diff --git a/config/config.go b/config/config.go
index c22e4e1a5..cca9eeb16 100644
--- a/config/config.go
+++ b/config/config.go
@@ -1443,6 +1443,9 @@ func SetServerDefaults(v *viper.Viper) error {
 func InitServer(ctx context.Context, currentServers server_structs.ServerType) error {
 	InitConfigInternal(log.InfoLevel)
 
+	// Bind any legacy env vars to their new config params -- will generate warnings about deprecated env vars
+	bindLegacyServerEnv()
+
 	setEnabledServer(currentServers)
 
 	// Output warnings before the defaults are set. The SetServerDefaults function sets the default values
diff --git a/config/env.go b/config/env.go
index 57a24abf5..af6472b12 100644
--- a/config/env.go
+++ b/config/env.go
@@ -140,3 +140,24 @@ func bindLegacyClientEnv() {
 		}
 	}
 }
+
+// Bind any legacy/deprecated server environment variables to their new config parameters.
+// The function should log any warnings about deprecation; this class of env vars is so old
+// these config parameters are not included in the params table, meaning
+// `config/config.go::handleDeprecatedConfig` will not catch them/log warnings.
+func bindLegacyServerEnv() {
+	prefixes := GetAllPrefixes()
+
+	// MAXMINDKEY
+	for _, prefix := range prefixes {
+		if val, isSet := os.LookupEnv(prefix.String() + "_MAXMINDKEY"); isSet {
+			log.Warningf("You are using a legacy/deprecated parameter '%s_MAXMINDKEY' to indicate the MaxMind license key. "+
+				"Support for this environment variable will be removed in a future release. Please use %s instead", prefix.String(),
+				param.Director_MaxMindKeyFile.GetName())
+
+			// Use SetDefault so that if both the env var and the config param are set, the config param takes precedence
+			viper.SetDefault(param.Director_MaxMindKeyFile.GetName(), val)
+			break
+		}
+	}
+}
diff --git a/config/env_test.go b/config/env_test.go
index d37816184..887c29d11 100644
--- a/config/env_test.go
+++ b/config/env_test.go
@@ -28,6 +28,8 @@ import (
 	"github.com/spf13/viper"
 	"github.com/stretchr/testify/assert"
 	"github.com/stretchr/testify/require"
+
+	"github.com/pelicanplatform/pelican/param"
 )
 
 func TestOsdfEnvToPelican(t *testing.T) {
@@ -154,3 +156,31 @@ func TestOsdfEnvToPelican(t *testing.T) {
 		assert.Contains(t, hook.LastEntry().Message, "Environment variables with OSDF prefix will be deprecated in the next feature release. Please use PELICAN prefix instead.")
 	})
 }
+
+func TestBindLegacyServerEnv(t *testing.T) {
+	ResetConfig()
+	t.Cleanup(func() {
+		ResetConfig()
+	})
+
+	t.Setenv("PELICAN_MAXMINDKEY", "/path/to/keyfile")
+
+	// Two things to test here:
+	// 1. That the legacy env var PELICAN_MAXMINDKEY correctly binds to Director.MaxMindKeyFile
+	// 2. Director.MaxMindKeyFile takes precedence over the legacy env var when both are set
+
+	// Test 1
+	t.Run("binds-legacy-env-var", func(t *testing.T) {
+		assert.Empty(t, viper.GetString(param.Director_MaxMindKeyFile.GetName()))
+		bindLegacyServerEnv()
+		assert.Equal(t, "/path/to/keyfile", viper.GetString(param.Director_MaxMindKeyFile.GetName()))
+	})
+
+	// Test 2
+	t.Run("does-not-overwrite-existing-config", func(t *testing.T) {
+		viper.Set(param.Director_MaxMindKeyFile.GetName(), "/existing/config/keyfile")
+		bindLegacyServerEnv()
+		assert.Equal(t, "/path/to/keyfile", os.Getenv("PELICAN_MAXMINDKEY")) // env var is still set
+		assert.Equal(t, "/existing/config/keyfile", viper.GetString(param.Director_MaxMindKeyFile.GetName()))
+	})
+}
diff --git a/director/maxmind.go b/director/maxmind.go
index 8f1e0c6af..c3ae44181 100644
--- a/director/maxmind.go
+++ b/director/maxmind.go
@@ -36,7 +36,6 @@ import (
 	"github.com/oschwald/geoip2-golang/v2"
 	"github.com/pkg/errors"
 	log "github.com/sirupsen/logrus"
-	"github.com/spf13/viper"
 
 	"github.com/pelicanplatform/pelican/param"
 	"github.com/pelicanplatform/pelican/server_structs"
@@ -76,19 +75,17 @@ func downloadDB(localFile string) error {
 
 	var licenseKey string
 	keyFile := param.Director_MaxMindKeyFile.GetString()
-	keyFromEnv := viper.GetString("MAXMINDKEY")
-	if keyFile != "" {
-		contents, err := os.ReadFile(keyFile)
-		if err != nil {
-			return err
-		}
-		licenseKey = strings.TrimSpace(string(contents))
-	} else if keyFromEnv != "" {
-		licenseKey = keyFromEnv
-	} else {
-		return errors.New("A MaxMind key file must be specified in the config (Director.MaxMindKeyFile), in the environment (PELICAN_DIRECTOR_MAXMINDKEYFILE), or the key must be provided via the environment variable PELICAN_MAXMINDKEY)")
+	if keyFile == "" {
+		return errors.Errorf("A MaxMind API key file must be specified in the config (%s)", param.Director_MaxMindKeyFile.GetName())
 	}
 
+	contents, err := os.ReadFile(keyFile)
+	if err != nil {
+		return errors.Wrapf(err, "unable to read MaxMind license key file %q", keyFile)
+	}
+
+	licenseKey = strings.TrimSpace(string(contents))
+
 	url := fmt.Sprintf(maxMindURL, licenseKey)
 	localDir := filepath.Dir(localFile)
 	fileHandle, err := os.CreateTemp(localDir, filepath.Base(localFile)+".tmp")
@@ -169,7 +166,7 @@ func InitializeGeoIPDB(ctx context.Context) {
 	localFile := param.Director_GeoIPLocation.GetString()
 	localReader, err := geoip2.Open(localFile)
 	if err != nil {
-		log.Warningln("Local GeoIP database file not present; will attempt a download.", err)
+		log.Infoln("Local GeoIP database file not present; will attempt a download.", err)
 		err = downloadDB(localFile)
 		if err != nil {
 			log.Errorln("Failed to download GeoIP database!  Will not be available:", err)