Before we say goodbye to 2003, let’s take quick look at our backtrack. All things considered it was a mixed year for Maine sportsmen. There was, as they say, the good, the bad and the ugly.

Last winter, which was an unseasonably cold one, there was plenty of ice on lakes and ponds. This created ideal conditions for both ice fisherman and snowsledders. Ice fishing derbies throughout the state were well attended and some decent fish were caught statewide. In fact, the ice was so thick where I fish that my ice auger extension was used for the first time in more than 10 years.

With more than 40 nights of below zero temperatures, however, it was a tough winter for Maine’s deer population. From all reports, the winter deer kill was up and fawn reproduction was down. All of this played a part in this fall’s unexpected reduction in the November deer harvest . Despite a predicted kill of 35,000 whitetails, deer biologist Gerry Lavigne is looking at a reduced harvest of about 30,000 deer. Uncooperative fall weather with high winds, rain, and warm days, along with reduced hunter effort and a tough winter, are credited with the harvest decline.

Spring open water fishing was also excellent in most areas. I found some of the best early trout fishing that I’ve experienced in years.

The spring turkey hunt was also a successful one as Maine turkey hunters get better and better at this relatively new hunt opportunity. The month of May was marred, though, by the unexpected death of well-known bush flyer, retired game warden and outdoorsman Jack McPhee. McPhee went down in his Super Cub while doing radio telemetry surveys of lynx for the Fish and Wildlife Department.

Speaking of Game Wardens, veteran district Warden Kevin Adam of Dexter was selected Warden of the Year. And an in-depth report by the Northwoods Sporting Journal on morale problems within the ranks of the Maine Warden Service has raised some eyebrows among state lawmakers and other policymakers in the outdoor arena. Coincidentally, Chief Warden Col. Tim Peabody announced in December that the problem-plagued warden retirement package has finally been straightened out.

There were also peaks and valleys when it came to legislation impacting those of us who hunt and fish in Maine. The worst legislation offered up that thankfully went down to defeat was an attempt to ban coyote snaring and do away with January ice fishing. Welcome legislative changes included the criminalization of so-called “bucket stocking” of non-native fish in Maine waters, and allowing deer hunters to hunt 30 minutes after sunset.

Rating a bad designation were the following:

* A package of increased fees for most forms of outdoor recreation.

* Governor Baldacci’s budget-balancing plan that incorporated significant disproportionate cuts for Fish and Wildlife.

* Commissioner Martin’s decision to cancel this winter’s coyote snaring because of a legal threat from the anti-snaring lobby.

* Commissioner Martin’s decision to replace Fish and Wildlife’s award-winning information and education director, Don Kleiner.

Now to the ugly.

For the first time in many years, sportsmen of Maine will look back on a year that was marked by an event with the potential to leave lasting scars upon our hunting heritage: the bear baiting referendum. The Humane Society of the United States(HSUS), a well-heeled national organization with an anti-hunting agenda, spearheaded a successful petition drive to outlaw Maine bear hunting as we know it. As George Smith, executive director of the Sportsman’s Alliance of Maine (SAM), said so well. “This vote next fall will be a defining moment for all who hunt in Maine.”

So in a very real sense, for the Maine sportsman, the New Year about to unfold is inextricably linked to the events of the year we are about to bid farewell. If ever there is a year that outdoor folks need to roll up their sleeves and get involved in the political process, it will be 2004. We will be fighting a difficult battle, a battle to preserve not only our hunting heritage, but also the state’s right to professionally manage wildlife populations without outside interference.

Beyond the political arena and the contentious months ahead, the New Year can be a good one for us all. We can look forward to a record number of turkey permits, 15,600, an increase in allocated moose permits, a new Youth Turkey Hunt Day, and an ever-improving sport fishery.

Season’s greetings to you all. May your New Year be blessed with love, health and good times in the outdoors.

The author 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.

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