BANGOR DAILY NEWS • October 24, 2025
Richard Edward Barringer, cabinet member for three Maine governors and public policy educator, died on October 20, 2025. He was a passionate champion for Maine's environment and the well-being of its citizens over a 60+ year career of public service. Richard received a master's degree from UMass and a doctorate from MIT. He taught at the Kennedy School of Government, directed the Massachusetts Bicentennial Commission, and authored A Maine Manifest (1972), an analysis of Maine's changing natural resource-based economy. He moved to Maine in 1973 to become the first director of the Bureau of Public Lands, where he and colleagues reclaimed 600,000 acres. He was commissioner of the Department of Conservation 1975-1981, then state planning director 1981-1986. Richard then joined USM as a research professor and graduate teacher in public policy. Dick published Toward a Sustainable Maine (1993) and Changing Maine (2004). He competed in the Democratic primary for governor in 1994. He joined with other stewards of the outdoors to establish the Allagash Wilderness Waterway Foundation in 2011. A memorial service for Richard will occur at 14 Ocean Gateway Pier, Portland, on November 18, 2025, from 4 to 5 p.m. followed by an informal catered celebration.