1982 - James Dorso - Gardiner, wood duck project.
1983 - Marion Fuller Brown - York, Billboard Law.
1984 - St. John Family - preserving Seawall Beach, Phippsburg.
1985 - Natural Resources Council of Maine - All-around advocacy.
1986 - Donald F. Mairs - pioneering regulations, Board of Pesticide Control.
1987 - Mort Mather - Laudholm Farm Trust, Wells.
1988 - David Field, Appalachian Trail Club.
1989 - The Nature Conservancy - Mason Morfit and Kent Womack, for wilderness preservation.
1990 - Joseph Kelley - Geologist who helped draft key shoreland-protection legislation.
1991 - Maine Coast Heritage Trust - Jay Espy, preserving bold coastlines and islands.
1992 - Clinton "Bill" Townsend - for a lifetime of achievements, from Dickey-Lincoln to salmon restoration.
1993 - Tom Cabot - protecting Maine islands.
1994 - Maine Audubon Society - 150 years of achievement.
1995 - Bessie Phillips - Rangeley Lakes wilderness preservation.
1996 - Land for Maine's Future Board - for preserving tens of thousands of acres of Maine wilderness.
1997 - College of the Atlantic - for twenty-five years of environmental education and advocacy.
1998 - Jon Lund, Hallowell, champion of removing Edwards Dam, long history of environmental activism.
1999 - Kent Wommack for the upper St. John project.
2000 - the Maine voter for approving the Land for Maine's future bond.
2001 - Steve Kress, for the return of the puffin.
2002 - Sherry Huber, for a lifetime of work on behalf of Maine's environment.
2003 - Hancock Brothers/Hancock Land, Hancock Lumber, for combining land stewardship with a successful, family-owned business.
2004 - Percival Baxter, for Baxter State Park
2005 - Brownie Carson, Natural Resources Council of Maine, for a career of defending Maine's environment
2006 - Downeast Lakes Land Trust, for protecting 342,000 acres of wilderness in eastern Maine
2007 - Maine Organic Farmers and Gardeners Association, for thirty-five years of work on behalf of small farms and the environment