Maine Fish and Wildlife Magazine, Winter-Spring 1980 by Maine State Library

MAINE FISH AND \VILDLIFE Vol. 22, No. 1

Winter-Spring 1980

Governor Joseph E. Brennan

Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife Glenn H. Manuel J. William Peppard Kenneth H. Anderson David 0. Locke Alanson B. Noble Lyndon H. Bond Peter C. Brazier Robert W. Boettger William C. Mincher Clayton G. Grant Richard B. Parks Lorenzo J. Gaudreau Alfred L. Meister

INSIDE

Commissioner Deputy Commissioner Director, Planning and Co-ordination Superintendent of Hatcheries Chief Warden Chief, Fishery Division Business Manager Chief, Wildlife Division Director, Information and Education Chief, Engineering Division Chief, Realty Division Director, Recreational Safety and Registration Chief Biologist, Atlantic Salmon Commission

1979-The Year Of The Trout

Dealing With Deer Predators: Coyotes

Dogs

Lee E. Perry Henry Hilton Lloyd A. Perkins

Public Rights To Maine's Inland Waters

Richard B. Parks

Landlocked Salmon Management At West Grand Lake, Part II

Annual Report Section

Fish And Wildlife Briefs

Index To 1979 Feature Articles

J. Dennis McNeish

THE COVERS Front: A sure sign of approaching spring is the return of the magnificent Canada goose to Maine nesting and feeding areas. Photographer Bill Cross caught this fine specimen at dinnertime on North Pond in Warren. Inside front: Another reliable harbinger of spring-the increase in both volume and speed of Maine's waterways. From the smallest tributary to the largest river, the run-off means warmer weather is here! Photo by Bill Cross

Advisory Council Rodney W. Ross, Chairman Brownville, Maine Ralph L. Noel

Auburn George E. Prentiss Rumford Nathan Cohen Eastport

SEE IMPORTANT NOTICE, "YOU HAVEN'T MISSED ANYTHING," ON PAGE 30.

Robert E. Moore

Casco Dennis L. Smith

Otter Creek Alva S. Appleby Skowhegan

Maine Fish and Wildlife Magazine Produced by the Information and Education Division staff. All photographs in this issue were made by the Information and Education Division staff unless otherwise indicated.

Maine Fish and Wildlife - Winter-Spring 1980

MAINE FISH AND WILDLIFE (ISSN 0360-005X) is published quarterly by the Maine Dept. of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife, 284 State St., Station 41, Augusta, Maine 04333, under Appropriation 4550. Subscription rates to United States zip code addresses: $2.50 for one year; $4.00 for two years; $5.50 for three years. No stamps, please. Second class postage paid at Augusta, ME 04330. ÂŠ Maine Dept. of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife, 1980. Written permission must be secured from the Department before reproducing any part of this copyrighted material. No advertising accepted.

POSTMASTER: If undeliverable, do not return. When changing address, subscriber should send magazine mailing label, or a/I information from it, and new mail address, to: Circulation Section, Maine Fish and Wildlife Dept., 284 State Street, Station 41, Augusta, ME 04333. See change form elsewhere in this issue, or use POD Form #3578, available at your local post office. Allow eight weeks for change to take effect. Sorry, but we cannot replace issues lost through failure to gi.ve adequate notice of address change. 1

1979Year of the Trout B

J.R. Foster and new state record brook trout. Bangor Daily News photo.

ounce, fish caught by James R. Foster of Howland. Chase Pond in T.14, R .9, Aroostook County, yielded the 25-inch beauty. Indicative of the unusually large numbers of hefty squaretails taken last year is the membership tally of The One That Didn't Get Away Club which listed 16 entries in the brook trout category, about double the usual number. Nine of the 16, weighed over 5 pounds. Listed below are the top fish entered in the Club in 1979.

IG BROOK TROUT were

Maine's big fishing news of 1979. Not only were a lot of good-sized squaretails taken by anglers, but there was also a new state record established.

The existing modern state record for eastern brook trout-set in 1958 -was bettered by 3 ounces on September 27, 1979, by an 8 pound, 8

THE ONE THAT DIDN'T GET AWAY CLUB FOR 1979

Cl)

C U ~ C 0 ~

The Fish

Cl)

G) D.c CU a> C

..J -

TOP FISH IN EACH CATEGORY

G> D

~ ca ca

The Angler

Where Caught

Lure Rangeley Spinner & worm

James R. Foster, Howland, ME

8-8

9-27

Chase Pond

Neil Tikander, West Paris, ME

7-S

9-30

Kennebago River

Dark Tiger

Brook Trout

Ralph Pelletier, Ft. Fairfield, ME

7-1

4-29

Monson Pond

night crawler

(Qualifying weight 4 lbs.)

Charles E. Cox, Sr., Auburn, ME

6-5

21 Vz

7-2

Little Jim Pond

Black Ghost (Maribou)

Douglas Taylor, Gardner, MA

6-4

S-28

Pierce Pond

Gray Ghost

Clair S. Mitchell, Union, ME

10-13

29 Vz

6-20

Lake St. George

live smelt

Frederick Ahearn, Ill, Old Orchard, ME

10-11

S-3

live bait

Brown Trout

William Gaspar, Ellsworth, ME

8-13

3-24

Patten Pond

live bait-shiner

(Qualifying weight 6 lbs.)

Laurent Gosselin, Augusta, ME

8-4

27 Vz

6-24

Fairbanks Pond

sewed bait

Frank King, Fairfield, ME

7-2

4-28

Lake St. George

live smelt Lead Fish

Philip B. Cole, Millinocket, ME

3-1

Schoodic Lake

Charles Fillebrown, Thomaston, ME

35 Vz

6-16

Tunk Lake

Rebel

Lake Trout (Togue)

Dick Fitzherbert, Oakland, ME

18-7

34 Y.

6-23

Munsungun Lake

live smelt

Bradford Wambolt, Topsfield, ME

18-2 Vz

6-24

W. Musquash Lake

sewed bait

(Qualifying weight 15 lbs.)

Peter I. Tripp, Frankfort, ME

18-I J,4

35 ÂĽ-

S-27

E. Grand Lake

live smelt Chev-Chase

Landlocked Salmon (Qualifying weight 6 lbs.)

Atlantic Salmon

(Qualifying weight IS lbs .)

Small mouth Bass (Qualifying weight 5 lbs.)

Lar\emouth ass (Qualifying weight 7 lbs .)

Pickerel (Qualifying weight 4 lbs.)

.r:.

Millard Armstrong, S. Portland, ME

26 Y.

9-14

Sebago Lake

Hilda Quinn , Naples, ME

6-6

6-29

Sebago Lake

Mooselook (Bronze)

Mike Plummer, Lisbon Falls, ME

6-2

S- 12

Sebago Lake

sewed smelt

Lionel Proteau, Lewiston, ME

7-4

Sebago Lake

Mooselook (Bronze)

Robert Scott, Rutland, MA

6-21

Dennys River

dry fly

Joe Dunn , Randolph , ME

8-10

Sheepscot River

homemade fly

George McPhail, Windham, ME

6-13

23 Vz

9-7

Little Sebago Lake

shiner

Robert Benson, E. Lebanon, ME

5-14

21 Vz

8-2

Loon Pond

rubber frog

Alan Oransky, Needham , MA

5-12

8-29

East Pond

Bomber-Silver Shad

George Wilmot, So . Portland, ME

19 Vz

9-23

East Pond

Fatso plastic worm

Robert Lehouillier, Biddeford, ME

9-8

9-26

Kezar Lake

Alan Gray, Windham , ME

8-7

5-4

Little Sebago Lake

Rapala

Tom LaBonte, Oakland, ME

7-13

East Pond

shiner

Richard Jillson, Sabattus, ME

7-8Y.

9-16

Sabattus Lake

White Bomber-Spinner

Bruce Wakefield, Kennebunk , ME

7-6 Vz

22 Vz

8-3

Cobbosseecontee Lake

Mann's Jellyworm

Mabel Charles, Westbrook, ME

5-4

25 1-4

2-20

Crescent Lake

live bait

David Fellows, Bangor. ME

S-3 Vz

26 Vz

2-24

Field's Pond

shiner live bait

John Maloney, Scarborough, ME

S-2

27 Vz

2-3

Little Sebago Lake

Marcus Anderson, Unity, ME

S- Vz

24 Vz

6-7

Unity Pond

Tiny Torpedo

Ron Avery, N. Windham, ME

4-14

1-21

Panther Pond

live shiner

Maine Fish and Wildlife - Winter-Spring 198

Dealing with Deer Predators

COYOTES

DOGS

By Lee E. Perry, Asst. Chief, Wildlife Division and Henry Hilton, Wildlife Biologist

By Lloyd A. Perkins, District Game Warden,

REDATION is a process which affects most species of wildlife. It is the method by which

Hallowell

many wild animals acquire their food. When species which are highly valued by man are its victims, predation has often stimulated action aimed at reducing predator numbers in an attempt to protect or increase the population levels of the favored wildlife species. Past efforts to control predators in Maine have never achieved this goal, but the Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife has the basic responsibility to explore ways of improving living conditions and population levels of wildlife species which are favored by the citizens of Maine. For a number of reasons, the white-tailed deer is the

HE PICTURES accompanying this article and on the back cover could not have been taken if the owners of deer-chasing dogs had kept their "pets" under control. Dogs that chase and kill deer are a major problem to game wardens year-round but especially in the winter and early spring. Efforts to make the public aware of this merciless killing have been to little avail. During the first six months of 1979, Maine game wardens responded to 796 dog-related complaints, spent a total of 1,652 man-hours and drove 21,688 miles in order to combat this continuing problem. Yet, dogs are still allowed to roam the woods. Most game wardens have had the experience of dealing

Continued, page 4

Maine Fish and Wildlife - Winter-Spring 1989

COYOTES, continued favorite wildlife species of most Maine citizens. In the past, several Department programs have been directed at protecting the deer herd from predation: encouraging the killing of bobcats by offering a bounty, destruction of domestic and wild dogs found killing or harassing deer, and trapping and snaring of coyotes near deer wintering areas. The purpose of this article is to discuss generally the impact of predation on big game populations; to evaluate the need for coyote control programs; and to review the Department's current policy and procedures regarding control of Maine's newest predator, the eastern coyote.

provide for an annual deer harvest of 30,000 to 37,000 animals. Currently, deer populations are not of sufficient size in all sections of the state to satisfy this objective. An increase in population is required. To do this we must use all the techniques at our disposal within the limits imposed by the biological, social, economic, philosophical, and legal considerations . One of our management problems-predation on whitetailed deer-reduces to three major questions: (1) will control programs reduce coyote populations; (2) will a coyote population reduction result in an increase in the deer population; and (3) what legal, as well as economically and socially acceptable, methods of control are available. Let's review these three questions.

