Search and Rescue. Just the term itself rings with urgency. Finding lost persons in the woods of Maine is one of the key missions of the Maine Warden Service. Often overlooked, or taken for granted by the average citizen, search and rescue operations run the gamut, from locating a lost hunter or an overdue snowmobiler […]
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Outdoors in Maine: The dastardly spruce budworm returns
Unless you are in your forties, you probably have no recollection of Maine’s last spruce budworm infestation. The budworm, which can chew its way through acres and acres of coniferous forest and kill spruce and balsam fir, left its destructive mark on Maine’s softwood stands in the mid 1970s. I remember it well. By the […]
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A lot transpired when it comes to Maine’s outdoors this year
Before we bid farewell to another year, here is a selective review of outdoor highlights from 2015. A lot happened this year that will have an ongoing impact on most of us who hunt and fish and recreate in the Maine outdoors. On the political front, the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) announced […]
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Grouse hunting study offers mixed-bag conclusion
Maine’s Ruffed Grouse, or pa’tridge, is a legendary and very popular game bird. A recent study by a survey firm hired by the state revealed that, next to deer hunting, licensed Maine hunters like grouse hunting best of all. How did this fall’s bird hunt go? Were the birds there in sufficient numbers to make […]
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Gifts that come in handy for outdoorsmen
Sportsmen love their toys. Of course, they prefer to consider these toys as indispensable tools for the outdoors. Sometimes the best gift one can give to an outdoorsman is a tool or device that he might not either think to buy for himself or feel comfortable buying. For that favorite sportsman or sportswoman on your […]
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Outdoors in Maine: Reflecting on Thanksgiving
For family reasons, my deer hunt had to end earlier than usual. An incorrigible deer hunter, my quest for a Maine whitetail generally drags on until the last gun is fired: a clear-the-barrel shot from a .45 caliber muzzle-loader on the last day of the black powder season in December. No matter. My deer hunt […]
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Outdoors in Maine: Protect our right to hunt and fish
Recently, in a sweeping, breathtakingly cavalier — if not bizarre — editorial, the Bangor Daily News called for the Maine State Legislature to “eliminate once and for all” the practice of trapping bears or hunting them with hounds. Apparently, the newspaper was moved to take its bold position by an announcement made this fall by […]
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Outdoors in Maine: Ethanol is hard on New England, and its people
A recent study revealed that New England’s use of ethanol gas is creating a major transfer of wealth to the corn-growing Midwest. The report showed that New England drivers during the past decade spent $5.6 billion needlessly in additional fuel costs due to ethanol-based gas. Additionally, it is doing nothing to help the environment, and […]
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Outdoors in Maine: ‘Deer Diaries’ well worth the read
What would you say is one of the traits you most admire or appreciate in your fellow man? For me, this is an easy question. A person who truly, genuinely does not take himself too seriously, a person who can laugh at himself and his own foibles or shortcomings is as rare as he is […]
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Outdoors in Maine: The Mulie Story
In the small Northwestern Colorado town of Maybell, the morning came on with low-lying dark clouds, rain and fog. For cow elk hunters, including Diane and myself, the nasty weather was a welcome respite from a week of too much sun and too much heat, even up high in the magnificent Danforth Hills. After a […]