Outdoor News March 2010 Edited by V. Paul Reynolds Last year at this time, we speculated on an early spring. We could not have been more wrong. In fact, April was the pits, remember. It rained and snowed most of the month, or so it seemed. This year all signs - including the famous Ground Hog's premonition- point to anything but an early spring. We're betting that there will be some late ice-fishing this year in spite of the poor ice conditions on many Maine waters early in the season.. Spring will come. We'll be smelting, picking fiddleheads, and scouting for turkey activity before you know it.. So....hang in there. Go to church. Tie some more flies. Check the fishing gear, again. Revisit the Cabela catalog. Shoot a coyote. Take a vacation in the Florida Keys or get to as many state sportsmen shows as you can. To find a sportsman show in your area, check this month's ads in the Journal. CAPTION FOR PHOTO ABOVE: A record-setting rainbow trout on caught on Lake George in Canaan, ME by Michael Thebarge of Skowhegan, ME. Skowhegan Resident Catches Record Rainbow Trout A Skowhegan man caught a record-setting rainbow trout on Lake George in Canaan, according to Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife regional fisheries biologists. Michael Thebarge of Skowhegan landed the rainbow trout on February 6, 2010, while fishing at Lake George in Canaan. The fish weighed 7 pounds on a certified scale at George’s Banana Stand in Skowhegan last year. The record was confirmed by a regional fisheries biologist based in IF&W’s Sidney Regional Office. It wasn’t until this week that Mr. Thebarge decided to contact IF&W and the Maine Sportsman, which maintains that state record book, to see if it was a record. Thebarge’s record-setting rainbow trout was a product of IF&W’s Casco Fish Hatchery, as evidenced by its fin clips. The rainbow trout was stocked as a fall yearling (one-plus-years) in the fall of 2004, and was six years old when it was caught. The previous state record was caught by Steven Day of Madison on the Androscoggin River on June 5, 2007. It weighed 6.52 pounds. Maine Deer Kill Down Preliminary deer harvest numbers show a decrease of 14% from the 2008 harvest with an initial tally of 18,045 deer taken by hunters. “To put this into perspective, we must consider that the 2008 and 2009 winters represent the most severe back-to-back winters since 1971-72,” according to IF&W Deer Biologist Lee Kantar. Long winters with deep snows have a tremendous impact on the overwinter survival of deer. Both expected regional declines in deer abundance and adverse hunting conditions -- two weeks of poor hunting conditions during the firearms season -- played a role in the fall 2009 harvest decline. Decreases in the deer harvest from 2008 also were expected given the 16% decrease in any-deer permits for Maine’s hunters (reducing overall success rates). The reductions in any-deer permits for 2009 were necessary to allow the deer herd to begin to recover. Relative to adjacent provincial and state jurisdictions, the decline in Maine’s deer harvest was less in comparison to our Canadian neighbors in Quebec and New Brunswick whose deer harvests declined greater than 30% during the same time period, but was greater than the decline in New Hampshire’s deer harvest (decrease of approximately 5%). For 2009, Department biologists projected a statewide harvest of approximately 19,289 deer. The annual deer harvest projections by department biologists in the late spring result from an analysis of mortality and reproductive rates, harvest trends, and any deer permit allocations to meet Wildlife Management District (WMD) goals and objectives. Thus our initial number for statewide harvest was 6% less than projected. VT Special Snow Goose Hunt Hunters will once again have the opportunity to pursue snow geese this spring as a result of a special management action referred to as a “Conservation Order” allowed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and adopted by the Vermont Fish and Wildlife Board. The measure was adopted at the recommendation of federal and state wildlife scientists in response to concerns about a growing number of snow geese across North America and the damage they cause to their arctic habitat. Eight states in the Atlantic Flyway (Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and Vermont) will hold a Spring Snow Goose Conservation Order in 2010. The Vermont 2010 Spring Snow Goose Conservation Order will occur statewide from March 11 through April 23. The daily bag limit is 15 snow geese, and there is no possession limit. Waterfowl hunting regulations in effect last fall will apply during the 2010 Spring Snow Goose Conservation Order with the exception