1. Will control programs reduce the coyote population?

ITHOUT MANAGEMENT, combinations of

changing climatic conditions, natural and man-induced changes in habitat, and predation may lead to more serious white-tailed deer declines over several parts of Maine. Economics, politics, sociology, philosophy, and wildlife biology, all play a role in determining the deer population level which management should strive to achieve. The biological capabilities of the species ultimately determine whether or not management objectives will be reached. The Department's current management objective is to

DOGS, continued with dog owners who have destroyed their own dogs after learning that they were chasing deer. This reaction is not typical, however. Most owners cannot believe that their "pet," who is so gentle with children, is even capable of committing brutal attacks on deer, resulting in their mutilation and death. The fact remains, though, that any dog of any size is inclined to chase deer and will do so if the opportunity presents itself. Many of these dogs have keen hunting instincts and will hunt when given the opportunity. Others will follow the pack, and when the prey has been found, they will join in the kill. Often a deer will run to a pond to escape dogs, but if it makes it and the water is frozen, the deer may lose its footing and dislocate its legs. Since domestic dogs have lost the instinct to kill quickly and efficiently, they nip, bite, and rip at their victim until it dies. Although deer are capable of running fast for short distances, dogs have the stamina to tire them quickly, particularly doe deer which are pregnant during the winter months. As spring nears, the weight of the doe increases, thus she is less able to run in deep snow, and dogs can overtake her readily. In such instances, the dogs will have killed not one deer but two to four deer. 4

The coyote has become established in Maine, and because of its great reproductive potential and demonstrated adaptability we must assume that it is here to stay. There is little or no likelihood that any legal control program would endanger, or even appreciably reduce, the overall coyote population. Large numbers of coyotes can be taken from an area with no significant lasting reduction in their population size. Several experiments have shown that coyotes can withstand annual population reductions of 70 percent. They can survive these losses by means of natural adjust-

Even if dogs give up the chase and don't kill a deer directly, they can kill it with a hard chase which can lead to pneumonia. Oftentimes, dogs will return to the area of a kill and kill

ments which occur in their birth and death rates. Also, individuals taken from a prime territory are quickly replaced by individuals in adjoining territories. Substantial control efforts can temporarily reduce coyote numbers in small areas, but immigration and replacement will likely re-populate these areas in a relatively short period of time.

2. Will coyote population reduction increase deer populations? It must be remembered that deer are constantly

dying, but annual losses are usually compensated through the birth of fawns each spring. Thus, while there is always a decline in progress, it is not noticed in the fall so long as the reproduction each spring equals or exceeds the annual deaths. If deer are to increase following a coyote control program, the losses that were caused by coyotes must have been in addition to all other factors which are already causing deer to die. If that is the case, predation would cause a loss in excess of the normal, expected mortality and a sustained deer decline would result. On the other hand, because a certain number of deer do perish for one cause or another, it follows that if predation takes a certain number of deer, competition between the remaining ones becomes less severe and fewer need to die from starvation and other factors. In other words, the death toll from predation is a part of the total number of deer which are going to die in order that the herd can stay within the capacity of the land to support it. In this case,

other deer in the same yard. One warden reported seven deer killed by dogs in one deer yard in his district and 23 killed in another yard. In the latter case, the dogs had killed all of the deer in the entire deer yard!

the loss to a predator replaces another form of deer mortality and does not add to it. Deaths can stimulate the reproductive rates of the breeding segment of a population, thus compensating for losses. This stimulation can happen in a number of ways, one of which is by increasing hormone production of does and, thus, resulting in a higher incidence of twin fawns being born. This higher rate of birth-and, ultimately, higher fall deer populations-could be attributed to compensatory predation because the predatory losses ultimately caused more fawns to be born. A hearty argument can be instigated by advancing the proposition that predators pick on the sick, weak, and old individuals in the prey population, thereby ridding it of them and leaving the better animals for breeding stock. Survival of the fittest is an accepted natural phenomenon. But the distinction between "fit" and "less fit" deer in Maine is not always great enough to be observable or readily apparent. Certainly, many apparently healthy, prime deer die from predation every year. It has been argued that predators-coyotes, for example -would not "wipe out" their major food source because it would be self-defeating, leaving them ultimately with nothing to eat. Common sense suggests that if predators were going to wipe out deer, they would have done it long ago! Continued, page 6.

EW PEOPLE REALIZE the difficulty wardens

have in locating dogs that are chasing deer. While on patrol, wardens watch for indications of dogdeer activity, such as fresh tracks in the snow. Frequently, a motorist or someone at home, will see a deer run by, followed a few minutes later by dogs. By the time the wardens can get to the scene, both animals have travelled a considerable distance. If the dogs are "running silent," the warden must first determine if they have crossed a road further down the trail or take up the track where they were last seen. If the deer has circled several times, the warden has to find the last route taken. More often than not, when a warden arrives at the scene of a dog complaint he finds the c!eer either dead or nearly so. He then tries to trace the dog tracks and follow them home. Sometimes he is lucky and finds a dog at home, still with blood on Its chest and deer hair all over it. Other times, dogs will travel a bare road, and the warden is unable to follow it any further. The Fish and Wildlife Department has airplanes and helicopters which it sometimes uses in areas where dogs are a serious problem. Usually the local warden will wait until a complaint comes in and then inform the pilot of its location. The pilot and spotter will try to locate the dogs and tell the warden, via portable radio, which direction to go Continued, page 8

COYOTES, continued

Under certain conditions, severe prey declines can occur. In Minnesota recently, deteriorating habitat and severe winters caused large losses of white-tailed deer, the primary prey of wolves. Wolves were not initially affected and their numbers remained at high levels relative to their prey. With no other acceptable food source, the predators had to rely heavily on deer. The wolves in this instance became an important additional influence in the deer decline but ultimately suffered severe declines themselves. In Oregon, predators were killing a high proportion of fawns in an already declining deer population. Aerial gunning of coyotes on the winter deer range resulted in increased survival of fawns, but it did not significantly reverse the trend of declining deer numbers. Some other

factor, or combination of factors, was ultimately limiting deer survival. The classic studies of the wolf-moose relationship on Isle Royal and of the wolf-Sitka deer relationship in Alaska suggest that a high degree of predator-prey compatability can exist when all the conditions are right for it. But in several cases, including the two mentioned, severe winters and habitat ch.anges disturbed the balance that had existed. Although deer are adaptable animals, in Maine they are near the northern limit of their range and are therefore under considerable stress to survive. Apparent increases in the severity of recent winters, coupled with more intensive timber harvesting in deer wintering areas and predation, may be more than the animal can endure. Coyote predation is not believed to be a major cause of our lower deer population, but severe coyote predation

Maine Fish and Wildlife - Winter-Spring 1980

may well accelerate local drops in deer abundance and keep small herds from increasing. Under these circumstances, deer may benefit from a coyote control program. 3. What legal, economical, and socially acceptable control techniques are available? The use of poisons (such as 1080 and M44 cyanide ejectors), trapping, snaring, bounties, predator calling, den hunting, and hunting from aircraft have all been suggested as possible control methods. There is currently no known single method or device, except certain poisons, which could radically reduce coyote numbers. Federal restrictions prohibit the use of poisons to protect game populations. Lengthening the trapping season on coyotes to encourage trappers to take more of them seems reasonable to some. In recent years, the trapping season on all upland furbearers has been greatly reduced to insure that the take of species such as the fisher, fox, and bobcat, which is now near maximum acceptable levels, does not exceed the annual surplus of these animals. Since it is extremely difficult to trap for coyotes without accidentally catching other animals, an extended general trapping season for coyotes is bound to result in an additional take of other species. The Department feels this additional kill of other species is unacceptable. Current data also suggest that few coyotes would be taken. Snares can be an effective method of taking coyotes, and they are more suitable than leghold traps under freezing and thawing or snowy conditions. Their use by trappers is currently prohibited by state law. Bounties are generally not effective in removing problem animals, are subject to fraud, and generally serve only to subsidize a small number of hunters and trappers but with no increase in overall numbers of the prey species the bounty is intended to protect. Coyotes may be hunted throughout the year in Maine. Although a few individuals do shoot coyotes, there is yet apparently no one who is proficient in hunting this species. In 1978, approximately 10 percent of the 733 coyotes tagged in Maine were shot. Hunting from aircraft-a technique used in the West-is illegal in Maine and probably could not be used successfully due to the dense forests in this state.

N CONCLUSION, intensive coyote suppression over large geographical areas does not appear to be a practical or effective control strategy. On the other hand, removing coyotes does appear to be warranted in areas where high losses of deer are occurring and where deer populations are below the level which their habitat can sustain. Trapping and snaring appear to be the only legal and practical control methods available to the Department. Efforts are underway to reduce coyote predation on our deer herd during the winter months using these techniques. The success of this effort requires substantial coyote reductions. It is realized that although some coyotes will be Maine Fish and Wildlife - Winter-Spring 1980

killed in this manner it is doubtful that significant reductions can be achieved in all situations. Coyote control efforts alone are not expected to increase significantly the number of deer available to hunters in succeeding years. Coyote control is only one part of the Fish and Wildlife Department's comprehensive statewide deer management program which includes regulation of legal kill, reduction of illegal harvest, reduction of losses to domestic dogs and automobiles-and most importantly-habitat maintenance and enhancement.

â&#x20AC;˘

COYOTE CONTROL POLICY In an effort to reduce the number of coyotes preying on deer and other wildlife the Fish and Wildlife Department has adopted the following policy:

During the months of December, January, February, March and April, Department personnel and selected licensed trappers under the supervision of Warden Service personnel will be allowed to remove coyotes within and around wintering areas where there is evidence that coyotes are a threat to deer or other wildlife in that area. Department wardens will be responsible for the implementation of this policy. Upon request, wildlife biologists will assist Warden Service personnel in the investigation and evaluation of coyote complaints. Warden Service responsibilities include: 1. Identification of areas in which control is necessary. 2. Investigation of coyote complaints to determine: a) if coyotes are involved; and b) if control is warranted. 3. Implementation of coyote control work: a) by identifying, contacting and issuing special trapping permits to trappers; and b) by personally setting traps or snares. 4. Maintenance of records of all authorized coyote control activities. 5. Surveillance of trappers to judge the effectiveness of control activities and techniques and to insure compliance with conditions of the permit. To reduce the potential for killing nontarget species, certain conditions shall apply to any trapper receiving a permit to take coyotes: 1. A steel, leghold trap of sufficient size and strength to hold a coyote shall be the only legal method to be used by trappers. (Snares will be used only by trained Department personnel.) 2. The district game warden shall be notified where traps are to be set. 3. Traps shall be tended on a regular basis and in accordance with state law . 4. All coyotes, except those taken by Department personnel, may be retained by the permittee. All other wildlife shall be released in the wild, or if dead in the trap, shall be forfeited to the Department. 5. Traps shall be placed at least 50 feet from any carcass or bait, except for water sets. 6. Use of any trap with teeth on the jaws shall be unlawful. 7. All wild animals taken or killed under authority of the permit shall be reported to the issuing warden within 12 hours of the killing. The report shall include the kind of animal(s), the number, and time and place of taking. 8. The permit and a completed report of all animals taken shall be presented to the issuing warden within 10 days of the last effective date of the permit; or upon completion of trapping, whichever occurs first. 9. Permits shall be revoked if the trapper does not comply with all provisions of this policy.

DOGS, continued from page 5. The dog-mutilated remains of a deer that was chased onto the glare ice of a lake where it fell and couldn't regain its footing.

and how to head off the dogs. In one instance, five game wardens and a warden airplane spent three days looking for two dogs that went on a deer-killing spree. On the afternoon of the third day, the pilot located the dogs about eight miles from home. One of the dogs was killed, and although the other dog got away, the pilot was able to follow it home. Wardens found eight doe deer that these two dogs had killed, each of which was carrying twin fawns!

In another case of dogs chasing deer, the warden pilot had located the scene before the warden on the ground could get there. The deer was observed to be sitting in a stream, trying to protect its hindquarters. One dog had the deer by an ear and another was chewing on the deer's head. By the time the warden arrived, the deer was injured so severely that it had to be destroyed. The dogs got away. When snowmobiles were first becoming popular, the dog-deer situation deteriorated even further. Some of the original snowmobile trails were made in and around deer yards, thus enabling dogs to get into deer wintering areas and also allowing deer to get into areas where dogs are. Although in most cases this trail location was inadvertent, some snowmobile trails were intentionally routed to deer yards to allow people to enjoy seeing deer. Unfortunately, some snowmobilers allowed their dogs to follow along, and once the dogs found the deer yard, it often became a problem area. Once it was realized that these trails were not in the best interest of the deer, most snowmobile clubs were very helpful in getting trails re-routed. They also assisted wardens by educating their members about the situation, reporting dog-deer problems, and in some cases, posting deer wintering areas against snowmobiling. One final word of caution regarding dogs that chase deer: Although it is done, it is illegal for anyone other than a police officer to shoot dogs that are chasing deer. Anyone seeing dogs chasing deer should call the nearest police authority and report the exact location and description of dogs. The penalties for shooting these dogs can be greater than the fine that their owner may receive! â&#x20AC;˘

Escape from chasing dogs is more difficult for a pregnant doe. If she dies, the herd also suffers the loss of from one to three fawns.

