As of this writing, the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife (MDIFW) has not published the deer harvest results for the 2017 season. They are approaching a record:

According to V. Paul Reynolds, who used to work for this outfit, says MDIFW still blames the tagging stations for not filing their information with Augusta. Really? “During my three year-tenure with IF&W, it never changed. Blame was placed on the deer tagging stations.

Guess what? It’s no better today. In fact, it is worse. Much worse. As of the first of June, nobody in officialdom, including the state deer biologist Nathan Bieber, can tell you how many deer were taken in last fall’s hunt. Don Dudley, chairman of the IF&W advisory council, said that it is frustrating for policymakers who keep asking for the deer harvest summary and are told that the foot draggers in the tagging stations are the culprits.”

So, there are “foot-draggers” in the tagging stations that refuse to send their tagging data to MDIFW in a timely manner. Who is captain of this piece of a crap sinking ship? Why does a governmental agency, that thinks nothing of running roughshod over any private citizen who stands in the way, not have the balls to tell tagging stations “NO MORE! WE ARE TAKING AWAY YOUR TAGGING PRIVILEGES?”

Oh, what is it? MDIFW is so desperate for tagging stations they are at the mercy of owners of businesses that tag game that they have no say? Give me a break!

I recall one time when, as commissioner of the local Little League program, during a championship playoff game, two women stood behind the backstop and verbally accosted the home plate umpire to a point the umpire called a time-out and asked to speak to me. We asked them to leave the grounds, but they refused. What was was to do? What could we do? It had gotten out of hand and the players and the rest of the spectators were getting angry.

I gathered the coaches and umpires together and we decided that, short of calling the local sheriff to assist with evicting them, I turned on the microphone to the public address system and announced that due to difficulties with two parents the baseball game was suspended until such time as the two women left the property.

What worked was that the two felt isolated and embarrassed because those they thought were on their side, were not. The crowd began to become vocal themselves, insisting the two women leave the park in order that the children could finish their game and enjoy it.

Maybe it is time for MDIFW to use a similar tactic with these irresponsible clowns – if it is really them that are the problem. I have my doubts.

You know what I think it is? I think that MDIFW finds placing the blame for not doing their jobs on tagging stations because it is convenient to not have the data and not have to process it until they get damned good and ready – you know, like when everyone has already forgotten about how lousy the hunting was and have already forgotten they were thinking about never buying another license.

I contend there is only a handful of us who want the specific data – and much more than what is stingily provided. It is our way of sifting through information as a means of checks and balances of this government agency. The majority of those who have a little bit of concern would like for the MDIFW to issue a press statement within hours or a day or two after the close of the hunting seasons with an “ESTIMATE” of numbers of game animals harvested. Is that difficult? If a tagging station is not giving up their data, how about a quick phone call and ask them how many deer they have tagged so far? Crissakes Anyway!!!

Back before there were computers to do all the work, the fish and game department was sending out press releases each week during the season. Today, we are told MDIFW doesn’t want to release any information that isn’t 100% accurate and so conveniently blame tagging stations.

And, Reynolds wants to know how MDIFW can, with a straight face, formulate how many permits and Any-Deer Permits to issue if they claim to not have all the returned data from tagging stations.

Telling the teacher that the dog ate my homework has never worked. I guess what has changed in this modern era of governmental totalitarianism is that there just aren’t enough taxpayers who care enough anymore to hold MDIFW’s feet to the fire and MAKE them do a much better job.

And that’s why MDIFW doesn’t feel any sense of responsibility to do what should be expected of them.

I would be embarrassed, but then again, I’m a weird, son-of-a-bitch who expects a minimum of production out of those who work for me.