SUMNER – Scott Lindsey, a wildlife biologist from the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and wildlife, gave a power point presentation on moose management in Maine for the Sumner Historical Society.

He spoke of how management has changed over the years to control and protect the moose population. Maine has the second largest population of moose on the continent. The largest concentration is north of Moosehead Lake with 2.3 moose per square mile.

He said when managing the moose population, the department believes in good quality of moose versus the quantity. One concern is working to improve road safety in the more populated areas of Maine.

Management includes maintaining a ratio that allows for sufficient food source to keep the moose healthy and to keep down numbers where safety is a concern. When the cows are in a favorable habitat, they often produce twins. The cow is likely to seek the more robust males for her mate, though the bulls take no family responsibility and will mate with many cows.

Maine has many trophy moose as well as deer. There are three management areas in Maine and all are managed through the type of permits issued. The recreation management area is where the permits are currently issued and encompasses most of northern Maine.

There is a compromise area that may become open to hunting in the future. The road safety management area along the coast has no hunting and moose population is controlled for traffic safety.

When asked if moose would yard together like deer, Lindsey replied that when the snow got over 38 inches deep, they would likely group to conserve energy. More moose keep trails trampled for easier access to the food areas.

He also said that good forest management is the best thing for moose management because of new growth from cutover land.