 Perseverance works when it comes to collaring coyotes May 5, 2013 Maine, Lewiston Sun Journal ... The state legislature appropriated and DIF&W earmarked $150,000 to fund an actual coyote control program... Specific deer wintering areas were targeted for coyote suppression activities... where deer numbers have been low and struggling to recover... contract trappers and 44 contract hunters have removed almost 200 coyotes from deer wintering areas. This was accomplished at a cost of $47,000. [more than $235 per coyote] ... Maine's unsung heroes, its warden service May 1, 2013 Kennebec Journal The Maine Warden Service was formed in 1880. Its first arrest was of a deer poacher... The Animal Planet show “North Woods Law” follows wardens in different parts of the state as they not only enforce game laws, but also confront drunken Massachusetts hunters and chase down speeding ATVers... Locks cut on gates at Maine hunting park, at least one red deer still on the loose April 16, 2013 Bangor Daily News ... At least one red deer, one of the largest species of the animal, escaped Sunday from Peaslee Mountain Hunt Park in Jefferson after someone cut the locks off the park gates. Forest Peaslee, who runs the hunt park, reported the incident to the Maine Department of Agriculture, which regulates domestic deer... Maine Deer and Moose Tests find no Signs of Wasting Disease April 8, 2013 MPBN News ... State wildlife officials say more than 400 white-tailed deer and moose harvested in Maine in 2012 were tested for Chronic Wasting Disease - or CWD - and all tested negative. Maine's Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife has been monitoring and testing for CWD since 1999... DIF&W hires new deer biologist April 4, 2013 Maine, BDN Maine Blogs ... Kyle Ravana has spent the past month settling into his new job as the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife's top deer biologist... Over the past 50-plus years, the state has employed just three — now four — deer biologists ... Deer-feeding family has following April 1, 2013 Maine, Press Herald ... Harriet, 80, and Basil, 81, have been feeding deer for more than 50 years ... Her parents began to feed the deer regularly in the 1940s, and when she and Basil moved back into the family home, they took over the feeding... Harriet said the deer leave behind droppings and tear up the yard with their tracks, "but we'll be one of the first people in town to have a green lawn." ... Much ado about noshing, managing deer in the garden March 31, 2013 Maine, Press Herald ... Most experts say fences are the best defense, followed by repellents and other forms of "aversive conditioning" such as using decoys and noisemakers, and plant selection ... double fencing... "You don't have to go up quite as high, but a deer won't jump over a fence if it doesn't see a clear place to land," ... Forms of "aversive conditioning" can teach deer over time to stay away from your garden by making them uncomfortable. These techniques include screaming, throwing things at them or using cracker shells, airhorns or other noisemakers. A coyote decoy can work too ... Deer driving law reinterpreted March George's Outdoor News - BDN ... ... Captain Chris Cloutier informed the committee yesterday that driving deer is illegal even for two hunters. ... Cloutier's report listed 19 of the nation's more popular hunting states where deer driving is legal, including New Hampshire and Vermont... Wisconsin, which places no limits on the number of hunters engaged in a deer drive, but which also reported that “for the last 10 years, 39 percent of deer hunting incidents were the direct result of deer drives.” .. Maine hunters take 13 percent more deer March 22, 2013 NECN ... hunters killed 21,365 deer, an increase from 18,839 the previous year... Local artist creates children's book about a deer on Nubble Island March 21, 2013 Maine, Foster's Daily Democra .. local water color artist Denise F. Brown of Rye ... “A Deer Visits Nubble Lighthouse” uses a unique blend of illustrations and actual photos of Nubble Light to highlight the real life incident of a young deer who visited the island this winter... Just as local Parks & Recreation employees launched a rescue attempt, the deer leaped into the frigid waters and successfully swam back to the mainland... Aroostook home to largest, oldest red deer farm in country February 28, 2013 Maine, Bangor Daily News ... With a herd of 1,000 animals on 500 acres of pasture in southern Aroostook County, Shakaree is the largest and oldest red deer operation in the country, according to farm manager Mark Drew... While red deer velvet can enhance the performance of human athletes, Drew says most of the velvet harvested from Shakaree Farm is sold as an additive for animal feed, especially for race horses... Lack of deer yards are cause of low deer numbers February 25, 2013 Maine, Bangor Daily News, Ron Joseph, a retired Maine wildlife biologist ... the quality and quantity of deer yards has plummeted since then. Winter is the bottleneck of deer survival in northern Maine. Poor-quality deer-wintering habitat further compromises their survival. Coyotes kill healthy deer, but emaciated ones are easy prey in late winter. Purchasing deer yards outright or protecting them with conservation easements — with binding timber harvest regulations — are the only viable long-term solutions to resolving Maine’s deer woes ... Doe makes her way to Nubble Light and back February 20, 2013 Maine, Seacoastonline.com A deer that made its way out onto Cape Neddick Nubble Island ... on Sunday, jumped off the island and swam safely back to shore Tuesday afternoon... Numerous residents and visitors to Sohier Park have been posting their concern for the deer on The York Weekly's Facebook page... Deer Task Force looks to state, federal officials for support February 13, 2013 Maine, Block Island Times Before adopting a plan to drastically reduce or completely eradicate deer on Block Island, members of the Deer Task Force (DTF) agreed this week that they need to gain the support of the Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management (DEM)... USDA is allowed to use a full suite of tactics to extirpate deer, including suppressed rifles at night, baiting and artificial light. (“Extirpation” is the term used by the USDA for their managed hunts; it means eradication in a local area.) ... Maine Lawmakers Consider Expanding Coyote Trapping February 19, 2013 MPBN News Coyote trapping, as a way of replenishing the deer herd, would be expanded in Maine, under a bill before the state Legislature. Right now, the Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife pays trappers, hunters and houndsmen to kill a limited number of coyotes in some of the state's most remote and vulnerable wintering habitats for deer. But as Jay Field reports, a new measure, debated at a public hearing today in Augusta, would create a four-month, open season ... Maine lawmakers, farmers show support for turkey control bills February 13, 2013 Bangor Daily News A bipartisan covey of lawmakers, who are also farmers, lined up Tuesday to testify in support of a bill that would expand hunting of the birds... Rep. Black ... has seen flocks of turkeys consume fields of clover, ridges of acorns and apples — all sources of food for deer ... Video camera will give bear's-eye view of world February 4, 2013 Maine, Press Herald ... In a study that begins this spring, Unity College students will trap up to five female bears and attach collars with GPS devices that will record their movements via satellite. One of the collars will be equipped with a video camera... Elsewhere, video cameras are in use on caribou, deer and black, brown and polar bears ... $233 Coyotes – Pretty Expensive! February 1, 2013 Maine, Bangor Daily News ... 136 coyotes have been killed this winter by 49 paid trappers and hunters hired to protect deer in 30 designated priority areas. That’s $233 per coyote, a cost that is unsustainable and certain to lead to calls to abandon the program... Mount Desert Island, MDI town to poll residents about special hunt to deal with deer overpopulation January 22, 2013 Maine, Bangor Daily News Deer hunting on MDI has been banned since the 1930s, which, according to some island residents, has led to an overpopulation of deer on the island. In the past year, the issue has become a frequent topic of conversation among municipal officials ... Millard Billings, Tremont’s town manager, said ... the town plans to mail out a questionnaire on the issue prepared by College of the Atlantic in Bar Harbor.... Mount Desert Island, Deer Glut Not Acadia's Fault January 9, 2013 Maine, Fenceviewer ... “We found that the deer were spending a lot of time at the edge of the ranges where the coyotes occurred to get away from them,” he said. “We saw no evidence that the deer were nutritionally stressed.” The Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife also has blamed coyotes, which typically avoid proximity to humans, for the increased number of deer in residential neighborhoods. Mount Desert Island, Deer Survey Goes to Voters January 9, 2013 Maine, Fenceviewer Selectmen here decided Monday to let the town's registered voters have their say on the issue through a 10-question survey designed to gather opinions about controlling the deer population. The survey is to be mailed to everyone on the town’s voter registration list ... Isleslboro, Taking the recreation out of hunting (but keeping the rack) January 7, 2013 Maine, PenBayPilot.com ... Islesboro hunters killed 49 deer during a three-week, special deer reduction hunt ... Studies in 2010 and 2011 estimated 62 and 48 deer per square mile, respectively, inhabiting the 17-square-miles of Islesboro ... Michael Boucher, a hunter who attended the meeting, suggested a doe-only season, which he said would break the reproductive cycle more effectively than targeting all deer. It might also win over some archers who opposed the special hunt, he said. MDIFW estimates at least 21, 000 deer harvested in 2012 December 31, 2012 Maine, St. John Valley Times ... the current estimate represents at least an 11.5 percent increase from 2011, when 18,839 deer were registered, according to a press release from MDIFW. “This increase is due in large part by the nearly record mild winter of 2011 to 2012 and improved overwinter survival of fawns producing a bumper yearling crop,” Biologist Lee Kantar said... When deer are a dream come true December 30, 2012 Maine, Press Herald ... I now live in Maine, and more to the point abide in the woods ... in the dead of night ... it was a doe, browsing in the grass and low cover ... I let the floodlight spill over a wide circle of lawn and trampled weeds. And there I saw it: a second doe, perhaps 10 feet off... The discovery gave me comfort, a feeling of new companions nearby, another family not far off ... Southwest Harbor, Deer Problem Blamed on Acadia December 12, 2012 Maine, Fenceviewer The best way to keep deer from invading populated areas of Mount Desert Island is not to kill them, but for Acadia National Park to practice better forest management, Southwest Harbor selectman Ralph Dunbar told his fellow board members ... “I’ve talked to several people about this, hunters and non-hunters,” Mr. Dunbar said. “The general consensus across the board was, ‘Do not do it.’ Their feeling was that the deer hunt would not work and would be a very bad idea.” ... Bar Harbor, Deer Herd Task Force Forming December 6, 2012 Maine, Fenceviewer A new group set to study the deer population here and make recommendations on possible management alternatives is now accepting members ... Anyone interested in joining the group is encouraged to contact the town clerk’s office, located in the municipal building on Cottage Street. The phone number there is 288-4098... November 29, 2012 Maine Bangor Daily News ... Town Manager Millard Billings ... said that some people believe the growing presence of coyotes in Acadia is what causes deer to congregate closer to roads and villages, which coyotes are more eager to avoid... Len Bobinchock, deputy superintendent of Acadia and the park’s liaison to the league, said ... MDI residents should be asked not just if they support a hunt, but also if they would allow hunting on their property... Many MDI residents believe that the island’s deer-hunting ban .. increased cases of Lyme disease [deer density not correlated to Lyme], and a high number of car-deer accidents. Poaching is on the rise in Maine November 12, 2012 WCSH-TV ... Operation Game Thief averages 350 calls a year. This year there have been more than 320 calls including more than 100 last week. Simmons says it wouldn't be so bad if people were poaching for economic reasons. "I haven't met anyone yet who is starving for deer meet. I think they're thrill killers. That's been the reason for years and years." The toll free number for Operation Game Thief is 1-800-ALERT-US. Islesboro, Hunters to thin Islesboro deer herd November 9, 2012 Maine, Bangor Daily News ...voters approved killing about 400 of the estimated 500 deer that live on the island. The vote was 100-28, according to BDN reports at the time... In one study the density was established at 50 deer per square mile; in the other, the estimate was 48 deer per square mile. According to published BDN accounts, a healthy deer population density in Maine is about 10 deer per square mile... Mainers appear to approve all bond referendums November 7, 2012 Maine, Press Herald Question 3 was a $5 million bond to benefit Land for Maine's Future, to allow the state to buy land and conservation easements to preserve land and water access, outdoor recreation, hunting, fishing, deer wintering areas ... Deer recovery efforts in Maine are working November 4, 2012 Lewiston Sun Journal, Gerry Lavigne served for 30 years as DIFW’s deer biologist ... deer populations have declined over the past five years, particularly in northern Maine ... During the 1970s, 12 percent of northern Maine sheltered deer. Currently, about 4 percent of the land base is deer yard. A good portion of this loss can be attributed to the millions of northern Maine acres lost in the 1980s from spruce budworm ... If northern Maine deer populations are to recover, deer losses to coyote predation must be reduced. ... Despite the old saw that coyotes only kill the old and sick deer, research has shown that coyotes kill deer non-selectively when deer flounder in deep snow... | Search for news and information by keyword above or find links to state news stories organized by topic. The reported number of deer harvested during the 2011 was 18,170, only slightly above the 2009 figure which was the lowest in decades, with a total of 18,092. In 2010, the total was 20,063, with a significant increase in the number of yearling bucks sporting multi-pointed antlers and a decrease in the percentage of antlerless deer taken. An estimated 76,000 moose in 2012. About 12,000 coyotes. Around 31,000, increasing for the past five years. About 60,000 wild turkeys. - Maine's Game Plan for Deer, Maine.gov - Winter Feeding of Maine Deer -- Does It Help or Hurt Them? December 2011, Deer Management Network Other useful links: - Maine Department of Conservation - Maine Department of Environmental Protection - Hunting Regulations - Keeping Maine's Forests - Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife Deer Management Objective: LONG-TERM GOAL: Increase hunting and viewing opportunity for white-tailed deer, while preventing over-browsing of deer wintering habitat. Increase deer wintering habitat to 8% of the land base to ensure sufficient wintering habitat to accommodate a post hunt population of 10 deer/mi2 by the year 2030 (or sooner), and then maintain as for the short-term objective.  Maine Deer Population Trend |
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