Maine Fish and Wildlife - Winter-Spring 1980

â&#x20AC;˘

PUBLIC RI TO MAINE'S INLAND WATERS VER THE YEARS, there

By Richard B. Parks

has been considerable confusion among men outside the legal profession about just what rights the public has to the inland waters of Maine and where these public rights cease and private ownership begins. This article is not a treatise on the finer points of the law Editor's Note: This article was first published in 1967. Since then, significant changes have taken place which are reflected in this updated version. A companion article which deals with public access rights to tidal waters has also been updated and will appear in the summer issue.

Chief, Realty Division

but will try to explain, in general terms, both public and private rights to the inland waters of Maine. Maine adopted much of its original law from its mother state when it was separated from Massachusetts in 1820. Massachusetts, in turn, received some of its written law from the Massachusetts Bay Colony, which

Maine Fish and Wildlife - Winter-Spring 1980

enacted in 1641 and amended in 1647 a so-called Colonial Ordinance which was a declaration of existing claimed rights by common law. This Ordinance is thoroughly embodied in the common laws of Maine, and the public rights contained therein have been upheld by the Maine Supreme Judicial Court. A second source of law relative to waters and waterways is the common law itself, which came to us from England. Maine inherited this law from Massachusetts because of our close association with that state in 9

early days. Maine court cases have spoken of public rights in water as being held by the State in trust for the public and have indicated that an easement exists for the public to use certain waterways for stated purposes. Both of these concepts suggest that the public rights are indeed property rights. Ponds containing more than 10 acres are public and are the property of the State. They are known as great ponds, and the State holds the water and the soil under them for the public. Conversely, ponds of 10 acres or fewer are private and are the property of the littoral owner. (A littoral owner is one who owns the land adjacent to the water.) If a private pond or stream has been dammed up, making a pond of more than 10 acres, and the dam has been in operation long enough to give the pond a well defined shoreline, it is considered to be a great pond and the property of the State, but this has never been tested in our courts. The public has the right to fish, fowl, cut ice, swim, and boat on a great pond, and the Maine courts have also held that the public may skate and ride on the ice of a great pond. The littoral owner on a great pond owns to natural mean low water mark, but he may not draw water down below this mark nor dam a great pond without legislative authority. Also he may not fill, dredge, or build any permanent structures on his land abutting or in a great pond without a permit from the State. Mandatory zoning also affects the upland adjacent to a great pond to a depth of 250 feet from the normal high water. All islands located in great ponds belong to the State unless they have already been granted or are now held in private ownership. It is interesting that no law court cases have been found that actually contested the status of a pond as a great pond. Many ponds contain marshy areas along the shore with clumps of aquatic grasses emerging from the pond surface. If such a pond 10

were in the IO-acre class, the inclusion or exclusion of such a marshy area could make the difference between a great pond and one of private ownership. Further definitions regarding such a situation will undoubtedly be forthcoming in the near future, either through legislative act or through court decisions. In cases to this writer's knowledge, one great pond has been partially drained and another completely drained, leaving in one instance a part and in the other almost all of the bottom exposed. In the first case, littoral owners assumed they owned to the new low water mark, and in the other, the entire pond bottom was claimed by private ownership. In the first case, the State quitclaimed its interest in the partially exposed bottom to the various abutting owners. In the second, the State asserted its ownership, and the area is now partially flowed again as a state wildlife management area.

RESPASSING on private land to gain access to a great pond sometimes poses a problem to the average fisherman. The Colonial Ordinance states that ''it shall be free for any man to fish and fowle there (great ponds), and may pass and repass on foot through any man's property for that end, so they trespass not upon any man's corn or meadow.'' The Maine Legislature has affirmed this right to cross "unimproved'' land by foot with the exception of the land of a water company or water district. However the definition of "unimproved" is lacking and whether land enclosed by a wire fence nailed to trees, a stone wall around a woodlot, or even a timber stand which has had an improvement cutting would prohibit access poses a question to our courts.

TREAMS AND RIVERS, above tidewater, differ considerably from great ponds both in concept of ownership and in the laws governing their use.

allows a riparian owner to erect a dam and mill only on a stream that is not navigable.

WILL BE OBSERVED, most laws relating to use of rivers and streams lean toward commercial use, not recreation. There is no mention in the Colonial Ordinance of fishing and fowling by the public on such streams, nor could this writer find any cases which would tend to show a public right to fish any stream by walking, even in the stream bed itself. However, Maine courts have held that a public right exists in watercourses capable of floating pleasure craft for recreational purposes. It is, therefore, presumed that this would include a public right to fish such a boatable stream from a boat; but walking on the shore or in the stream itself would probably constitute a trespass on the private rights of the riparian owner. However, no cases to prove this point were found. The riparian owner may take water from a river or stream in quantities not excessive and is entitled to the continued flow of water in the stream without substantial diminution in quality and quantity. However, other rights of the riparian owner such as dredging, filling or erecting a causeway, bridge, marina, wharf, dock, or other permanent structure on or over any river, stream or brook or on land adjacent to any stream or brook in such manner that any dredged spoil, fill, or structure may fall or be washed into such waters must obtain a permit from the State, (Dept. of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife.) While there are many "gray areas" in the laws relating to great ponds and nontidal watercourses, primarily because of new emphasis on their uses, legislative acts and court decisions will undoubtedly be forthcoming in the not too distant future. The commercial use of waterways is on the decrease while recreational use is on a strong upswing, and it is expected that new laws and court decisions will eventually clarify these "gray areas" between public and private rights. â&#x20AC;˘

Our laws governing rivers and streams, above tidewater, are to a large extent incorporated in the Mill Act which was one of the original laws of Maine, again inherited from Massachusetts. Briefly, the purpose of the Mill Act was to encourage the erection and support of mills by clarifying water and property rights and thereby eliminating causes of disputes. This act allows the owner of land to dam up a stream or river which is not navigable, flowing land of others if necessary, and establishing a head of water to run a mill. Any damages created by flowing lands of others was to be paid by the mill owner. This law is unique in that it gives the power of eminent domain to the dam owner-subject, of course, to just compensation for damages to others. The original law has been greatly modified, and at the present time, building a mill dam would entail licenses or permits from several State agencies.

The riparian owner on a nontidal river or stream is presumed to own to the thread of the watercourse, subject to the right of public passage. (Riparian owner is the same as littoral owner-owning land adjacent to the water.) If he owns on both sides, he owns the whole bed of the stream or river. The public easement to use the stream or river may be to use it by boat or merely to float logs down the stream. Streams too small to allow a log to float down at any time during the year are entirely private. Floatable streams are large enough to permit the passage of logs, at least at some season of the year. A navigable stream is one that is used as a highway for the purpose of commerce and travel. A stream is navigable at law if navigable in fact-capable of use by boats and barges and for transportation of property. However, it must be for some purpose useful to trade or agriculture. These differences are important under the Mill Act, which

Maine Fish and Wildlife - Winter-Spring 1980

Landlocked Salmon Management at West Grand Lake (Part II) By J. Dennis McNeish Fishery Biologist Editor's Note: The following is the conclusion of a two-part article on West Grand Lake and its salmon fishery. Part one appeared in the Fall 1979 issue.

N PART ONE of this article, we pointed out that West Grand Lake's salmon population has become the single, largest source of landlocked salmon eggs in the state. Thus the condition of the lake's salmon population has statewide importance. At first glance, it would seem only reasonable to expect a reduction in the production of salmon eggs for rearing in the state's hatcheries. However, at least in the long term, a serious drop in the number of salmon eggs taken is unlikely. First, West Grand Lake is not now, nor has it been, the sole source of salmon eggs in the state. We can make better 12

use of other egg sources within the state. Secondly, we have retained some salmon at the hatchery at Grand Lake Stream as brood stock in case the number of eggs we obtain from the lake does decrease. Thirdly, egg production per female is related to the size of the female, i.e., landlocked salmon females can produce about 500 eggs per pound. The 436 female salmon stripped in 1979 weighed a total of 771 pounds (about 1.75 pounds per female) and produced 353,160 eggs. Thus, the average female contained 810 eggs which represents a substantial improvement over the 1978 figure of 626 eggs per female. Finally, the number of salmon we stock per acre of habitat has, in general, gone down in recent years because the quality of salmon produced in our hatcheries has improved markedly and because we have a better understanding of the relationship between the number of salmon stocked and salmon growth. Thus, we do not have to take as many salmon eggs as in the past. Maine Fish and Wildlife - Winter-Spring 1980

Of course, a sports fishery consists of fishermen as well as fish! The angler's role in the "sport fishery equation" has become increasingly prominent in recent years. In fact, anglers often complicate the efforts of fishery managers to assist a fishery in reaching its potential. In short, fishing pressure and angler efficiency have so increased that whenever good fishing is provided in a pond that is reasonably accessible, anglers flock to the pond and rapidly deplete whatever gains have been made in the fish population through fishery management techniques. Eagle Lake, a 436 acre lake on Mount Desert Island in Hancock County, provides a good example of the efficiency of the modern angler. Our research biologist Keith Havey has been conducting an investigation of hatcheryreared brookies at Eagle Lake for several years. Keith found that the normal, hatchery-reared brookie survived so poorly after stocking that it was impossible to achieve the objectives of his research. Keith decided to stock larger brook trout which he hoped could avoid predation and so survive to an older age in sufficient numbers to allow his research to proceed successfully. The brook trout which Keith stocked in Eagle in the fall of 1976 averaged 11.3 inches (289 mm) long and 0.6 pounds (274 g). About 1,500 of these fish were still alive when the 1977 ice fishing season started. On the first day of the season, fishermen caught more than 600 of the brook trout; and after just two weeks of angling, virtually all the brookies which had been available at the beginning of the winter season had been removed by fishermen! This is not to say that fishing pressure at West Grand is anywhere near as effective as fishing pressure at Eagle Lake, but it does serve to emphasize that the modern angler is quite capable of heavily exploiting a fish population in a very short period of time. How can we relate this fact to West Grand Lake? Well, let's examine the lake's salmon fishery in a little more detail. Our census data show that the age class distribution of salmon in the fishery has changed steadily since 1973. The proportion of salmon age 3 or younger in West Grand's fishery was 44 percent in 1973, 66 percent in 1976, 90 percent in 1977, and 91 percent in 1978. During the same time period, the catch rate for salmon in the open water season actually improved. Anglers required 3.3 mandays to capture a legal salmon in 1973, 2.4 man-days to capture a salmon in 1977, and 1.5 man-days to capture a salmonÂˇ in 1978. As stated before, the percentage of sublegal fish in the catch was much lower, and the average fish size was much higher in the 1973 catch than in the late 1970s. The increasing percentage of age 3 salmon noted from 1973 to 1978 was abruptly reversed in 1979 when 64 percent of the salmon checked in May and June were age 3 or younger. The remaining 36 percent were age 4 and age 5. Due to the resurgence in the lake's smelt population, the salmon growth rate during the 1979 spring and summer season improved markedly. Thus, some of the age 3 salmon, released during the 1978 season because they were Maine Fish and Wildlife - Winter-Spring 1980

