AUGUSTA — The Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife beginning Wednesday will conduct helicopter surveys to count deer in central and southern districts this month and in January.
The surveys, in collaboration with the Maine Forest Service, will provide the department with estimates of deer abundance in central and southern Maine and will be used for managing the state’s deer herd, spokeswoman Deborah Turcotte said Tuesday in a report.
The surveys, which will involve low-level flying — about 200 feet off the ground — will begin in southern Somerset County and parts of western Penobscot County, Turcotte said.
At some point, flights will be in the Parsonsfield area in northwestern York County.
Turcotte said the aerial surveys will take place when snow conditions are sufficient to cover the ground and wind speeds are low.
Funding for the project — estimated to be $100,000 over two years — is made possible through the Maine Outdoor Heritage Fund and the Federal Pittman-Robertson Fund, she said.
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