Abigail Holman, a Republican state legislator, ardent conservationist and widowed mother of a young daughter, was killed Saturday afternoon while skiing at Sugarloaf/USA in Carrabassett Valley.

She was participating in a ski race and had crossed the finish line. Mountain officials believe she hit a tree.

“There was not another skier involved,” said Sugarloaf spokesman Bill Swain.

Holman, 45, a Lewiston native, lived and farmed in Fayette. Her husband, Maine reporter and conservationist Andrew Weegar, died in a freak tractor accident in 2005. A young daughter, Maura “Molly” Weegar, survives.

Holman was skiing after noon on Lower Competition Hill, an intermediate trail, when the incident occurred. She was taken to the mountain’s first aid clinic, where she was pronounced dead, Swain said.

Carrabassett Valley Police are investigating. Swain said she was wearing a helmet.

This is the first Sugarloaf death in two years.

“It’s just unbelievable,” said State Rep. John Patrick of Rumford, who chaired a committee on which Holman served. “It’s heartbreaking.”

Holman was an eighth-generation Maine native, according to the Web site for Lipman, Katz and McKee, the Augusta firm where she worked as a lawyer. She graduated from Bates College in 1986 and from the University of Maine School of Law in 1991. She served as a legislative director for then-Gov. John McKernan and press secretary for Olympia Snowe during her initial run for the U.S. Senate.

“She has been a tremendous friend to our state with her tireless dedication and willingness to serve, and to both of us, personally. Abby was always committed to doing what was right and to the betterment of her beloved Maine – and her loss is shared by all those whose lives she touched,” Snowe and McKernan said in a joint statement Saturday.

Holman was also an enthusiastic conservationist who loved the uniqueness of Maine’s environment. She fought to preserve the state’s natural resources, but she also wasn’t afraid to enjoy the land and its animals.

Frank Allen, a friend of the family and president of the Institutes for Journalism and Natural Resources, said Weegar decided to propose marriage the day Holman went hunting and brought him home a moose.

“He just thought that was great,” Allen said.

The couple were a force in environmental and political circles. Weegar was an environmental journalist who was best known for his work at the Maine Times. He also served as associate director for the Institutes for Journalism and Natural Resources. Holman worked within the natural resources industry and served as executive director of the Maine Forest Products Council.

In April 2005, 41-year-old Weegar was killed on the couple’s Fayette farm when he fell from his tractor and got trapped under one of its wheels.

Holman was devastated by the loss.

“It was a difficult transition, and I’m not sure she was done making it,” Allen said.

Holman kept the farm and was working to preserve it. She lived there with her daughter, who is now 7 or 8.

Off the farm, Holman was always busy. She served on the board of the Institutes for Journalism and Natural Resources. She worked as a lawyer and served as a member of the Fayette Board of Selectman. She also was a freshman legislator, serving as a state representative for Belgrade, Fayette, Manchester, Mount Vernon and Vienna.

“She was very much looking forward to serving her state. She really took to it,” Allen said. “She said she wanted to give something back.”

Lawmakers on Saturday were in mourning.

“Abby was a tremendous political force,” Gov. John Baldacci said in a statement. “I’ve known her since her days in McKernan’s administration. She was a dedicated public servant and always worked hard for the people of Maine. Her family is in our hearts and prayers during this terrible time.”

No matter how much she was juggling – the state Legislature, her law practice, the farm and environmental causes – friends said Holman’s young daughter remained her top priority.

“It’s beyond tragic, and that family has had more than its share,” said lawyer Roger Katz.