barely legal, were caught and kept as nice fish during the 1979 open water season. When a fishery biologist observes a reduction in the average size of the salmon in a particular fishery, he thinks of two possible causes: poor growth and overfishing. When growth rate alone is responsible for a reduction in the size of salmon in the creel, more older fish are found in the catch. If, on the other hand, overfishing is producing the reduction in fish size, most of the fish in the catch are young fish; that is, the average fish size is small because the salmon don't survive long enough to reach a decent size. At West Grand, fishing pressure and a reduced growth rate have combined to lower the average size of the salmon in the catch and at the same time to reduce the representation of older salmon in the creel. As I have already pointed out, poor salmon growth can be corrected by adjusting the number of salmon stocked to fit the capacity of the lake to grow salmon, and this step has already been taken at West Grand. However, the problem is complicated by the fact that fishing pressure has become so effective at West Grand Lake that few fish survive to older age groups. At first glance, it might seem fairly easy to solve the problem of angler exploitation. A particularly attractive solution to most fishermen is to increase the stocking rate. However, more salmon in the lake means more pressure on the smelt population which, in turn, would eventually produce poor salmon growth and put us right back to our starting point: small salmon! Well, then, what about instituting some restrictive regulations? Reduced bag limits, increased length limits, and changes in the open season are the most obvious choices. The department has already instituted a lower bag limit for salmon on a statewide basis, reducing the limit from 8 fish to 3 fish. However, the introduction of a lower bag limit in a fishery with a good catch rate and moderate to high fishing pressure simply spreads the harvest among anglers and over the season and is usually not an effective way to reduce the total annual harvest. Increasing the length limit does have some potential for producing more large fish . If a length limit could be established that reflected growth, harvest of each year class could be delayed until the desired age, hence size, was reached. But the effectiveness of a length limit depends upon maintaining good growth; and, paradoxically, instituting an increased length limit can help produce poor growth by retaining fish in the lake for another growing season. Changing the open season is another regulation change that is often mentioned by anglers, and frequently heard is the suggestion that the lake be closed to ice fishing. If the objective is to save salmon, closing the lake to ice fishing is the least effective restriction of all. Consider this: In the three years (1973, 1977, and 1978) for which we have clerk census data, the winter anglers we censused fished 17.4 angler-days for each legal salmon taken, but the summer fishermen averaged only 2.6 angler-days per legal salmon. The argument that ice fishing at West Grand should be 13

Grand Lake Stream, outlet of West Grand Lake, has an important salmon fishery.

curtailed because it is hurting the lake's salmon fishery is simply not true! Actually, one of the most effective measures we could adopt for "saving" salmon would be to curtail sharply the open water season which is when the majority of salmon are taken, at West Grand Lake. Such a measure would unfairly restrict anglers who wish to take salmon in the traditional manner and might also result in a reduction in salmon growth through increased competition for food among salmon that are retained in the lake an extra growing season. In the final analysis, any measure to improve salmon fishing at West Grand Lake will prove ineffectual unless it takes into account the nature of the fishery. As we have seen, the most important factor in West Grand's or any other, salmon fishery is growth. Thus, the measures we have adopted to improve salmon growth in West Grand must be allowed to operate long enough to produce the desired effect before we can seriously consider the imposition of restrictive regulations.

O SUMMARIZE, let's begin by reviewing what

we have learned about West Grand's salmon fishery. First, although wild salmon will play a role in the lake's fishery in the future, the salmon fishery will always be dependent on stocking. Second, landlocked salmon are capable of very rapid growth, but this characteristic is not being expressed in West Grand Lake. Third, West Grand's 14

salmon population has suffered a reduction in growth rate in recent years, which has affected the quality of the salmon fishery. Fourth, the reduction in the lake's salmon growth rate has been produced by a decline in the lake's smelt population. Fifth, the smelt population decline is due, at least in part, to overstocking with salmon. Sixth, loss of fishing quality due to a reduction in the salmon growth rate has been complicated by the fact that angler exploitation at West Grand is so high that few fish survive beyond age three. However, instituting more restrictive regulations at this time would jeopardize our attempts to improve the growth rate. Hence, a solution to the problem of heavy fishing pressure must await resolution of the growth problem. Having defined the condition of the salmon fishery at West Grand, we need to make a statement of our goals for the fishery before we can devise a management plan for the lake. The reader should understand that our statement of goals is an end we seek and does not constitute a guarantee of achievement. Additionally, our goals and objectives should be interpreted in terms of a biological system; that is, they represent average, not absolute, conditions. Our goal for the West Grand Lake salmon fishery is to maintain angler use at present levels while increasing fish quality. We have five basic objectives for the West Grand Lake salmon fishery: (1) The annual harvest of salmon should be approximately 5,000 fish. Maine Fish and Wildlife - Winter-Spring 1980

(2) The catch rate for salmon should be about one legal fish for every 2.8 angler-days of fishing effort. (3) The average size of the salmon creeled should be approximately 16.5-17.0 inches (419-431 mm) and 1.5-1. 75 pounds (675-800 g). (4) About 2,000 fish from the average annual harvest of 5,000 salmon should weigh 2 pounds or more. (5) Annual escapement of adult female salmon should be sufficient to provide a major portion of the eggs required for our hatchery system. Our objectives for the West Grand Lake salmon fishery can be accomplished by employing several management techniques: (1) Annual stockings of not more than 1 spring yearling salmon per acre and not more than 0.5 spring yearling togue per acre. (2) The mean size of salmon stocked should be 7.0 inches (178 mm). (3) All salmon stocked should be boated and scattered over deep water. Aerators should be employed in boating. (4) All salmon stocked should be fin-clipped to facilitate monitoring of the fishery. (5) The fishway at the lake's outlet should be maintained in good working order. (6) A minimum flow of 100 cubic feet per second should be maintained in Grand Lake Stream, and the flow

should not be reduced by more than 25 percent of the initial flow in any single two-hour period. (7) The regulations governing the taking of salmon during the 1978 ice fishing season and the 1979 open water season should remain in force. That is, restrictive regulations should not be considered unless our goals cannot be met by improving the growth rate through manipulation of the stocking rate. (8) West Grand Lake's salmon fishery should be monitored through annual fishermen census plus sampling of the salmon captured each fall for egg stripping. Particular attention should be given to determining growth rate, distribution of the various age classes in the fishery, contribution of wild fish to the fishery, and ratio of legal to sublegal fish in the catch.

BVIOUSLY, we have not adequately dealt with all the sport fisheries in West Grand Lake, nor have we dealt with every aspect of the salmon fishery. In the latter regard, we have not even mentioned Grand Lake Stream which has an important salmon fishery. Togue, bass, and even whitefish anglers may also feel slighted. They should not, as these fisheries will be examined in future articles. We will also make reports in the future on our progress toward reaching the goals outlined in this article. But for the present, let's put aside the academic part of salmon management, get our gear together, and go salmon fishing! a

ROAST DUCK

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BAKED SEA DUCKS

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THE MAINE WAY VENISON ROAST (For that tough old buck )

a collection of Maine fish and game recipes Published by the Maine Fish and Wildlife Department, this 100-page cookbook is entirely devoted to those types of game and fresh-water fish that a Maine sportsman may take. The recipes in THE MAINE WAY - collected by two game wardens' wives - are practical, time-proven, and call for nothing but ingredients, equipment, and know-how native to a Maine kitchen. Covers everything from deer and bear to trout, perch, eels and snapping turtles. Paperback. Convenient loose-leaf binding. Total mail order price - $3.95. Make check or money order in U.S. funds payable to "Treasurer, State of Maine." Send order to COOKBOOK, Maine Fish and Wildlife Department , 284 State St., Sta. #41, Augusta, ME 04333.

Start a good , hardwoo d rire, and let it burn d o wn o ne good-si zed sal mon o r lak e t ro ut, o r t wo ave r slices of baco n a nd 5 slices o f onio n in bod y ca• o u tsi de o r fish . th en roll up in a greased shee t of by a dozen o r m ore t hickn esses of pa per ( nr oackage and soa k in wa ter for ab o u t 10 min u tP~

Maine Fish and Wildlife - Winter-Spring 1980

Annual Report of Operations, Fiscal ! â&#x20AC;˘

Financial Statement By Peter Brazier Business Manager

The Income Dollar

Although the Department has managed to retain a reasonable cash balance for the fiscal year ended June 30, 1979, it cannot be considered in good financial condition. Inflation and cost increases continue to erode the value of each dollar available for expenditure. Revenues did increase approximately 11.9 percent from the prior year due to increased transfers from snowmobile registrations, increased federal funds received, and small increases in resident hunting and fishing license sales. But costs have continued to increase at an even greater rate. This disproportionate increase in costs has required further reductions in expenditures for equipment, in addition to requiring adoption of a policy prohibiting filling of vacancies. Our awareness of continuing financial pressure has required much tighter control of the funds available for expenditure. And we have no reason to believe that these cost pressures will diminish in the future-nor do we doubt that erosion of the dollar's buying power will continue in the next few years. The Department recognizes its responsibilities for continuously re-evaluating priorities in order to minimize the impact of inflation upon ongoing fish and wildlife management programs. We have found that it will be impossible to maintain the current level of services to the sportsmen and the people of Maine with the current level of funding. We are, therefore, continually searching for ways to broaden our revenue base, while investigating various ways to reduce our expenditures. If finances continue to be a problem, we fear that the fish and wildlife resources of Maine will suffer adverse consequences.

Nonresident hunting licenses 27 .2%

Miscellaneous licenses and permits l.60Jo

All other revenues 1.60/o

.Fines and fees 4.00/o

Transfers from Watercraft and

~ Snowmobile Registration 8.30Jo

Nonresident - - - fishing licenses l l .50Jo Federal aid 15.5% Resident hunting licenses 15.4%

Resident fishing licenses 14.90Jo

Year

July 1, 1978 to June 30, 1979 The Expense Dollar

Warden Service 47.5%

Safety programs I. I o/o

Departmental planning 3.5%

Administration 6.3 OJo

Fishery management 22.2%

Support services 6.3%

Wildlife management 13.1%

Summary of Operationsa Cash Balance July 1, 1978 Add: Adjustments to Balance Forward Adjusted Cash Balance Add: Revenues Transfers

$2,490,539 32,907 $2,523,446 $7,133,832 650,000 $7,783,832

Deduct: Expenditures Encumbrances

7,570,796 215,568 (7,786,364)

Net Decrease in Unencumbered Cash Balance

(2,532)

Unencumbered Cash Balance June 30, 1979 Less Cash Reserves: Operating Capital Ultraviolet System at Casco Fish Hatchery

$2,520,914b

500,000 100,000 (600,000)

Balance of Unreserved Cash June 30, 1979

(600,000) $1,920,914c

aExcludes Snowmobile and Watercraft Registration, and Atlantic Sea Run Salmon Commission bFederal Aid $ 213,274 General Operations 2,307,640 $2,520,914 cBalance available to cover salaries and other costs of collective bargaining, as well as other unspecified projects.

Support Services (Editor's note: The heading "Support Services" includes several activities. These are the three divisions reporting below, plus the operations of the Department storehouse, regional headquarters, land acquisition program, and repellents.)

Information and Education Division William C. Mincher, Director At the end of the fiscal year (June 30, 1979), our program evaluation effort was beginning to take shape, with work due to continue on it for at least several months. The idea is to take a hard look at the department's public communications efforts and to focus them quite narrowly on making the department's work, problems and successes as widely known as possible. We expect the I & E Division's activities to undergo certain changes in the interest of placing the emphasis on those subjects the department believes should be well understood by the public. Naturally, we are most involved in the operations of the I & E Division, although the improved public communication is to be implemented by all divisions of the department. Our deer management film, MAINE DEER, A PRODUCT OF THE LAND, was completed and placed in circulation during the year. It may be booked through the film distribution center at the University of Maine in Orono. Lists describing our film library, also maintained by the University, are available on request from the I & E Division office in Augusta. There is a booking fee for the films but no charge for the film list. Another film added to the library is A MATTER OF UNDERSTANDING, which explains the life of the coyote, a newcomer to Maine and the rest of the Northeast. The cookbook whose publication was supervised by the I & E Division was brought out during the fiscal year and received a fine welcome from the public. Sales were brisk at first, then settled down at a comfortable level, as with all new publications. A good 18

number of cookbooks were bought to be used as Christmas gifts in late 1978, and sales held up well in 1979. Other publications-as usual with this division-included revision of the hunting, trapping, open water fishing, ice fishing, and migratory bird hunting regulations folders. The Legislature in 1979 enacted a complete revision of the fish and wildlife laws, which goes into effect Jan . 1, 1980. The revision is actually a reclassification of the laws, bringing similar subjects together; it is not intended to effect any changes, though there are some changes which were enacted separately from the revision. New section numbers and somewhat different wording throughout the revision will require extensive changes in the regulations summaries we produce for public use, so the folders will have a different appearance starting in 1980. We will also be continuing our efforts to simplify the language to make the folders easier to use and understand.

