Although we are still languishing in the Dog Days of August, Labor Day will soon be upon us. The cadence will quicken, especially for outdoor folks who relish what comes with fall in Maine.

September’s Song always bodes a landscape of golds and rust-colored ferns. Windless days of picking apples and red ripe Big Boys. Diehard anglers squeezing in a few more hours on the water. Hiking mountain trails and camping can be tops this time of year. There will be cooler nights for deep sleeping and bugless afternoons for lingering near still waters. For hunters, there is bear season, special archery season for deer, and an early goose season. There are gun dogs to be trained, rifles to be sighted, camp roofs to be fixed and woodlands to be scouted for deer and moose. And for the true hunter-gatherers, there are wild mushrooms aplenty and vine-ripened backberries to be plucked and put up in jam jars and pie plates.

Maine in September. A time to get off the hammock and get back into the swing of things. Here are a few under-reported outdoor news shorts to help you get up to speed:

• At their last meeting, held in Concord, N.H., on Aug. 15, the New Hampshire Executive Council unanimously voted to confirmed Lee E. Perry from Wayne as the new Executive Director for the state’s Fish and Game Department. Perry is expected to begin his duties at Fish and Game on Sept. 5. Perry most recently served for five years as the Maine Commissioner of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife.

• In the fifth year of an inter-agency study of Canada lynx in northwest Maine, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife biologists this spring documented six dens containing nearly double the number of lynx kittens found in previous years. The lynx is listed as a threatened species in the lower 48 states under the federal Endangered Species Act.

• Once again this fall, there will be a fall archery hunt for turkeys in Wildlife Management Districts 15, 16, and 20-26. The season is in late October, and the dates will be determined later this summer. Anyone who possesses an archery license may purchase a permit to hunt wild turkey during this fall season. Only a bow and arrow may be used to hunt turkeys during this season. This past spring, turkey hunters in Maine bagged a record number of turkeys – 3,994 turkeys were registered at tagging stations. Hunters enjoyed a 36 percent success rate. Maine’s wild turkey population is probably in excess of 20,000 birds.

• In case you haven’t heard, the future of Maine bear hunting is on the line. The Humane Society of the United States is spearheading a statewide referendum for next fall. Voters will be asked to vote on the question: “Do you want to make it a crime to hunt bears with bait?” The Sportsman’s Alliance of Maine (SAM), in conjunction with the Maine Professional Guides Association (MPGA), is organizing a year long campaign to educate Maine voters and save the bear hunt. SAM will host a campaign conference and planning session Sept. 6 at the Senator in Augusta. Details are available on SAM’s website, which is www.samcef.org.

• The State of Maine added seven game wardens to its ranks at a graduation ceremony at the Maine Criminal Justice Academy in mid-August. These game wardens will fill seven vacant districts across the state. The newest Maine Game Wardens, and the district they are assigned to are: Warden Mike Boyer (Jackman), Warden Robert Johansen (Big Ten Twp.), Warden Jeremy Judd (Gray), Warden John Lonegan (Eagle Lake), Warden Richard Oullette (Monticello) and Warden Raymond Miller (Masardis).

• The Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife has renewed an agreement with Nexfor Fraser Papers for management of winter deer yards. This Deer Wintering Area Management Agreement covers 37,322 acres, or 16 percent of their 232,000 acres of forested land in Aroostook and Penobscot counties.

V. Paul Reynolds is editor of the Northwoods Sporting Journal.He is also a Maine Guide, co-host of a weekly radio program “Maine Outdoors” heard Sundays at 7 p.m. on The Voice of Maine News-Talk Network (WVOM-FM 103.9, WCME-FM 96.7) and former information officer for the Maine Dept. of Fish and Wildlife. His e-mail address is paul@sportingjournal.com.

Copy the Story Link