CAPE ELIZABETH – Cape Elizabeth Tree Warden Mike Duddy has been named the 2014 recipient of the Ralph Gould Award for Outstanding Citizenship.

Handed out annually by the Town Council, the Gould Award, named for its first recipient in 1986, recognizes individuals who make a difference in the community through volunteer service.

However, when accepting the honor at the Jan. 6 council meeting, Duddy said he was doing so not as an individual, but on behalf of the town’s conservation commission, a group on which he served for a decade, from 2000 to 2010.

“It’s been a fantastic group of volunteers,” he said. “Cape’s a really special place to live. I think it has been a great privilege to serve as part of a continuum of volunteers over the years who have worked within this large practical working consensus about how to be good stewards of our natural resources.”

As tree warden, Duddy is responsible for the care and maintenance of trees on town and school property, including Fort Williams Park. He also fields numerous questions from residents about the selection, planting and care of trees. In 2012, Duddy secured a $7,900 Project Canopy grant to help restore the Shagbark Hickory tree to Cape Elizabeth, as well as another grant to create habitat for the endangered New England Cottontail rabbit.

According to Town Council Chairman Jessica Sullivan, who presented the award, Duddy became a “hands-on” participant in Cape conservation efforts shortly after moving to town in 1999, and was instrumental in helping to draft the 2001 Greenbelt Plan, which aimed to expand and improve the network of walking trails throughout the town.

During Duddy’s time on the conservation commission, he also helped draft management plans for Gull Crest and Winnick Woods, designed and built boat racks and boardwalks at Great Pond and worked with the Sprague family to clarify public easements access to the pond. He also led dozens of volunteers over the years to build trail systems in Winnick Woods and in the Cross Hill neighborhood as well as bridges and boardwalks on the Highland Trail and the wooden pedestrian bridge that now links the Stonegate Trail system to Fort Williams.

In addition, Sullivan said, Duddy has inspired Cape Elizabeth youngsters as a nine-year coach of basketball, football and Little League teams. He also taught youth liturgy and ministry programs at St. Bartholomew Church for 10 years.

An attorney with the Portland firm Kelly, Remmel & Zimmerman specializing in health-care law, Duddy received his undergraduate degree from the University of Maine and his master’s degree from the Edmund S. Muskie Institute of Public Affairs, before earning his law degree from the University of Maine School of Law.

Prior to practicing law, Duddy served as an officer in the U.S. Navy where he was awarded the Navy Commendation Medal. A licensed professional forester, Duddy won the American Hiking Association’s Volunteer of the Year Award in 2004 for his work on Cape Elizabeth greenbelt trail system. He is married with two children.

Saying he was “not big on individual awards,” Duddy deflected personal praise and tipped his cap instead to his fellow conservation commissioners and those currently serving on that group, as well as town officials, employees and residents.

“It has been a consensus that really prioritizes quality stewardship, all within the context of a respect for private property and doing things in a fiscally prudent manner,” he said. “It’s been a real joy to work in the middle of that for now these 15 years and the town has a lot to be proud of.

“On behalf of all of the folks who have done good work, I am honored to accept this,” said Duddy.

Cape Elizabeth Town Council Chairman Jessica Sullivan presents the 2014 Ralph Gould Award for Outstanding Citizenship to town Tree Warden Michael Duddy, at the Jan. 6 council meeting.