Deane C. Davis; Environmental Vermont Governor

Deane C. Davis, 90, the former Vermont governor who pushed through legislation to protect the state’s environment. A two-term Republican, Davis in 1970 had one of the most successful legislative sessions ever enjoyed by a Vermont governor. Legislators enacted a pioneering law that controlled major development projects by establishing how they would be evaluated; an innovative water quality law, and legislation restructuring the government into super-agencies. In April of that year, Davis presided over Vermont’s first Green-up Day, a project to clean up the state. More than 70,000 people helped remove 4,000 truckloads of trash from interstate highways. On Dec. 8 in Montpelier, Vt., after gallbladder surgery.