that unplugged shotguns and electronic calls may be used, and shooting hours will be extended until ½ hour after sunset. A 2010 Spring Snow Goose Harvest Permit is required and is available at no charge on the Vermont Fish and Wildlife Department’s website (vtfishandwildlife.com). Hunters may also call the Essex Junction Office (802-878-1564) to request a permit. Bass Fishing Classes The Bangor and Ellsworth Adult Education programs will again be offering bass fishing classes this spring. The seven-week courses, which begins March 16 in Ellsworth and March 18 in Bangor, will cover the multiple facets of the sport through classroom lecture, videos, demonstrations and guest speakers, including biologists from the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife. The program is geared toward the beginner and intermediate bass angler and to those more advanced that simply want to get out of the house and talk about bassin.?The instructor for the classes is Ken Hoehlein. Ken brings over 35 years of bass fishing experience to the class. He is a past president of both the?Bangor Bass Club and the Outcast Bass Club. Ken will also be presenting at the upcoming Eastern Maine Sportsman Show. Classes will be held each Tuesday beginning March 16 at Ellsworth High School and each Thursday beginning March 18 at Bangor High School. Each class runs from 6:30 to 9 p.m. For information about Ellsworth classes, call Ellsworth Adult Education at 667-6499. To register for classes in Bangor, call 992-5523. Snowsledder Hit A 22-year-old Poland man was seriously injured Fbe 6 in a chain-reaction incident that resulted in him being hit by a snowmobile. At approximately 10:15 a.m., Chris Arsenault, 22, of Poland, was the second snowmobiler in a party of four snowmobilers who were riding on a half-mile straight away on a groomed club trail in Glenwood Plantation in southern Aroostook County. The incident occurred when the sledders came upon a sharp left-hand turn that most of them had difficulties negotiating due to unreasonable speeds. (The scene is three miles off of Babcock Road.) The first snowmobiler was able to make the turn. Mr. Arsenault, operating a 2007 Arctic Cat F6, told Game Wardens he could see that he was not going to make the corner so he jumped off his sled, according to Warden Durwood Humphrey. The snowmobile continued to travel approximately 30 yards, flipped end over end and landed in the woods. As Mr. Arsenault was getting up from the trail, a 14-year-old male from Windham who was driving a 2009 Ski Doo MXZ snowmobile struck Mr. Aresenault in the back. The juvenile’s sled flipped end over end and crashed into Mr. Aresenault’s snowmobile in the woods. The fourth snowmobile operator was able to avoid the collision. Mr. Arsenault received multiple injuries to his left arm, leg, collarbone and back. He was transported directly from the scene by LifeFlight to Eastern Maine Medical Center in Bangor. The 14-year-old juvenile received minor head injuries and was transported to Houlton Regional Hospital, where he was treated and released. “This was a case of two out of the four the operators overdriving their machines, as they could not stop or even negotiate a corner,” according to MWS Lt. Tom Ward. “With the lack of snow in central and southern Maine, I have seen an increase in numbers of sleds and operators in the Aroostook County region. The trails are in great shape, but folks still need to operate their machines in a safe, prudent manner. Traditionally, we see many problems in these corner areas and it’s due to speed and not operating in control at all times. These folks were very lucky that someone wasn’t killed.” Damage to both snowmobiles is $3,000 to $4,000. Speed was a factor in the crash, and the incident is under investigation. Wardens Humphrey, Charles Brown and Mike Boyer responded to the scene, and Warden Humphrey is the primary investigator. They were assisted by Danforth Fire and Rescue. CWD Still A Threat The cold weather has finally arrived and the smaller ponds in the Moosehead Lake Region are starting to button up for the winter. Moosehead Lake is still wide open and we will need a few calm, cold nights for the big lake to freeze over. Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) remains a serious threat to Vermont’s deer population, according to the Vermont Fish and Wildlife Department. CWD is a contagious neurological disease affecting deer, elk and moose. It causes a characteristic spongy degeneration of the brains of infected animals resulting in emaciation, abnormal behavior, loss of bodily functions and death. Dr. Shawn Haskell, a certified wildlife biologist and the state’s deer project leader, says the public can help by learning about the disease and reporting sick deer to the department. To date, the disease has been documented in 16 states and 2 Canadian provinces. New York discovered CWD in captive deer and two wild deer nearby in Oneida County in 2005, but liberal lethal sampling of the local deer population has detected no infected deer since. The disease was detected in Virginia in January of 2010, and 16 additional cases were discovered in nearby West Virginia. Currently, Vermont is believed to be CWD-free, but a preliminary false-positive test result from a hunter-harvested deer in East Montpelier had biologists worried for a few days in January, 2010. “We were all relieved to find that additional tests demonstrated the deer was not infected,” said Dr. Haskell. “The prospects of CWD actually entering Vermont made it increasingly clear that we cannot take our current healthy status for granted.” Vermont Moose Hunting Applications Are Available Vermont moose hunting permit applications are available on the Vermont Fish and Wildlife Department’s website (www.vtfishandwildlife.com) and at license agents statewide. Fish and Wildlife now has an online application that makes it easy to apply. On Fish & Wildlife’s website, look under “Hunting and Trapping,” and then click on Lottery Applications. Lottery applications are $10 for residents and $25 for nonresidents. The deadline to apply is June1. Winners of the permit lottery will purchase resident hunting permits for $100 and nonresident hunting permits for $350. Hunters also will have the option to bid on five moose hunting permits in an auction to be announced later. “Permit allocation numbers will not be finalized until a regulation is adopted in early summer,” said Vermont Fish and Wildlife Commissioner Wayne Laroche. “We are making the applications available now for hunters’ convenience. If you are concerned about making Wildlife Management Unit choices before permit numbers are set, you may want to wait to apply.” Waterfowl Survey Completed Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife conducted its annual mid-winter waterfowl survey early in January 2010 and recorded numbers identical to or lower than 10-year-average figures. The mid-winter waterfowl survey is conducted at the same time each winter in every state in the Atlantic Flyway. MDIFW wildlife biologists Brad Allen and Kelsey Sullivan and U.S. Geological Survey biologist Dan McAuley flew with U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service pilot John Bidwell for nearly 40 hours to conduct the low-level survey between January 4 and January 16. This year, the team counted slightly more than 56,000 ducks and geese, a figure significantly lower than the latest 10-year average count of 69,000. According to Brad Allen, leader of MDIFW’s bird group, this year’s count likely was low because of the relatively mild, ice-free coastal conditions encountered during the survey. In years when the survey is preceded by cold, harsh weather conditions, waterfowl become concentrated along the coast and are more likely to be counted. In years when the weather is mild, waterfowl are either along the coast or are dispersed in freshwater sites near the coast that remain ice free. These inland areas are not searched by the survey team. Despite the mild conditions, a relatively good number of black ducks were recorded at 16,388 birds. This figure is nearly identical to the latest 10-year average for this species. The most disappointing numbers recorded this year were for the sea ducks, according to Allen. Fewer than 1,000 scoters were encountered during the survey. Long-tailed duck numbers also were low at 1,253. Common eider numbers were the lowest ever recorded during mid-winter waterfowl survey flights. The survey team tallied fewer than 15,000 eiders, well below the latest 10-year average of 26,500 for this species. Other numbers recorded for waterfowl in Maine in early January 2010 were as follows: · Mallards: 2,778 · Scaup: 232 · Goldeneyes: 7,549 · Buffleheads: 6,561 · Mergansers: 2,613 · Ruddy ducks: 107 · Harlequin ducks: 24 · Canada geese: 3,286 While Maine’s numbers were relatively low this year, the overall status of winter populations cannot be determined until Maine’s data are pooled with the other state’s numbers from Maine to Florida. Collectively, these data provide a relative index to the abundance of all waterfowl species and their distribution within the flyway. Maine Moose Permit Auction and Moose Lottery Bids are being accepted for the 2010 Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife Moose Permit Auction. Each year, the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife auctions 10 moose hunting permits and awards them to the highest