It became apparent early in 1979, with the determining of the cost of the negotiated pay raises to the Department, that we would need additional funding. The Information and Education Division was called on to write and distribute two dozen or so separate information pieces explaining the need. We worked with Deputy Commissioner Bill Peppard while he was acting commissioner following Maynard Marsh's retirement in late February, and we continued with Commissioner Glenn Manuel when he took office in June. This informational campaign was an extra effort, and we hope it played a part in the eventual passage of a license fee increase which was badly needed. Routine activities that occur each year take up a good portion of our time but do not make exciting reading: supervising and maintaining the Department's exhibit at Eastern States Exposition in West Springfield, Mass.; answering many mail and in-person requests for information on a variety of topics; participating in formulating the precise wording of new regulations and proposed regulations; and so on. Theseand such other matters as producing four issues of the magazine a year, handling the circulation functions of the magazine and other mailed materials, continuing administrative matters including personnel work, and processing of purchase orders-fill up a year quite completely, and last year was no exception.

Engineering Division Clayton G. Grant, Chief Engineer condition of the Department, no new For the past several years, annual capital improvements were underreports of Engineering Division actitaken during this period. But . water vities have included some commentreatment equipment installations at tary on the effects of inflation. This the Enfield and Casco hatcheries were "ogre" seems to be gaining strength, completed, these projects designed and, as is everyone else in state govand funded before the financial situaernment and private business, we are tion became critical. doing as much as possible to cope The necessity of water treatment with the situation. for fish culture has been explained in Because of the overall financial Maine Fish and Wildlife - Winter-Spring 1980

previous issues of Maine Fish and Wildlife Magazine. Briefly, organisms which exist in several hatchery water supplies, and which adversely affect fish growth, can be effectively controlled by either screening with ultra-fine filters or by treatment of the water with ultraviolet light equipment. The ultraviolet treatment units are basically six-foot square stainless steel tanks containing a large number of ultraviolet lamps. The water flows over and around these lamps, the volume and velocity of the water flow determining the number of lamps and the basic size of the unit. Each of the new units is capable of effectively treating 4,500 gallons per minute. Buildings to house this new equipment, along with the necessary pipeline alterations and all related activities, were accomplished by Engineering Division personnel, resulting in considerable savings to the Department when compared to bid prices from contractors. A variety of maintenance and repair activities also occupied much division time during the fiscal year. Some of these are as follows: roof replacement at the Strong headquarters; dock replacement at Enfield hatchery; construction of a diversion dam at Dry Mills hatchery; renovation of bathroom facilities at Governor Hill hatchery; installation of security fencing and lighting at the Greenville headquarters; installation of a water control gate at Coopers Mills fishway; general repair work at Bolsters Mills fishway; filing of investigation and design for future activities; and routine maintenance and repair to other facilities and equipment. Since future capital improvement projects will be either postponed or cancelled, work for the upcoming fiscal year will consist mainly of repairs and maintenance. In addition, Engineering Division personnel will be involved in timber salvage operations at a Department-owned wildlife management area, where a large stand of pine killed by flooding will be cut, milled, and stored for Department maintenance projects.

Realty Division Richard B. Parks, Chief This has been another busy year for the division. A total of 2,741 acres was acquired during the year, including parcels as large as 500 acres and as small as a quarter of an acre. Twentyeight separate land transactions were carried out. The division surveyor has been busy with property lines, and many miles of line have been marked and painted, with new corner posts set where needed. To date, 17,642 acres of land have been purchased with the Inland Fisheries and Wildlife Acquisition Fund at a total cost of $3,039,696. These purchases range from large woodland tracts to seabird nesting islands along the coast. Major purchases during the year include 1,144 acres added to the Penobscot/Piscataquis Wildlife Management Area near Dover-Foxcroft, 257 acres added to the Manuel Wildlife Management Area near Hodgdon, and a 375-acre deer wintering area in Cambridge purchased for its

protection. Other purchases include small additions to the Augusta/ Windsor Wildlife Management Area, the Scarborough Wildlife Management Area, and the Newfield Wildlife Management Area. Birch Island in Harpswell, and the remaining 1 / 6 interest in Ram Island in Portland, were also purchased. A number of generous gifts of land were received during the year: about 500 acres of land in Dresden Bog, the gift of Ransom and Erla Kelley; 195 acres of land adjoining Martin Stream in Fairfield, the gift of Andrew Redmond; Pond Island in Harpswell, 24 acres, the gift of Dr. William Haddon Jr.; 52 acres of woodland in Belgrade, the gift of John P. Gawler and Annabel C. Gawler; two parcels of woodland and marshland on Friendship Long Island, the gifts of Arthur P. Spear and Matt B. Jones; and a small parcel of low land adjoining the Scarborough marshes, the gift of Flora Collins.

Fish ery Man agement Fishery Division Lyndon H. Bond, Chief REGION A-Sebago Region Sebago Lake salmon and togue fishing was well above expectations this summer, with salmon up to 7 V4 pounds and togue up to 12 pounds reported. Smelts have increased by such large proportions that about every salmon and togue caught have been "bulging" with them. Angler harvest of salmon and togue was exceptionally heavy after the word got around that fishing was good, and this heavy harvest will undoubt-

edly have an impact upon the carryover of fish for years to come. This same trend happened in the late '60s and early '70s after the DDT problems were solved, when angler harvest nearly depleted the numbers of fouryear-old and older salmon in Sebago, thus causing poor fishing for several years. To prevent this from happening again-and we hope it is not too late after the 1979 harvest-a 16" length limit and a three-salmon bag limit are proposed, to begin in 1980. 19

Maine Fish and Wildlife - Winter-Sorin!! 1980

Maine Fish and Wildlife - Winter-Spring 1980

Region A electrofishing this summer continued to show that attempts to establish significant numbers of carry-over brown trout in some of the larger streams and rivers, in hopes that self-sustaining populations may result, are meeting with failure. We feel that what we are actually producing is a put-and-take fishery for brown trout and with a pinch in the hatchery systen for brown trout for lake and pond management, we feel that we can provide just as good a fishery at less expense by stocking spring yearling brook trout in late May and early June-with an 8-inch limit on streams and rivers. Electrofishing this past summer showed that the 1978 drought had an unfavorable impact upon our larger streams that produce salmon, in terms of the number of young-of-theyear salmon produced. Very few young-of-the-year salmon were found in any of the Sebago Lake tributaries. It was encouraging to see that yearling salmon were quite numerous, indicating that the drought was not responsible in creating high mortalities of young salmon in 1978. The cause of these mortalities was low numbers of spawning salmon in the fall of 1978. In Region A's brook trout streams, there was no indication that the drought had any impact on population densities. Although field data have not been analyzed yet, it seemed quite obvious while working in the field that the better streams still had about normal numbers of brook trout and/or brown trout present. Actually, since the six-inch law was restored a few years ago, the number of sixinch-and-over brookies in the better trout streams has increased. REGION B-Belgrade Region This past year was a period of transition in Region B. Regional Fishery Biologist Roger Marin left the Department to pursue a career in private business. William Woodward served as acting regional biologist during the interim period until the arrival of Region B's new regional biologist, Dennis McNeish, in May of 1979.

Routine stocking of game fish was continued this year. A greatly expanded winter creel census effort provided much needed up-to-date information on the status of the sport fishery management programs in the region. Summer field work included netting, water quality testing, and environmental reviews. A particularly gratifying result of our summer work was the discovery of wild lake trout fry in Swan Lake, Swanville. The Swan Lake togue stocking program is just eight years old; and finding young, wild lake trout at this early date augurs well for the prospects for achieving one of the principal objectives of the Swan Lake togue program, namely, the establishment of a self-sustaining lake trout population. REGION C-Grand Lake Region It is gratifying to note that the salmon fishery at West Grand Lake showed improvement during the 1979 open water season. A higher percentage of the salmon caught were of legal size, and most fish were nicely proportioned. It is expected that this upswing in the fishery (which is at least partially the result of a substantially reduced stocking rate) will persist for a while. The West Branch of the Union River received its second consecutive relatively-heavy . stocking of spring yearling brown trout. All indications are that fish from this stocking survived quite well, although some individuals have exhibited very poor growth. Three experimental stockings of brown trout fry were carried out in the region in 1978. Electrofishing checks revealed that brown trout fry stocked in the Middle Branch of the Union survived and grew at a satisfactory rate; fry stocked in Indian Camp Stream showed some success, but the fry stocking in Branch Lake Stream was virtually a total failure. It is believed that the drought in 1978 killed many of these young fish. The two lakes in the region where major five-year introductory togue stocking programs were initiated in 1976 were check-netted. Results were very encouraging at Green Lake where 4 !/i -year-old togue are averag-

Maine Fish and Wildlife - Winter-Spring 1980

ing about 17 .6 inches in length; growth of togue was slower at Donnell's Pond in Franklin. Of special interest was a 15-inch Sunapee trout obtained during the Green Lake netting. Winter censuses were conducted on Cathance Lake, Branch Lake and Hopkins Pond. Work was sufficiently intensive to enable biologists to calculate seasonal estimates of harvest and fishing pressure on these waters. A special regional project was carried out in May at Peaked Mountain Pond in Washington County. This pond formerly produced some good fishing for large brook trout, but such fish have all but disappeared in recent years. In an attempt to increase the number of trout in the pond, about 300 small (3-9") wild brook trout were electrofished from a number of streams and stocked by air into the pond. A similar transfer is planned next year; results will be evaluated by trap-netting. Peaked Mountain Pond was one of several waters in the region wherein new, more restrictive regulations were adopted. Such regulations typically included either increased length limits, reduced bag limits, or closure to ice fishing. REGION D-Rangeley Region Much of our time was spent checknetting lakes and electrofishing streams in response to specific requests and to update our information on the current status of the fish populations. Ice-fishing creel censuses were continued on several lakes to determine the effects of the extended ice fishing season and to evaluate management programs. We undertook an open water creel census of Rangeley Lake, using a combination of aerial and ground checks, to determine primarily the total number of fishermen and the total catch on this popular water. We are working with the town of Temple, attempting to control a chronic flooding problem on Temple Stream. Assistance was given to Fish & Wildlife Service personnel studying the effects of acid rainfall, and a smelt sample was collected for the Fishery Research unit.

