Comments on: Does Maine Have A Deer Management Problem?: Part II

By: Dan

Dan — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 15:29:15 +0000

lets take the blame factor out…,( I’m tired of the idea,don’t let a bad winter go to waste.) or the increasing predation from coyotes,and bears are destroying our deer herd. The truth is if the deer population wasn’t below it’s natural and appropraciale population, there would be a natural balance between predator, deer and winter kill. That is the way nature works, to produce healthy deer and healthy habitat..Hunters need to look at the human factor…to find the answers to our shinking deer herd. The so called experts know how to ask the questions or turn the problem around, so you take your eyes and ears off them. Please remember, we all are born with something, that the experts don’t seen to have ( common sense )! You can’t kill all the does and lambs and have a healthy deer herd and healthy habitat…….truth is our deer are not starving in our forest , but our natural predators are!!!! Our experts have destroyed the natural balance of our forest……(.Ask, the right questions and the answers are there)

By: Dan

Dan — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 19:42:40 +0000

It is estimated that there are fewer than 200,000 deer in Maine with the northern half of the state having the thins numbers , we use have a population topping around 350,000. Kantar says the deer harvest could go a bunch of drifferent ways…and he right….the antlerless deer permits that was taken away from most districit, was put on 5 small coastal districits……believe it or not the game commission issued 45,385 antlerless deer permits on these districits. This could boost the deer kill numbers for this year, but what about next year. they are more worried about the projected kill coming in lower. Tell me this is good deer management. When the deer are gone in these districit what are they going to do ,everyone looses. The bleak hunting outlook for the years to come will take an enconomic toll on guides, restaurants, lodges, taxidermists,and other who cater to hunters,also the lost of revenue to the state..what are they doing ,do they really care…I wish I had the answer

By: Russ

Russ — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 15:47:40 +0000

I agree with Dan for the majority of the state, but southern Maine still does have a decent number of deer. The problem here is that the commission does not take into account the amount that live their entire life on areas off-limits to hunting because of posting and development. The state counts these deer in the total number available to hunt when they allocate antlerless permits. These antlerless permits are then used on the actual number of huntable deer, which is probably less than 50% of the total, so the population in these areas declines much more than anticipated. This is a huge flaw in the state’s deer management of southern Maine. Something needs to be done to open land that is currently closed to hunting – tax incentives for allowing access or penalties for posting, something along those lines, or hunting in southern Maine will vanish.

By: Tom Remington

Tom Remington — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 14:59:02 +0000

Dan – Can you provide readers with links and information to substantiate your claims? I have no information available to me to be able to state that MDIFW doesn’t have sufficient data, etc. If your claim is true, I certainly would be interested in learning more about it.

By: Dan

Dan — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 14:49:19 +0000

The state of Maine game commission , doesn’t have suffieient data to make credible deer management decisions. There is no legitrimle basic for the allocate of the expanded archery season and antlerless deer permits in 2009 or 2010.Because the game commission in Maine doesn’t have enough data, the ageny has abused it’s decretion in making arbitary antlerless deer permits deisions and violated its legally mandated duty to promote Maine hunting heritage, By improperly authortzing the killing of to many antlerless deer ( the commission ) has improperly reduced the Maine deer herd below it’s natural and appropciale population and as a result has failed to proide an adequate opportunity for Maine deer hunter to hunt deer

By: Dan

Dan — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 14:28:11 +0000

The sportmen of Maine need to file a lawsuit to derail the game commissions controversial deer management program and allow the state whitetail population to expand. The state game commission is using inadaquate scientific data, in determining the number of permits to hunt antlerless deer. We need to halt all antlerless deer permits in our state and stop the expanded archery season ( the unlimited killing of antlerless deer ) Our biologists don’t really know how many deer exit in our state of maine, and have resorted to subjective and ambiquous evalvation to determine deer densities rather than sound scientific and numerical data. Such unconvertional and careless dicision making has resulted in a dramatia and quite possibly an unsustainable, decline in the Maine deer herd

By: Dan

Dan — Mon, 30 Nov 2009 23:07:19 +0000

kantar should not be using 1970′s and 80′ for his data on deer harvest number or estimated deer population….back then we only had 26 days to hunt now there is 90 days of hunting and that is taking out the sundays. And he isn’t saying anything about the expanded archry season where you can kill as many anthless deer that you can kill. Tell me this isn’t hurting the deer population. Kantar isn’t even from Maine…..and he is telling us what it use to be like here, the truth is he has no idea…..I’m tired of the lies and every chance they can but blame on something else other then real problem. their poor game management……..

By: Russ

Russ — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 16:34:46 +0000

Deer hunting in Maine is getting nearly impossible, especially in the south. Yes, there are a lot of deer here, but getting to them is not possible in most cases. I have been hunting since 1976, and over 90% of the land I hunted back then is either developed, cleared, or posted now. Unless you are a large landowner or have permission from one to hunt their land, there is just no access to good hunting areas anymore. I will most likely not even purchase a license next year, my last good spot was cleared and posted this year when the original landowner sold the property to someone from Massachussets. There are so many out-of-staters that have moved in who have no respect for Maine’s open land tradition. They don’t hunt, and will never let anyone hunt their land. The land that is avialble to hunt has been cleared so many times that there is just not enough cover for deer, and the swamp areas that have not been cleared have been over-run with moose. It is a joke that the State wants us to spend more and more every year on licences, permits and fees, to hunt less and less land. I give up!!