This is the time of year when Maine’s state regional wildlife biologists examine their deer data in each of their wildlife management districts (WMDs) and make recommendations for the issuance of any-deer or doe permits in their respective districts. Last year a record 84,745 any-deer permits were issued. That was 20 percent higher than any …
Not so long ago, deer numbers in northern Maine were at a crisis point. It was said, not jokingly, that in some Aroostook County townships the lynx, a federally listed endangered species, was more prevalent than deer! The deer situation has improved some in the County, but tough winters and continued predation holds back …
It was mid-November in the Big Deer Woods. A northeast wind was rocking the hemlock tops and pushing a cold, pelting rain that seemed to penetrate the slicker beneath my wool hunting shirt. The damp, raw day was in my pores. Noon or not, it was time to call it a day. Heading back to …
Those of us who winter over in the South get spoiled in a lot of ways. For one thing, we tend to take the sun for granted. Day after day that big bright orb comes up in the eastern sky in the morning and then drops below the western horizon late in the day. When …
In rural Maine, the ownership and use of all-terrain vehicles (ATVs) of every make and description has become a way of life. This ATV presence has taken off like a rocket leaving the launch pad at Cape Kennedy. According to Maine state officials, ATVs generate $250 million a year in revenue. This growth phenomenon …
Off to the east, behind Pagoda Peak, dawn was creeping upward. In the crimson half light, my horse picked its way along the rocky, mud-frozen pack trail. The boss, an elk outfitter I worked for, had given me the morning off and a loaned horse to get to the elk country above the Beaver Creek …
Although my wife will mock me and guffaw when she reads this, when it comes to hunting and fishing equipment I am not a “gear hound.” Just ignore her scoffing. I really don’t buy a lot of new stuff, honest. Whether it is a fly rod, a shotgun or a pair of chest waders, I …
Maine has not had a spring bear hunt for many years. Although a reinstitution of a spring bear hunt in the Pine Tree State has been talked about on and off as a way of dealing with our ever-increasing population of bears, many stakeholders — including bear guides and outfitters — have opposed the spring …
If you own a boat that gets trailered to your favorite body of water, you are familiar with boat ramps. When things go right, you back the trailer down the ramp until the boat starts to displace water. On with the emergency brake or the parking mode. You disconnect the yellow winch strap, park the …
There’s a worthy saying that goes like this: “Bad things happen when good men do nothing.” The Veazie Salmon Club, to its credit, is not sitting on its collective hands when it comes to the following issue: the federal government’s insistence that the declining Atlantic salmon that returns to the Penobscot River must be …
It can vary by days, but in Maine the middle of April always ushers in the annual smelt runs from coldwater lakes up nearby brooks and streams. As every salmon angler knows, these small rainbow smelts are the key food source for landlocked salmon. Rule of thumb: no smelt, no salmon. Back in the …
American veterans who served their country richly deserve our appreciation, no matter where, when or how they served. If they wore a U.S. military uniform, they were in the freedom preservation business. Next to those who made the ultimate sacrifice stands another very special American serviceman or woman – the disabled vet. With all of …
