It seems that some elected representatives in Augusta are trying to further tie the hands of sportsmen with the proposed bill LD 292, “An Act to Prohibit the Placing of Animal Carcasses on Frozen Bodies of Water for the Purpose of Baiting Coyotes,” sponsored by Rep. Sara Stevens of Bangor.

LD 292 has been referred to the Joint Standing Committee on Inland Fisheries and Wildlife.

Outdoor writer V. Paul Reynolds contacted Rep. Stevens about her bill and she responded by saying that it was submitted at the request of a constituent concerned over water purity, along with the possibility of someone’s dog being shot accidentally.

The decimated whitetail deer population in Maine is at the mercy of several factors. Predation by coyotes is something people do have a say in, law permitting. Coyotes wreak havoc on deer when the deer are most vulnerable (winter and spring fawning).

At present, the most effective tool of coyote control (snaring) has been taken away. Now bait-and-wait hunters are being threatened.

What’s next? Prohibiting the running of coyotes with hounds under the guise of noise pollution?

Coyotes cannot be eradicated but they can be controlled, somewhat.

As for water purity, there are likely more contaminants falling from the sky than in the scavenger-processed carcasses.

Constituent requests should have merit before continuing into law.

Jeffrey T. Gurney, Dixfield