REGION E-Moosehead Region Estimates of angler days on Moosehead Lake for the winter of 1978 were over 10,000, and for the summer, around 50,000, for an annual total of 61,600 compared to an estimated 52,000 for 1977 and 40,000 for 1976. The counts and estimates for the winter of 1979 indicate a decrease to about 7,800. Preliminary estimates for the summer of 1979 indicated a decrease of at least 20 per cent. This is a welcome change, as we were very concerned about the continued increase of the past few years. A predicted decrease in the 1978 salmon catch occurred, but the catch of togue went up to 6,400. The catch of brook trout was around 4,000 fish. Salmon showed a noticeable increase in weight in 1979, and some four-and five-pound fish were caught. Several over three pounds and one around five pounds occurred in our sample. This is unusual. The Allagash Lake situation required considerable effort. The increase in fishing intensity there resulted in great concern for us, as Allagash Lake is the Department's source of togue eggs for hatchery operations. We undertook a creel census of sorts there during the summer of 1978, and followed it with a greater effort during the winter and spring of 1979. Estimates of total harvests indicated a potential threat to the population of large togue-vital to our stripping operations-and a threat to the fishery for trophy-size brook trout. Recommendations to decrease the season and bag limit for the winter 1980 season were made and passed, and some changes for the 1980 summer season are in the process of implementation. Two of our ponds were stocked with polyploid type salmon, experimentally, and one of these waters was also stocked with smelt eggs. These salmon should be sterile and grow at a rapid rate and to a large size, as their growth is not interrupted by the production of sperm or eggs and by spawning activities. Another activity in the region is the investigation of small, high-altitude

trout ponds by a University group who accompanied us on some biological surveys. The purpose of the project is the selection of several trout ponds that have the chemical characteristics that would make them susceptible to the effects of acid products carried into the atmosphere from highly industrialized areas. These acid products fall into natural waters as rain and can result in the loss of all fish life over a period of time. This has occurred in several New York State trout waters and many Canadian trout waters. The continuing rapid increase in logging road construction in this area has resulted in increased fishing intensity on trout ponds that were formerly accessible by trail only. There is no way to combat this problem, and our only recourse is to decrease bag limits to spread the catch and maintain some fishing for wild brook trout. Smallmouth bass have reproduced in the Moosehead drainage below Moosehead Lake, and it is probably only a matter of time before they become established in the lake. We have closed fishways to stop, or at least defer, bass movements to other waters. We consider this a major disaster where management for trout is traditional. REGION F-Penobscot Region Regional management work has been active with check-nettings, spring and fall trap-netting, voluntary angler creel census, and clerk interview censuses. Major emphasis has been on stocked salmon and brook trout waters. Increased survival of hatchery fish, apparently due to improved rearing and planting techniques, has allowed reductions in overall numbers stocked while maintaining quality fisheries. Balancing stocking rates, angler pressure/harvest, and lake production capabilities is ongoing as a result of information taken during the summer and winter field seasons. Continued evaluation of the January addition to the ice fishing season included clerk interview censuses on Schoodic and West lakes. Aerial

counts of ice fishermen on 15 representative waters supplemented these ground checks. The full season open water clerk creel census at Cold Stream Pond is being maintained to monitor results of 1977 regulations changes. A petition and public hearing opened Cold Stream Pond to ice fishing beginning in 1980. Environmental investigation work loads remained high, with review of routine development applications, as well as remote pond designation, qualification checks, and surveys in preparation for LURC permanent zoning hearings. Participation on Spruce Budworm Biomonitoring and Herbicide Review committees led to considerable time spent at seminars, meetings, on literature review, and in preparing recommendations for Department position papers. This function has now been transferred to the Bangor Research Office. Other programs have included: development underway on a fisheries management plan for Baxter State Park as part of their overall comprehensive planning effort; data preparation and attendance at Penobscot Wild and Scenic River Study meetings; adult smelt transfers to Silver Lake to enhance the population and provide a bait fishery; SCUBA dives to check on togue and Sunapee trout spawning success; assistance with the Boy Scout High Adventure Program, including the guides' environmental training session; reclamation of a goldfish pond to prevent possible spread to other waters via the bait pail; and participation in a fisheries science course and computer programming seminars to upgrade professional knowledge. Work study student assistance during field work and on clerk creel censuses has aided our efforts considerably during summer and winter seasons. Continuation of this program is greatly appreciated. REGION G-Fish RiverAllagash Region Much of our routine fisheries work was curtailed because of a vacancy in one of the two permanent fishery positions in northern Maine. Check-

Maine Fish and Wildlife - Winter-Spring 1980 -

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nettings were made on a number of biologically stocked brook trout waters to determine the contribution of hatchery fish to the population. Three of our major togue waters were sampled for similar reasons and for sl:rain evaluation. Major censuses were conducted once again by work-study students and Department biologists. An intensive census was completed on Cross and Square lakes in September 1978, with a similar type of census started on Eagle Lake on the Fish River Chain in January 1979. The Eagle Lake census was continued in open water 1979 with a spot census conducted on Cross, Square, and Long lakes. When these censuses are completed, total harvest and use estimates will be available for all of these lakes. The annual aerial counts of ice anglers were continued in the Allagash Waterway and surrounding lakes to determine any change in pressure coincidental with the more restrictive regulation effective in January 1979. In addition to an increase in routine environmental assessments (site location, stream alteration, great ponds, highway projects, LURC, etc.) evaluation of larger projects has continued to dominate a good portion of our time. Some of the documents reviewed involved "208" non-point pollution in both the agricultural area and the wildlands, spruce budworm project reports, Dickey-Lincoln Dam reports, and the latest-proposed copper mining in the Fish River Lake Area. BROOK TROUT SELECTIVE BREEDING PROJECT Our attempts to breed a long-lived strain of brook trout continued through 1978-79. Indications are that much of the mortality of our experimental trout occurs from loon predation during their first year at large. In fall 1979, 700 trout of the special strain and 700 regular hatchery trout were stocked in a small, remote pond that loons do not frequent according to our observations. This pond is closed to fishing in alternate years and will be closed during 1980. We will do population estimates on the

pond in spring and fall 1980, plus a creel census, to gain an overall estimate of survival of the two strains of trout during their early months at large in a loon-free environment. At Eagle Lake in Bar Harbor, two additional strains of brook trout will be planted in spring 1980. One strain,

for all practical purposes, is wild brook trout. These fish, known as the Assinica strain, originated in Canada. The other strain is a hybrid obtained from crossing the Assinica strain with our production (Phillips) strain. We will use creel censusing and netting to evaluate results of these plantings.

Hatchery Operations David 0. Locke, Supt. of Hatcheries Furunculosis, a bacterial fish disease which has plagued several Maine fish hatcheries in recent years, has now been detected at the Palermo Rearing Station. The installation of expensive ultraviolet light (UV) treatment equipment in hatchery water supply lines will eliminate this disease problem. A UV system for the Enfield Hatchery became operational in June, 1979, but this hatchery will not reach maximum fish production until 1980. The Casco Fish Hatchery has been taken out of fish production pending the installation of UV treatment equipment during the summer of 1979. Plans call for this project to be completed and operational in time for the introduction of salmon eggs in November. Two natural catastrophes occurred during the year that have an impact on the brown trout rearing and stocking program. First, about 60,000 6" fingerlings were lost overnight in September 1978 when beaver activities completely plugged the water intake for the Deblois rearing pools. The water flow was completely shut off and these fish died of suffocation from lack of oxygen. Second, about 380 brown trout brood stock weighing about three pounds apiece were lost in May, 1979 at the New Gloucester Hatchery when a sudden spell of hot weather caused the water temperature to rise to 72Â°F. This sudden temperature increase combined with low flows and stresses produced by cleaning pools above these brood stock caused them to die

Maine Fish and Wildlife - Winter-Spring 1980

from lack of oxygen. Enough brood stock were saved by the quick action of hatchery employees so that sufficient eggs should be available for our needs in the fall of 1979. Settling basins for the treatment of hatchery waste discharges were constructed by minority contractors under federal Economic Development Administration (EDA) grants at Embden, Governor Hill, and Palermo. The Engineering Division completed dam repairs and re-graded about one-half of the earthen raceways at New Gloucester. They also constructed a concrete raceway for the brown trout brood stock. Hatchery personnel constructed a building over this brood pond to protect the fish from bird predation and vandalism. The Engineering Division also started concrete repairs to the raceways at the Embden Rearing Station. Hatchery personnel at the Enfield Hatchery have extended the pool covers to totally enclose all 36 raceways. This protection will reduce vandalism, eliminate bird predation problems, and provide shade to assist us in producing better quality fish. Hatchery Biologist Peter Walker attended a seven-month fish health training program at the National Fisheries Center, Leetown, West Virginia. This intensive training has prepared him to use the most modern fish disease diagnostic techniques and will enable him to guide fish health programs at Maine's 10 state fish hatcheries.

Planning and Co-ordination Division Kenneth H. Anderson, Director A major activity of the Planning Division during the year was the coordination and assistance to the Wildlife Division in the preparation of resource data for an update of wildlife species management plans, due to be completed by October 1, 1980. This involved the compilation of new information from Department surveys and inventories on the current status and trends in habitat suitability, wildlife population abundances, and hunting and trapping activity throughout the state. This information is being used to assist in the evaluation of ongoing management programs for wildlife species and to make refinements in management priorities, objectives and strategies as required by changing conditions and patterns of resource use. Preparations for an update of fisheries management plans, due for completion by October 1, 1981, were also begun in cooperation with the Fisheries Division. Considerable time and effort were also spent on maintenance of the

Department's computerized data files and continued expansion of the data processing system to handle increasing volumes and complexity of information required for day-to-day operations, as well as long-range planning. The Department now maintains more than 300 automated data files on various Departmental activities, licenses, surveys and inventories which require constant updating and generation of computer reports. Output from these files are being used not only for internal administrative and management use, but also by other agencies requiring fish and wildlife resource information. Assistance was given the Information and Education Division for an evaluation of needs and priorities concerning information and education programs, and the development of a long-range plan of operation to improve liaison with the public. The Planning Division continued to administer the Stream Alteration Act and coordinate the Department's

The following fish were stocked during 1978:

Number Pounds Landlocked salmon 369,939 31,233 295,527 196,087 592,756 6,586

44,215 4,952 29,024 12,775 71,082 78

J.-13:~~.;;

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technical input to other agencies responsible for administration of environmental laws. Division personnel coordinated the evaluation and processing of 1,056 applications and permits during fiscal year 1978-79. These included 150 Stream Alteration applications, 375 Land Use Regulation Commission applications for development or construction in unorganized townships, and 531 Department of Environmental Protection applications concerning site locations and minimum lot sizes, and development on great ponds and in tidal wetlands. The Planning Division conducted four questionnaire surveys of Maine sportsmen during the year: furbuyers' survey, waterfowl hunting survey, general hunter survey and a survey of anglers. Information from these surveys provides the Department with estimates of total participation days and harvest of fish and wildlife species. These data contribute significantly to the basic resource assessments needed for development of species management plans. Planning Division staff represented the Department at various inter-agency meetings involving comprehensive land and water use planning, including cooperation with the North Maine Woods organization; the Governor's Land and Water Council; the Lakes Committee, directed by the Department of Environmental Protection; the State Critical Areas Program; Dickey-Lincoln impact evaluations; University of Maine at Orono research studies; and Bureau of Forestry, Forest Planning Committee.

Inset shows totals for fish stocked during 1978. For detailed report of waters stocked, write to: Fishery Division, Maine Fish and Wildlife Dept., 284 State St., Station #41, Augusta, ME 04333. Price of the report is $1.00.

Maine Fish and Wildlife - Winter-Spring 1980

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Maine Fish and Wildlife - Winter-Spring 1980

Recreational Safety and Registration Lorenzo J. Gaudreau, Director During the fiscal year 1978-79 the Division registered 63,646 snowmobiles, 350 snowmobile dealers, and issued 68 duplicate snowmobile registrations. The Division also registered 31,268 boats, issued 296 boat operator licenses, 881 duplicate boat registrations and granted 23 permits for boating races and regattas. Numerous hearings were held concerning requests to limit the horsepower of motorboats on inland waters. At the close of the calendar year, December 31, 1978, the watercraft registry showed 114,403 boats listed.

