When things don’t go well, my wife the optimist likes to remind our family that “when one door closes, another usually opens.” That could be the case if Maine loses next fall’s bear referendum and thus the right to hunt bear in the traditional fashion – over bait. The door that already has been opened early in the game is a heightened public discussion of hunting itself.

This can be good, for there is an astounding lack of public knowledge about hunting. Maine used to be a state renowned for its outdoor legacies and hunting heritage. For example, in a recent public opinion survey of Maine citizens, the Sportman’s Alliance of Maine (SAM) was stunned to learn that the average urban Mainer doesn’t even know that Maine has a bear hunting season, let alone that hunting is a game management mechanism! This fact was underscored recently by the Bangor Daily News’ chief editorial writer, Todd Benoit, who wrote “..almost none of us know about bear hunting.”

If there is to be a fair, informed vote on the bear baiting issue, all of us who consider ourselves sportsmen must take up the cause and generate a discussion with our friends, neighbors and co-workers. Ultimately, conversations between hunters and reasonable non-hunters always lead to the oft-debated root question: “Why do you hunt?”

It is a question that all hunters should ponder, especially during contentious times like these. SAM’s director, George Smith, asked me to write a paragraph about this for possible publication in the upcoming bear campaign. I put this question to listeners on my Sunday night outdoor radio program, “Maine Outdoors,” which is broadcast on the Voice of Maine News-Talk Network. Callers voiced a variety of reasons for their love of hunting. I also asked my wife, a relative newcomer to hunting. She said that she likes the anticipation, the solitude, the exercise, the fresh air and, best of all, the venison. I wrote Smith ” I only know that the hunt is in my bones. It is an inherent part of who I am and the fabric of my life. A gatherer by nature, I get satisfaction from growing edible plants or taking my own fish and meats far from the supermarket shelves. I, too, relish the solitude and personal challenge that deer hunting affords.”

If I put that question to you, a hunter, you might respond simply: “I hunt because I love it.” That may be the extent of an answer that you care to give. It is a short answer and one that is somewhat in accord with the Cornell professor who teaches environmental ethics. He told an Orono audience this fall that “any hunting practice is ethically acceptable (bear baiting) as long as it doesn’t harm other people.”

“But why do you love it so?” your neighbor might ask. Let’s dig a little deeper.

If you are of a philosophical bent, that is, you’d like to get beneath the surface on the why-we-hunt question, here are some useful quotes from my dog-eared personal collection:

* Tom Hennessey: “Tell them that hunting is your heritage and a tradition that you treasure. Remind them that hunting is as synonymous to a Maine autumn as pulling up the garden, putting on storm windows, burning leaves, and banking the house.”

* Marie-Louise von Franz: “A world in which nothing on the harsh side is ever allowed is not on the side of life.”

* Randall Eaton: “Essentially, hunting is a spiritual experience precisely because it submerges us in nature, and that experience teaches us that we are participants in something far greater than ourselves.”

*Erich Fromm: In the act of hunting, a man becomes, however briefly, part of nature again.”

So in the days ahead, when a friend or neighbor asks why you hunt, be prepared. There is a lot riding on our capacity as sportsmen and women to communicate effectively with the non-hunting community. For whatever reasons, the sport of hunting gets a bad rap and is greatly misunderstood. As voters, it is the non-hunters who will in fact decide next fall whether one facet of our traditional hunting heritage will be forever altered.

In his booklet, “Inherit the Hunt,” Jim Posewitz reminds us that in saving the hunt for ourselves we are in truth saving it for a “generation not yet born who will carry the desire to hunt in some mysterious configuration of their genetic makeup. Only they will know whether our generation kept the faith with our predecessors, and met the expectation of those who will be their heirs.”

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 [email protected].