Maine’s hunters know that their hunting areas are being reduced by development and sprawl. Hunters know that land they once hunted is off-limits because it is posted, developed with single houses or a subdivision of houses.

When Mainers look around their towns today, they can see that development is slowly and steadily moving into the woods that were once good hunting areas.

A Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife employee recently told me that hunting areas in Maine are decreasing. He pointed out some of those areas.

Local planning boards do not seem to understand that one of the traditional uses of Maine land is disappearing house by house, subdivision by subdivision. This lack of understanding will eventually undermine the sport of hunting in Maine.

The Plum Creek corporation wants to develop the Maine forest in the Moosehead region. Two resorts, an economic development park and affordable housing means more land off-limits to Maine hunters.

And many newcomers to Maine oppose hunting. The state’s young people do not learn the joys of hunting and the outdoor life at their computers and televisions. These facts of life also spell trouble for the future of hunting in Maine.

Perhaps conservation groups such as the Natural Resources Council of Maine, SAM, The Nature Conservancy, the Audubon Society and other conservation and wildlife groups will be able to preserve Maine land for hunting and other traditional uses.

Maine citizens might consider supporting a new land bond to help preserve the sport of hunting.

Tom Fallon, Rumford