Hunting and snowmobile accidents again showed a decrease. Volunteer instructors gave 135 courses and certified 2500 students in the hunter safety program. Instructors gave 52 courses and certified 700 students in the snowmobile safety program. Numerous presentations on snowmobile safety were also given in clubs and schools. Presentations of boating safety instruction were given to about 7,000 students by our recreational safety coordinators in schools and in summer camps. Boating, hunting,

SNOWMOBILE SAFETY COORDINATORS Name and Address Woodbury D. Thompson 3M Business Products Sales P.O. Box 3573 198 Maine Mall Rd, South Portland, ME 04106 Tel: 772-0179 or 797-2463

Region Counties l All of Cumberland and York counties and Fryeburg south in Oxford County

VACANT CONTACT: Div. Recreational Safety & Reg. Safety Section 284 State Street, Sta. #41 Augusta, ME 04333 Tel: 289-2571

Philip I. Morehouse Route # 1, Box 87 Windsor, ME 04363 Tel: 549-5188

Franklin and Oxford counties except Fryeburg and south in Oxford County

All of Kennebec, Androscoggin, Sagadahoc, Lincoln and Knox counties All of Somerset and Piscataquis counties

and snowmobile safety slides were continuously displayed during the appropriate season in the Augusta office lobby near the licensing counter. Anyone interested in participating in the programs as an instructor or sponsor or by taking a training course, may contact the appropriate recreational safety coordinator listed or write the Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife, Division of Recreational Scrfety and Registration -Safety Section-284 State Street, Sta. #41, Augusta, Maine 04333.

HUNTER SAFETY COORDINATORS Name and Address Charlene A. St. Jean RFD #1, Box 102 Sanford, ME 04073 Tel: 324-5930

Region l York

Counties

Woodbury D. Thompson 3M Business Products Sales Inc., P.O. Box 3573, 198 Maine Mall Rd. South Portland, ME 04106 Tel: 772-0179 or 797-2463

Cumberland, Oxford (Fryeburg & south), Androscoggin (All south of Auburn) and Bath in Sagadahoc

Richard E. Vieta Sunrise Apartments # 11 R.F.D. 2, College Road Greene, ME 04236 Tel: 946-7075

Oxford (All north of Fryeburg), Androscoggin (Auburn and north), Franklin, Kennebec, Somerset, and Sagadahoc (except Bath)

Philip I. Morehouse Route # 1, Box 87 Windsor, ME 04363 Tel: 549-5188

Lincoln, Knox, Waldo, Hancock, Kennebec (east of Augusta and south of Route 9) and Sagadahoc (east of Bath)

George L. Currier 209 Silk Street Brewer, ME 04412 Tel: 989-2477

Piscataquis and Penobscot (south of Route 188)

Donald H. Clark RFD #1 Hampden Highlands, ME 04445 Tel: 234-2627

Lorna M. Nason Duck Cove Road Bucksport, ME 04416 Tel: 469-3690

All of Hancock County

Harland S. Hitchings P.O. Box 145 Princeton, ME 04668 Tel: 796-2282

Washington and Penobscot (north of Route 108 to Medway)

Harland S. Hitchings P.O. Box 145 Princeton, ME 04668 Tel: 796-2282

All of Washington County

Michael G. Sawyer RFD #1 Smyrna Mills, ME 04780 Tel: 757-8102

Aroostook

Michael G. Sawyer RFD #1 Smyrna Mills, ME 04780 Tel: 757-8102

All of Aroostook County and

Charles L. Duggins 10 Old South Place Bath, ME 04530 Tel: 443-2601

Survival Techniques Specialist

All of Waldo and Penobscot counties except Medway north in Penobscot County

Medway north in Penobscot County

Maine Fish and Wildlife - Winter-Spring 1980

Wildlife Division Robert W. Boettger, Chief

Wildlife division activities continued to be guided by species plan programs. These initial programs have been in operation now for four years. The five-year updating and revising process is scheduled to begin this coming year, and is due to be completed by October 1980. Liaison and cooperation with other state, federal, and private agencies and organizations remained very active and productive. Of particular benefit were the deer wintering area preservation program in cooperation with the Land Use Regulation Commission and the offshore bird nesting acquisition and management pro.gram. The Land Use Regulation Commission completed all permanent zoning public hearings during this period, and our recommendations for inclusion of critical deer wintering areas in fish and wildlife protection zones were nearly all accepted. Now that this phase of the program is essentially completed, the next task facing us .is to place under zoning those areas that were not possible to properly document prior to the regularly scheduled hearings, while monitoring the areas already zoned to make sure that no unauthorized activities are conducted within their boundaries. Acquisition of bird nesting islands by various means is nearing completion, and management plans and zoning recommendations have been made as required. Project plans for an overall management program for these important pieces of real estate have been completed. An investigation of seals in this area has been initiated in cooperation with, and funded by, the Department of Marine Resources. Probably some of the biggest news during the past year was the passage of a bill by the state legislature Âˇ establishing a limited moose hunting

season in September of 1980. The Department has favored such a season for many years. Various members of the wildlife division provided advice and recommendations when requested by those legislators working on this bill. All in all, the wildlife division had considerable input to the final document. Commissioner Manuel was given the authority and responsibility to administer the season. After this bill was signed by the Governor, legal interpretations of various sections were obtained and work began on planning ahead in order that proper lead time be provided for ordering supplies and equipment and setting up facilities. We should be well prepared for our first moose season since 1935. An apparently continuous longterm decline in the deer population in Wildlife Management Unit 3 was given special attention by personnel of the big game research section and field personnel working in this area. A detailed analysis of the problem was made, utilizing all available information. This resulted in a comprehensive report submitted to the commissioner and advisory council, concluding that a combination of abnormally severe winters, deteriorating habitat, and increased predation was responsible for this situation. Possible courses of action to attempt to increase the deer population were presented, and one proposal to experimentally close sections of this unit to hunting for a period of three years to try to help the population recover was presented at a public hearing. This did not receive much public support, and it was decided by the commissioner and advisory council to make no drastic changes in the 1979 deer hunting season. Black bear studies remained active.

Maine Fish and Wildlife - Winter-Spring 1980

The "Bear Home Range Study" is scheduled to be completed in a few more months. This will provide us with valuable information on the whys and wherefores of some of the black bear's social habits. A certain amount of confusion was interjected into the 1978 waterfowl hunting season when it was announced by the federal government on the first day of Maine's season that individual states would be able to decide whether or not to enforce federal steel-shot-only laws. In Maine, this concerned Merrymeeting Bay, and the situation was not stabilized until the second half of the season. An attempt to convince the U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service to increase the hunter daily bag and possession limits on Canada geese (populations of which are increasing) to four and eight, respectively, in Maine was not successful, but did result in a study by Atlantic Flyway biologists to determine by next year if an increased bag limit is feasible in the northeastern states. Maine hunters may still benefit. The Atlantic Flyway Black Duck Committee, chaired by Maine's migratory bird project leader, completed on schedule the first draft of a much-needed flyway-wide management plan for the black duck. This committee continues to provide a lead example for other Atlantic Flyway Committees assigned plans for other species. Successful summer and winter waterfowl banding programs were conducted in cooperation with the U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service as part of an ongoing program to monitor the status of waterfowl, especially the important black duck, which has experienced reduced populations in recent years. Woodcock continued to receive considerable attention during the past year from migratory bird project per27

sonnel because of their importance to Maine hunters and increased interest and hunting pressure in states to the south. Recommendations for conservative hunting seasons in Maine have been made, and migratory bird project personnel have been very active in working towards the establishment of a much-needed Northeast Flyway Council, similar to the Atlantic Flyway Council, for waterfowl to deal with this migratory game bird on a regional basis. Continuing investigation of the woodcock eye problem has revealed that practically all of the reports of abnormal eyes were the result of mechanical injury from bird shot. However, this situation will still be monitored for the possibility of some other responsible factor . Furbearer investigation and management has become more important and complex in the past few years due to sharp increases in fur prices, numbers of licensed trappers, and the anti-trapping movement. Consequently, more attention has been given to forbearer species by division personnel. Conservative trapping seasons have been recommended and generally accepted. Mandatory tagging of most forbearer species and collection of carcasses from trappers are proving very valuable by providing needed information on sex, age, reproduction and numbers of animals taken in various areas of the state. A second series of coyote trapping seminars was held this winter, and proved to be as popular and valuable as the first. Another very well-qualified western coyote trapper was the instructor and he concentrated on showing selected department personnel how to catch problem animals in winter deer yards. A control program conducted by these trainees was initiated this past winter, but the relatively late starting date did not allow the program a fair trial. In addition, wardens have received some in-service training on trapping and trapper's techniques by a member of the wildlife division. This has proven quite popular, and should result in better enforcement of current trapping regulations. 28

As part of our expanded forbearer investigations progam, the wildlife division has recently initiated a study in cooperation with the Maine Cooperative Wildlife Unit at the University of Maine to determine prey species being utilized by bobcats and coyotes; interaction between coyotes, bobcats, and other predators; and densities of bobcats and coyotes on two study areas representing high and low populations of these animals. It will be possible to conduct these studies without department dedicated license

funds, utilizing donated funds to be matched with available federal monies. Some other jobs concerning bird nesting islands, black bear, and furbearers are also being supported by donated funds used as a match for available federal money. In view of the current very serious financial condition of the department, expanded use of this type of funding as it becomes available may be necessary to continue important projects and support required levels of staffing.

Atlantic Sea Run Salmon Commission Alfred L. Meister, Chief Biologist The 1978 season catches exceeded those of the preceding year. Water conditions during the early season were ideal for angling and a new record was established for rod-caught salmon from state waters. On the Penobscot, the rod catch exceeded 380 fish, topping the previous record of 354 established in 1926. The area above the Bangor Dam continues to provide new sites for angling, and many of the fish were taken from this area. Continued deterioration of the dam posed passage problems at the extremely high water levels encountered during the spring of 1979. Salmon were bruised and their scales abraded as the fish attempted to negotiate this high water barrier. It is expected that this problem will diminish as deterioration continues. On the Machias River, for the first time in more than 20 years, the rod catch exceeded 100 fish. Increased utilization of spawning and nursery areas above Whitneyville following removal of the dam in 1973 contributed to the improved fishery. Preliminary figures for the 1979 fishing season show the Machias River salmon run increasing, and catches may exceed those of 1978. Trapping facilities constructed during the spring of 1978 permit a

complete count of ascending fish on the Penobscot River. During the summer and fall of 1978, Commission personnel trapped and tagged 1,465 salmon at this facility. The salmon run of the Penobscot River is estimated to be in excess of 2,000 fish during 1978. Low warm water conditions during the summer resulted in numerous salmon entering the Kenduskeag River in search of cooler waters. Enforcement personnel were successful in protecting these fish, and numerous violators were prosecuted. The vulnerability of these fish, however, led to a conservation closure of the area for the remainder of the season. Similar problems arose on the Kennebec River. As a result, areas at the mouth of the river were closed to commercial netting, and the waters of Bond Brook in Augusta were closed to all fishing. In the fall of 1978, public hearings were held, resulting in a complete rewriting of the salmon regulations and their issuance under the Administrative Procedures Act in time for distribution prior to the 1979 open water season. Prior to 1978, 40 to 80 percent of the salmon trapped in the Penobscot were taken to the Craig Brook National Fish Hatchery for brood stock.

Maine Fish and Wildlife - Winter-Spring 1980

In 1978, approximately 20 percent of the fish were taken there, and the remainder released to spawn naturally in headwater areas of the Penobscot. In the fall of 1978, brood stock from the Penobscot and Union Rivers provided 1.8 million eggs for the salmon restoration program. Brood stock mortalities (150/o) suffered during 1977 were not repeated as severely during 1978 at the hatcheries due to chemotherapy. During the spring of 1979, the rivers of Maine were stocked with 354,000 smolts and parr reared at the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service facilities at Craig Brook and Green Lake. An additional 100,000 fry were scatter-planted during June of 1979. The disease problem that has plagued hatchery production appears to be under control. The new ultraviolet treatment plant at Green Lake National Fish Hatchery, combined with filtration equipment, has reduced the incidence of ectoparasites and myxobacterial infestations of the hatchery fish. Furunculosis, a problem in earlier years, has not been detected at this facility. The Craig Brook facility, however, remains at less than capacity production due to recurrent problems with fish diseases in the outdoor rearing complex. The Connecticut and Merrimac River programs were assisted by donations of eggs and fry for experimental and restoration purposes. During the year, Commission personnel prepared and/ or presented papers to the American Fisheries Society and the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea, and to other educational and fraternal associations. Assistance was also provided in development of a plan for restoration of salmon to the Merrimac River. And staff members spent considerable time in preparation of format and preliminary drafts of individual river management plans for Maine's Atlantic salmon waters, in addition to serving as advisors to several international, national, and regional organizations interested in salmon restoration.

