The plan calls for more than 550 additional licenses to be given out in northern Maine.

BANGOR (AP) – A proposed increase in the number of moose permits in northern Maine next season would create the biggest moose hunt in Maine history one year after the hunt was reduced for the first time in 20 years.

Wildlife biologists are proposing a drastic increase in the number of moose that can be killed next season in northeastern Maine.

The number of hunting permits in a long, narrow region stretching from Fort Kent in Aroostook County southward to Codyville in northern Washington County would increase from 900 to more than 1,450 under the proposal.

The turnaround comes just months after northern Maine residents led to an outcry over the danger that moose pose on Maine roads, particularly in rural Aroostook County. A near-record number of people were killed in moose crashes this year, including two St. John Valley men who died just a few weeks apart in June.

Grieving families believe that the solution is simple: Reduce the danger by allowing hunters to kill more moose. A hundred people attended an August meeting in Madawaska to share their concerns with Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife Commissioner Roland “Dan” Martin.

Martin said Friday that the proposed increase in moose permits was made in the interest of “public health and safety.” He did not go so far as to say that the change was a direct response to the accident controversy, however.

“Based on what we’ve been seeing for moose numbers, I probably would have recommended that we increase the permits anyway,” he said.

Mark Stadler, director of wildlife division of the Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife, said Friday that the northern Maine moose population is healthy enough to withstand the bigger hunt.

Maine’s total moose population is estimated at 29,000.

This year, the moose hunt was divided into two seasons. A total of 2,585 moose permits were issued for the first part of the season and another 2,150 permits were issued for the second part.

The Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife Advisory Council will discuss new proposal at its Oct. 24 meeting in Ashland. A public hearing is scheduled for Nov. 6 at the Presque Isle Fish and Game Club.


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