bidders. Proceeds from the auction go to the Youth Conservation Education Fund, which awards partial scholarships to send Maine boys and girls, ages 10-14, to one week of conservation camp at the Bryant Pond 4-H Camp and Learning Center on Lake Christopher or Greenland Point Center on Long Lake in Princeton. More than 400 boys and girls were able to attend conservation camp in 2009 because of these scholarships. “Ever since the auction began, hunters have been very generous in their bids because, I believe, they know this program helps send Maine kids to conservation camp,” said Deputy Commissioner Paul F. Jacques. “We are appreciative of their participation in this program. While successful bidders get a permit, the real winners are the children.”? The Moose Permit Auction was created by the Legislature in 1995 specifically to fund youth conservation education efforts. Ten of this year’s 3,015 allotted moose permits will be auctioned. Last year, close to $100,000 was raised from the auction, and the 10 winners had a 90 percent success rate. The 10 highest bidders are able to choose their 2010 season hunt dates. Bids must be submitted to the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife no later than 5 p.m. EDT (Eastern Daylight Time) on February 17, 2010. A non-refundable bid fee of $25 must accompany each bid. A bid packet is available by calling (207) 287-5207. Submitted bids will be opened Feb 19, and successful bidders will be contacted. If selected, bidders have 30 days to send in the bid payment and select a moose hunting district, hunting week for the permit and permit type. A subpermittee, if desired, must also be selected at this time. The bid amount covers the resident or non-resident moose permit fee, but does not include the resident or non-resident hunting license fee. The Bryant Pond 4-H Camp and Learning Center and the Greenland Point Center offer five-day residential camps that are designed to teach the boys and girls of Maine the importance of conservation, a respect for the environment and a working knowledge of outdoor skills. Subjects taught at the camp include wildlife identification, introduction to fishing, boating safety, archery, firearms handling, hunter safety, forest conservation and map and compass work. The two conservation camps currently are accepting applications for this summer’s camp sessions. Partial scholarships are available and distributed on a first come, first serve basis. For information and applications, visit www.extension.umaine.edu/bryantpond/ or www.greenlandpoint.com Maine Moose Lottery It’s time to enter the 2010 Moose Permit Lottery! For the last couple of years, the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife has encouraged hunters to apply online for the lottery through its website, www.mefishwildlife.com. It’s an easy and convenient way to submit an application! The deadline for online applications is 11:59 p.m. on May 14, 2010. MDIF&W no longer prints or mails paper applications for the moose lottery. If an interested hunter is unable to apply using the online licensing system, the Department suggests: · Printing out a paper application from IF&W’s website at www.mefishwildlife.com, fill it out, and mail it with your payment to the Department; · Coming to IF&W’s main office to fill out a paper application. The address is 284 State Street in Augusta; · Sending a stamped self-addressed envelope to IF&W at the address below. Department personnel will mail a paper application that can be filled out and mailed with your payment to IF&W. The address is: Moose Permit Application Request Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife 41 SHS, 284 State St. Augusta, ME 04333-0041 Paper applications must be postmarked or hand-delivered to MDIF&W in Augusta by 5 p.m. on April 1, 2010. The April 1 deadline for paper applications provides adequate time for department employees to process the paperwork before the lottery. This year, 3,140 permits will be allocated in the state’s 28 Wildlife Management Districts (WMDs). Season dates are: · September 27-October 2: WMDs 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 11, 19 · October 11-16: WMDs 1-14, 17, 18, 19, 27, 28 · Nov. 1-6: WMDs 2, 3, 6, 11 · Nov. 1-27: WMDs 15, 16, 23, 26 A “Maine Residents Only Day” is set for October 30, in WMDs 15, 16, 23, 26. Maine hunters need a lottery-drawn permit to hunt these districts on that day. For complete 2010 Moose Lottery rules, please visit www.mefishwildlife.com. Please call 287-8000 or e-mail us at info.online@maine.gov if you have any questions. Click Here For Past Stories!! Story of the Month |  Current Stories |  Next Month's Stories |  Advertising Info |  Subscribe |  Related Links |  Home