AUGUSTA — Maj. Gregory Sanborn, the second-in-command of the Maine Warden Service, has died at age 47 after battling cancer for more than a year.

Gov. Paul LePage called the 23-year veteran of the warden service “a true ambassador of our great outdoors and our entire state.”

The Fryeburg native died Tuesday in hospice from a form of a cancer that attacks the immune system, requiring a bone marrow transplant. More than a thousand people were added to bone marrow donor roles as a result.

Commissioner Chandler Woodcock of the Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife described Sanborn as “one of the most courageous people I have ever met.” He said Sanborn leaves a lasting legacy.

Services will be held Saturday at the Maine Criminal Justice Academy.