AUGUSTA – A few hundred children in Maine can thank 10 moose hunters for helping to send them to conservation camps later this year.

More than 30 people participated in the 2009 Maine Moose Permit Auction, which raised a bidding total of $94,843, according to Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife spokeswoman Deborah Turcotte.

Money raised from the special opportunity to participate in a moose hunt this fall goes to partial scholarships that will send boys and girls ages 10 through 14 to five-day camps at the University of Maine 4-H Camp and Learning Center at Bryant Pond and Conservation Camp at the Greenland Point Center in Princeton in Washington County.

“They are giving children a chance to learn valuable outdoor skills and gain a greater appreciation for the Maine outdoors as well,” Roland D. Martin, MDIF&W commissioner stated in Turcotte’s Wednesday evening report.

About 300 scholarships were awarded last year after 10 hunters bid a total of $109,111 in the 2008 auction.

The moose permit auction was created by the Legislature, which gave the department authority to publicly auction permits to raise funds for youth conservation education programs.

Turcotte said that conservation camp programs are designed to teach Maine children the importance of conservation, a respect for the environment and a working knowledge of a variety of outdoor skills.

Subjects taught at the camps include wildlife identification, introduction to fishing, boating safety, archery, firearms handling, hunter safety, forest conservation, map and compass work, and much more.

Students work with experienced instructors and counselors, and staff from the department and other state and private conservation agencies.

Until 2007, when the Legislature voted to double the number of available permits, five permits were auctioned annually starting in 1995.

This year’s 10 successful bids ranged from $9,007 to $10,313. Last year’s winning bids ranged from $8,500 to $12,650.

That compares to $52 for a permit going to a Mainer and $477 for one to an out-of-state hunter whose names are drawn in the June 18 lottery to be held in Fort Kent.

In all, the state will issue 3,015 permits for the autumn moose season.

This year’s auction winners are: Robert Wheelock Sr. of Augusta; Rick St. Hilaire of Turner; Richard Bresnahan of Hope; Andrew Koukoulas of East Northport, N.Y.; Frederick L. Jackson of Killingworth, Conn.; James Snyder of Garnet Valley, Pa.; Joe Hill of Brandon, Miss.; and Drayton McLane III of Temple, Texas; and Robert C. Roach of Bellefontaine, Ohio, and Daniel W. Braden of Shelby, Ala., who were winning bidders last year.