The Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife has schedule two public meetings in which they will present the specifics of a moose hunting proposal for certain parts of southern Maine.
There are two scheduled informational meetings to present the specifics of the proposal. The first is Wednesday October 25, 6:30 p.m. at the Mount View High School in Thorndike, and the second is Thursday, October 26 at 6:30 at the Stevens Brook Elementary School Cafeteria in Bridgton.
The MDIF&W was told by the Maine Legislature to formulate a plan for a possible moose hunt in order to assist in reducing moose populations in certain parts of southern Maine.
The 122nd Maine Legislature adopted a Resolve directing the Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife “To Evaluate the Possibility of a Moose Hunt in Southern Maine†The resolve read that the Commissioner of Inland Fisheries & Wildlife shall evaluate the possibility of a moose hunt in southern Maine and shall submit a report based on the evaluation, including necessary implementing legislations, to the joint standing committee of the Legislature having jurisdiction over inland fisheries and wildlife matters on later than December 1, 2006.
Based on a series of public informational meetings conducted by MDIFW during the fall of 2005 in which it solicited input and comment about moose hunting in southern Maine, the Department is proposing the following for further public consideration.
The Department is proposing to hold the southern Maine moose hunting during the regular firearms deer season in November. The majority of people who attended the public meetings preferred that the moose season, in southern Maine, be held in November, in conjunction with the regular firearms season for deer, than during October or December. This was true for landowners, the general public, and is in agreement with the public working group’s recommendation.
The Department proposes issuing “any-moose†permits, which would allow hunters to take a moose of either sex. In the WMDs proposed for the southern Maine moose hunt, our goal is to reduce the moose population, not to maintain it. Therefore, we would only be concerned if hunters were selecting for bulls and not removing cows. Hunter success is expected to be low during the southern Maine moose hunt. This may make hunters less selective as to whether they shoot a cow or bull moose. Permits would be allocated through the regular moose lottery.
The goals of the hunt are to allow a slow to moderate decrease in moose numbers in WMDS 15, 16, 23 and 26, and to consider further expanding the moose hunt to the remaining five southern WMDS after the department has reviewed the information and experience gained from the initial moose hunt in southern Maine.
Tom Remington
