Word on the street is that the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife (MDIFW) is about to release their 15-year management plans for deer, bear, moose, and turkey. I’ll reserve space and time for when the written plans are made available and I have a chance to read and digest them before I make too many comments.
However, there are two items in an article in the Portland Press Herald that caught my attention. I’ll start with some apparent good news: “The 5-year moose radio collar study has shown that the population will be more resistant to winter tick infestation if it’s smaller – rather than larger for easier wildlife watching – so more hunting permits will be issued, said Wildlife Division Director Judy Camuso.”
Let’s hope that the increase in permits and the reduction in moose is significant to get the job done. Thank you MDIFW for taking this direction.
Now the bad news: “There is no absolute density (number),” Cordes said. “There is more flexibility now in management.” What this statement is referring to is that the management plan for big game will no longer include efforts to estimate population numbers. Evidently, this is not reserved strictly for deer but for all big game. Instead, management officials will focus on the health of the population of deer, moose, bear, and turkey.
And for those who buy into this scientism form of unaccountable, rely on Climate Change for answers to all things management, “flexibility in management” means they lie, cheat, and steal and we aren’t supposed to know about it. That is historically the ONLY definition of flexibility in government.
Yes, I’m of an older generation (a much better one) where it was expected of you to be accountable and accurate. Then one day I heard that doing math problems evidently gave the students and teachers “more flexibility” because it didn’t matter whether you came up the correct answer, it was whether you got the process right. HOT DAMN! Flexibility meant I only had to do half the amount of work. It was easier to fake the rest.
If numbers will no longer be a part of management, I suppose that will be justification for never publishing harvest data. Instead, MDIFW can publish one big page on their website or in the newspapers that read: “Deer/Bear/Moose/Turkey are healthy.” Our job is done and we did a good job…damn I just wrenched my shoulder patting myself on the back.
Flexibility!!!! Got it.
