You still have time to apply for your doe permit. Remember, though, the Maine Fish and Wildlife Department (MDIF&W) no longer mails paper applications to hunters who have entered in past lotteries. You must apply online.To apply, go to www.mefishwildlife.com and select “Any Deer Permit” from the top or right side of the screen.

According to the Department, it will issue 48,825 Any-Deer (Antlerless) Permits this year for Wildlife Management Districts 12, 13, 15-17, 20-26, 29. It is Bucks Only in all other Wildlife Management Districts. The permit allocation is: 32,907 for residents; 12,208 for landowners; 2,649 for non-residents; and 1,061 for Superpack holders. (Superpack and landowners must meet certain requirements. See the Department’s website for more information.)

The deadline for online applications is 11:59 p.m. on Monday, Aug. 16. The drawing will be held on Sept. 10, 2010.

What’s the deer situation shaping up like for this fall? This depends, of course, what area of Maine you plan to hunt. Deer numbers in the Big Woods of northern and eastern Maine are still sparse, but an unusually short and mild winter will no doubt offset two previously brutal Maine winters. About the whole deer situation, Maine’s deer biologist Lee Kantar had this to say:

“For our best deer districts where we can allocate permits, we were fairly conservative within the sideboards of our permit allocation process. In other words given that we had a very mild and most importantly short winter, we would expect 1) very good over winter fawn survival and 2) adult females coming out of the winter in good shape so that June fawning should be very productive. That being said, when the Regional Biologists and myself got together to step through the permit process we certainly took a cautious approach within the permitting framework recommending appropriate permit levels to foster population growth and meet publicly derived goals and objectives. When all is said and done statewide there will be an eight percent increase in permits over 2009 (and most of that permit increase is realized in only one WMD among the 13 that have any deer permit allocations), but overall permit levels remain quite a bit down from 2007 before the notorious back to back winters of 08′ and 09′. “

Although MDIF&W has taken some grief over its cost-saving policy not to mail moose and any-deer (doe)applications, it does have a contingency plan for those of you without online capabilities. Here it is:

If you do not have access to a computer or the Internet at home, MDIF&W offers the following suggestions:

· Use a computer at work during break or lunch.

· Use a computer at your local library or Internet café.

· Ask a friend or relative with a computer for help.

If those options are not available, please visit one of our 840 licensing agents and they will assist you in applying online. There is an additional $2 processing fee if you apply online through an agent.

If for any reason an applicant cannot apply online, we offer these options:

· Send a stamped, self-addressed envelope to the address below and we’ll mail you a paper application.

· Print out a paper application from our website, fill it out and mail it to us.

· Come to our main office in Augusta, where you can fill out a paper application.

The address is:

Any-Deer Permit Application Request

Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife

41 State House Station

284 State St.

Augusta, ME 04333-0041

The deadline for paper applications needed to be postmarked or hand-delivered to the Department’s Augusta office by 5 p.m. on Friday, July 30.

Yes, life does get evermore complicated for sportsmen, too. The good news is that if all of this overwhelms you, there is a final option. Forget the doe permit. Keep your powder dry and go for that big-racked buck of your dreams.The other good news is that the department has reversed its earlier policy that disallowed youth hunters from taking a doe from a non-doe Wildlife Management District(WMD) on Youth Hunt Day. And here is a statistical aside that may interest you. In WMD 16, which is that big chunk of woods and vales northwest of Lewiston and Augusta, there have been 2,000 more doe permits issued this year than last. Enough said.

Good luck with your application!

_________________

The author is editor of the Northwoods Sporting Journal and has written his first book, A Maine Deer Hunter’s Logbook. 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].