AUGUSTA- The Friends of the Maine State Museum concludes its annual series of talks and programs, “Highlights at the Maine State Museum,” with a book signing and talk by Paul Fournier at 6:30 p.m., Wednesday, June 27. Fournier’s presentation at the Maine State Museum in Augusta is free of charge.

Fournier’s talk will center on stories from his recent book, “Tales from Misery Ridge: One Man’s Adventures in the Great Outdoors,” which was named the best book of 2011 by the New England Outdoor Writers Association. Copies of the book will be available from the Museum Store.

A native of Jay, Fournier became a registered Maine Guide and licensed private pilot at the age of 18. He owned Brassua Lake Camps for eight years and guided sportsmen and canoe camping parties in the Moosehead Lake and Allagash areas. He obtained a commercial pilot’s license and in 1957 began flying seaplanes part-time to remote areas of northern Maine.

During the 1950s, Fournier began writing for a number of magazines, such as Field and Stream, Outdoor Life, Natural History, Yankee, and Down East. His writing led to work with the Lewiston Evening Journal, Lewiston Daily Sun and Bath Daily Times. For several years, he wrote a weekly column, “The Great Outdoors,” for the Christian Science Monitor.

After selling his camp business in 1963, Fournier was hired by the Maine Department of Marine Resources to help establish the first-in-the-nation Marine Fisheries Extension Service. There, he produced educational films about marine studies. He later owned his own film production company and produced stories for a variety of clients, state agencies, and national networks. One story about Maine eagles, threatened by a proposed refinery in Eastport, appeared on the premier of the CBS Sunday Morning show with Charles Kuralt. In 1980, Fournier became media coordinator for the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife, where he produced a weekly series of television programs, “Maine Fish and Wildlife,” for the Maine Public Broadcasting Network.

Fournier retired from the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife in 1995. He continues freelance writing, mainly for aviation magazines. In 2004, he donated many of the photographs, films, manuscripts and artifacts from his career to the Maine State Museum. A small exhibit of these items will be on view at the museum through the end of August 2012.

Fournier’s talk at the museum is the final in the Friends of the Maine State Museum’s 2012 winter/spring series of special programs and lectures. The series is sponsored by the Friends and The Bank of Maine.

The Maine State Museum is located in Augusta in the State House Complex off State Street. For more information call  287-2301 or visit the museum’s website at www.mainestatemuseum.org.