RUMFORD — It’s time to start wearing the blaze orange vests and hats if you intend to walk in or along Maine forests.

Resident hunters take to the woods on Saturday, Oct. 29, when the 25-day regular firearms season on deer begins. That means Halloween is opening day for nonresidents.

The season ends on Nov. 26, the Saturday following Thanksgiving. The muzzleloader season starts statewide on Nov. 28 and ends Dec. 3 in Wildlife Management Districts 1 through 11, 14, 19, 27 and 28.

Elsewhere, the muzzleloader season will continue until Dec. 10. The crossbow archery season will coincide with modern firearms.

Expect the deer harvest to be lower than usual this season because state wildlife biologists are trying to repopulate the herd that’s been reduced by a couple of harsh winters, Edie Smith, Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife spokeswoman, said Wednesday morning in a report.

“To accomplish deer management objectives in 2011, we have set doe harvest numbers fairly low,” Lee Kantar, MDIF&W deer biologist, said.

A total of 26,390 any-deer (doe) permits have been issued for 2011, a sharp decrease from last season when more than 40,000 any-deer permits were doled out.

“By decreasing any-deer permits by 46 percent for the coming season, we hope to give a boost to deer numbers across the state for future growth,” Kantar said.

Hunters are allowed to take one antlered deer annually this season, although hunters with an any-deer permit are allowed to take either one antlered deer or one antlerless deer.

The reduced permits reflect “the tremendous impact the harsh winters of 2008 and 2009 had on deer populations throughout the state and the significant winter mortality suffered by the herd in Maine,” Kantar said.

He projects that hunters will likely harvest roughly 4,800 antlerless deer this fall. Antlered buck harvests should reach just under 12,000. In total, Maine’s deer harvest will be down from 2010 and from previous years, he said.

“This will be by design with the reduction in any-deer permits to help build the statewide population,” Kantar said.

“Given all the information the Department uses to manage deer in Maine and the implementation of aerial surveys, it was determined the reduction in permits would be the best tactic for meeting wildlife management population objectives.”

“In the end, hunters should expect a reduced statewide harvest, but benefit down the road from increasing deer numbers for the coming years,” Kantar said.

Chandler Woodcock, MDIF&W commissioner, said the department prides itself in “the progressive steps we are taking to grow our deer population.

“The lower number of doe permits, our increased initiatives with landowners addressing deer yard issues, and our aggressive programs of predation control, all address the fact that one of our priorities is to grow the deer herd in Maine,” he said on Wednesday.

“We have beautiful trophy bucks throughout Maine, and I hope to come out of the woods with one on Saturday!”

Don’t count on any tracking snow on opening day.

A meteorologist at the National Weather Service in Gray said Wednesday that a storm moving up the coast is expected to go offshore.

If it does skirt the coast, that’s where any snow will fall and not inland, he said. Temperatures will be in the upper 40s.

For more information on deer hunting in Maine, or to view a complete summary of laws and regulations regarding hunting with firearms, visit www.mefishwildlife.com.

tkarkos@sunjournal.com

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