One of the more important jobs performed by Maine’s deer research leader, Kyle Ravanna, in concert with state regional wildlife biologists, is the annual estimate of winter deer losses. Deer mortality may take place at the wintering deer yards and elsewhere in early spring as undernourished whitetails disburse in search of new forage. If the […]
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Outdoors in Maine: Bear hunting nostalgia
The Maine bear hunt is on! Unless you are an agitator with the Humane Society of the United States, this is a good story, a good hunt, and a good time of year. The weather in early September is splendid. Excited hunters come from all corners of the country to harvest a Maine black bear. […]
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Hunter set their sights on Maine’s game birds
A 2013 survey conducted in behalf of the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife by a highly reputable polling organization sheds light on who does what in Maine when it comes to recreational hunting. Details of this survey are available to anyone on DIF&W’s official website, www.mefishwildlife.com. For starters, the survey indicates that in […]
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Outdoors in Maine: No more chocolate for Yogi
We can all heave a huge sigh of relief. Finally, the live-free-or-die state neighboring New Hampshire has put in effect a new rule that bans the use of chocolate of any kind in bear baits. The new ban reads in part: “For the 2016 black bear baiting season and for all subsequent black […]
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Eating with the last of the logging camp cooks
OFF THE GOLDEN ROAD, Maine — One can read the history of Maine’s North Woods in a pot of beans. Lumber barons have come and gone, their vast tracts of land bought, sold and sold again. Actual horse power has been replaced by motors, and handsaws have bowed to chain saws, skidders and mechanized harvesters […]
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Maine deer lottery closing Monday
AUGUSTA — Maine hunters are almost out of time to submit applications to participate in the state’s upcoming antlerless deer hunting permit lottery. Online applications for the upcoming season are due by 11:59 p.m. on Monday. The deadline to submit paper applications passed in July. The lottery is free and the drawing is set for […]
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Keep an eye on bear hunts in Colorado, Massachusetts
Back during both of Maine’s bear referendums, there was a common refrain from the Humane Society of the United States ( HSUS) and others bent on closing down Maine’s traditional bear hunts over bait. It went like this: “Bear hunters in Maine do not need to set up bait sites in order to hunt bear. […]
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A fish story that you can sink your talons into
As every angler who has ever wetted a line there knows, the West Branch of the Penobscot River — not far below Ripogenus Dam — is a special tailwater. The Big Eddy, below the Telos bridge, has been attracting devoted salmon anglers for decades. The Big Eddy is aptly named. The cold, fast-flowing water that […]
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Outdoors in Maine: Guide candidates face stiffer test of skills, knowledge
The testing procedure to become a registered Maine guide just got a little tougher. The Maine Fish and Wildlife Department ( DIF&W), recently announced that successful guide applicants will now face a new testing component: a test of hands on skills. Previously, a guide applicant had to pass a written exam and an oral exam […]
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Outdoors in Maine: Doe permits available
The Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife is now accepting applications online for its annual September 9th drawing for any-deer hunting permits. The application deadline is midnight on August 17th. MDIF&W no longer mails applications, so hunters shopping for a doe permit need to be on their toes. To apply online go to: www.mefishwildlife.com. […]