Warden seizes poached doe, issues warnings, tickets to hunters

MINOT — Besides the hunters who bagged deer on opening day of the firearms season for Maine residents Saturday, District Game Warden Rick Stone also had a successful day.

Stone, who patrols seven to 14 towns in the Lewiston-Auburn area, seized a doe at 9 a.m. in Minot that he said was shot by a poacher.

Additionally, he issued about a dozen warnings and a summons for hunting violations in the Minot area after checking 10 hunters.

"I had someone shoot a doe illegally, and they probably didn't come out to get it, because they saw me there, so I took it and gave it to a meat cutter to give to a soup kitchen," Stone said.

Violations included failure to wear a solid fluorescent-orange hunting cap and orange vest, and even possession of marijuana for one hunter.

"One guy had on what's called a camouflage orange hat, which you just can't have," Stone said. "Your vest or poncho can be camouflage orange, but the cap must be solid orange, because it's higher up for better visibility." 

He also gave warnings for an old orange hunting vest that had faded to almost pink, and a sun-faded vest that looked tan.

Stone also reported seeing hunters traveling in groups of three to five, which he said is just asking for accidents when that many people head into a tiny patch of woods together.

Additionally, he said hunters should always get prior permission before venturing onto someone's land and to unload their guns before walking back to their vehicles after dark.

He gave one hunter a warning for trespassing in Sabattus.

"If someone is trespassing while hunting, fishing or trapping, it's a civil trespassing penalty, but you lose your hunting license if it was on posted property," Stone said. "And you can't say that you came in from the other side and didn't realize it was posted, or that you were lost."

Additionally, any hunter caught with a loaded gun a half-hour past sunset will be charged with night hunting, whether they're using a flashlight, spotlight or not, he said.

"A half-hour past sunset is considered nighttime and we get a lot of people who push that and wait until then to start heading back to their truck, still hunting as they head out," which is illegal, Stone said.

"If you're walking back to your truck, your gun better be unloaded, because if it's not, and we find you, it's a $1,000 fine, three days in jail and you lose your gun and hunting license," he said.

Of the hunter with marijuana, Stone said that had the man been smoking it, he would have been charged with hunting under the influence of drugs, and made to give up his hunting license.

tkarkos@sunjournal.com