Warden Service Alanson B. Noble, Chief Warden Warden Service has been unable to fill any enforcement positions during fiscal year 1978/1979 due to severe budgetary pro bl ems. Indications are that, unless the Department receives some additional revenues other than those anticipated from license fee increases and the anticipated revenues from the moose season, we will have to make further adjustments to live within our income. On a lighter note, two divisional headquarters have been set up with communications equipment that enables these divisions to have more efficient communications with the divisional units. Both the Enfield headquarters and the Augusta headquarters were established in the fall. Some of the recognizable effects resulting from the establishment of our regional headquarters are that they give the public an opportunity to communicate better with Warden Service and other department personnel in their regions; the burden of tagging furs has been relieved to a great extent from the district wardens; and many minor complaints from the general public are handled at the regional offices without further burdening the district wardens. Fishing activity has been reported to be down this past spring, apparently due to the energy crisis. Travelers appeared to be cautious about driving long distances without confidence that gasoline is available. Among Warden Service personnel, August 28, 1978, marked the untimely passing of 20-year veteran Maurice M. Gordon. Maurice was located in the Masardis district. During his entire career, Maurice was a dependable and dedicated officer. Warden Norman A. Gilbert, the most senior officer in Warden Service, was selected Warden of the Year for Âˇ 1978. Norman attended the Northeast Conservation Conference in Providence, Rhode Island, in April 1979 to receive this award. Norman

Maine Fish and Wildlife - Winter-Spring 1980

was first employed on October 3, 1948, and his entliusiasm for law enforcement work still remains at a high level. As a result of the recently created Covert Activities Division, Warden Service has become more informed in certain areas of illegal fish and wildlife activities. Because of the diligence of this division, we have had several prosecutions of "dyed in the wool" violators. During fiscal year 1978/ 1979, Warden Service searched for a total of 261 lost persons at an expenditure of $10,701.63. There were 41 drownings with total expenditures amounting to $12,405.92. Aircraft time for the above activities was 126.4 hours, resulting in an operating cost of $9,480.00. These costs incurred by Warden Service in searching for lost persons and drowning victims do not, we feel, truly reflect all expenditures for this activity. I would like to mention here that we are proud of the fact that, according to a recent publication in "Yankee" magazine, the performance of the Maine Warden Service in the prosecution of violators of the fish and wildlife laws is tops in the New England states. "Yankee" magazine writes: Hover 11,000 violations of game laws are summonsed in New England yearly. Half of those are for hunting, fishing, and trapping violations (hunting or fishing without a license account for many of them); the others are for violations of boating, snowmobiling, park and forest, water pollution, and dog laws .... " ''Conviction rates for those violations are high; 97 percent in Maine, 85 percent in Rhode Island, 95 percent in Vermont, and 92 percent in New Hampshire, for example.'' Warden Service again did an outstanding job of which we can all be proud. It will be with your cooperation that we will be able to survive during these extremely critical times. 29

YOU HAVEN'T MISSED ANYTHING The "winter-spring" designation on this issue's front cover should not be a cause for subscriber concern. Instead, once you understand why we've spanned two seasons with one issue, we're sure you'll agree the move was a positive one that will result in more enjoyment of your magazine. First, let us assure you that you have not missed an issue, nor will one be missed in the future. Your subscription has been adjusted so that you will receive the full number of magazines you paid for, regardless of the seasonal designation on the cover of this one. Now for why we did it: From this point on-barring the unforeseenthe magazine you receive will be for the approaching season, not the one nearly over. The summer issue, for instance, will be out in late spring, not August or September. Through the years we've tried various other ways to get the magazine back on a more desirable production schedule, but with a small staff and other obligations to meet, we were never quite able to do it. Now we are proceeding with confidence that this combined issue will enable us to send you a timely magazine and that the most commonly suggested improvement in Maine Fish and Wildlife will, at last, be a reality. Thank you for bearing with us.

'79 DEER SEASON REPORT Despite generally favorable preseason prospects, Maine's 1979 registered deer kill figure of 27,262 (preliminary) was slightly below both the 1978 figure and the 10-year annual average. The major between-year difference in registrations, a decline of more than 2,800 deer, occurred during the 30

last week of the season. Warm, foggy, rainy weather prevailing during that week in 1979 contrasted with a statewide snow cover for the last two days of the 1978 season. Heavy rains on several other days, especially on the resident-only southern zone opening day, also dampened hunting enthusiasm and contributed to the lower registration figures. The number of hunters, as measured by license sales, is not yet available, but impressions from the field indicated that nonresident hunters were less evident in 1979. Only the two northern wildlife management units (Units 1 and 2) produced more deer registrations in 1979 than in 1978. Unit 1 fared the best, with an 8 percent gain, while Unit 8 showed the greatest decrease, 17 percent. Information gathered at hunter check stations indicated an improvement in fawn rearing success in 1979. Following the relatively easy winter of 1978-79, the ratio of fawns to adult does in the fall harvest was 94 to 100. The previous year, following a severe winter, the ratio had been 74 fawns per 100 does. The relatively low deer kill in 1979, followed by an exceptionally easy winter, raises hopes for another good fawning year and a gain in deer numbers for 1980.

MOOSE APPLICATION DEADLINE June 10 is the deadline for Maine residents to apply for a chance to participate in this fall's limited moose hunting season, the first in Maine since 1935. Seven-hundred moose hunting permits will be sold to persons whose applications are selected at a public drawing to be held early in July. Each permit holder may have an assistant, or subpermittee, who must be named on the application for the drawing

and cannot be changed thereafter. Together they are limited to one moose, but either hunter may shoot it. Although only Maine residents may apply for a permit Oimit, one application per person) the residency restriction does not apply to the subpermittee. The open season will run from September 22 to 27, and only the area north of the Canadian Pacific Railroad tracks will be open. (This is the same area as the 1979 northern deer hunting zone.) The latest Wildlife Division estimate-based on extensive aerial survey work-places the area's growing moose population in the range of 15,000 to 20,000. The maximum kill by hunters-700 moose-is well below the number that could safely be taken annually. Application blanks and further details on the moose season are available from resident license agents and from the Department's Augusta office.

UNUSUAL WINTER Descriptions of the winter just ending have run the gamut of adjectives, depending on the describer's viewpoint. The unusually snow-free and mild conditions have been a pure delight to anyone whose concerns dwell mainly on such things as heating and plowing bills and the deer herd. Bobcat hunters, snowmobilers, and skiers are among those who are considerably less enthusiastic about winter 1979-80, however. Lake travel has varied from outstanding to impossible. Some lakes have had adequate ice thickness and little surface snow to restrict the activities of ice fishermen and skaters. Many others, however, had either unfrozen areas or dangerously thin ice, as possibly a record number

Maine Fish and Wildlife - Winter-Spring 1980

of daring motorists discovered too late. A very, very unusual winter-good for some, not so good for others. But then, what's so unusual about that? MOVING? It is now more important than ever that we have your correct mailing address. The high postage and labor costs involved in forwarding undeliverable magazines have forced us to end that service. In the future, if your correct mailing address is not on it, your magazine will dead end at the post office instead of being returned to us for forwarding. You can inform us of an address change by using the form printed on the subscription blank insert elsewhere in this issue. TWO RETIREMENTS The Fish and Wildlife Department's Wildlife Division and Information-Education Division each recently lost a veteran employee through retirement. Both were familiar names to regular readers of Maine Fish and Wildlife. Francis D. Dunn had been a wildlife biologist with the Department for 27 years, and William W. Cross had 18 years of service as a photographer. Dunn, a Patten resident, had been both a regional wildlife biologist and the moose project leader. His research and the public and legislative support he helped generate were major factors in the establishment of the moose hunting season scheduled for September 1980. He had also been the project leader in charge of the experimental re-introduction of caribou to Maine in the 1960s. Cross, who lives in Warren, has been in charge of the I&E Division's audio-visual activities, including serving as photo editor of Maine Fish and Wildlife. He produced several slide shows and two of the Department's motion pictures-Maine Deer: Product of the Land and the national award-winning film on beaver, Build-Âˇ ers By Nature. Before joining the De-

partment, he had several years of Maine state service as a photographer with the State Highway Commission.

1980 LICENSE FEES Nonresident Citizen Big Game Hunting-10 yrs. and over Alien Big Game HuntingNonresident Small Game Hunting16 yrs. and over Nonresident Junior Small Game Hunting-10-15 yrs .. inc. Nonresident Archery Hunting12 yrs. and over (permits hunting during all open seasons throughout year) Nonresident Junior Fishing12-15 yrs. inc. Nonresident Season Fishing16 yrs. and over Nonresident IS-day Fishing Nonresident 7-day Fishing Resident or nonresident 3-day Fishing

Re ident Fishing-16 yrs. and over Resident Junior Hunting10-15 yrs. inc. Resident Hunting-16 yrs. and over Resident Combination Hunting and Fishing-Over age 70 Resident Combination Hunting and Fishing-16 yrs. and over Resident Serviceman Combination Resident Archery Hunting12 yrs. and over Re ident Combination Fishing and Archery HuntingResident Trapping (Statewide) Re ident Guide-18 yrs. and over

S 65.50 105.00 JS.SO IS.SO

JS.SO 4.00 JO.SO 20.SO 17.50 9.50

9.50 I.SO 9.50

free 16.50 5.50 9.50 16.50 15.00 34.00

TO PHONE A WARDEN People often ask how they can contact a game warden to report a violation or for help in an emergency. Often the local warden is either unknown to them or cannot be reached immediately by phone. If you are ever in this situation, call the nearest of the following game warden headquarters:

Ashland Greenville Enfield Machias Strong Augusta Scarboro

435-3231 695-2810 732-4500 255-3266 778-3323 289-2175 883-5108

If you are unable to locate a warden at one of these headquarters, contact either the Department office in Augusta (289-2766) or the nearest State Police barracks, using one of the following toll-free numbers:

Skowhegan Thomaston Augusta Scarboro Orono Houlton

f 1-800-452-4664 1-800-482-0730 1-800-432-7381 1-800-432-7384

Commissioner Glenn Manuel (right) and Chief Engineer Clayton Grant checked on progress of a logging operation this winter on Department-owned land in Augusta. A crew from the Engineering Division worked several weeks cutting enough pine, spruce, hemlock, and oak to meet the Department's lumber needs for the next year.

Maine Fish and Wildlife - Winter-Spring 1980

ANIMALS Animal Life of a Small Pond-Harold M. Blanchard . . . ........ Spr. Northeast's Coyote-Wolf-Jerome B. Robinson ... .. . . .. . . .. . Spr. Problem Coyotes: What Can Be Done? .... . . . . ... . ... .... . . . Spr. Game Management Misconceptions-Hammond Eve . . .. .. .. .. Smr. Coyotes in Our Family-Rodney D. Sirois ... . ..... . ... .... ... Fall

BIRDS Seabird Islands: Fragile Factories of the Maine CoastAlan E. Hutchinson . . . . . . . . . .. . .. . . .... ............ . ... Smr. Rockets, Radios, & Research-James K. Ringelman, Jerry R. longcore . ...... . . ........... . .. ... ... .. . ..... . Smr. Bird Feeding from Both Sides- William Ginn, James L. Tabor . . .. .. . . . . . .. . ..... .. . . . ..... . . . ........ . Fall Oil Soaked Birds: The Innocent Victims-Patrick 0. Corr . . . . ... Fall

'79 '79 '79 '79 '79

FISHING Winter Fun Fish-Richard Arsenault . . . . . . ... . . . . . . . . . . Wntr. '78-'79 Maine Fishing, 1978 ... . ..... . . ....... . . ... ... Â·. . . . . ....... Spr. '79 What Fishermen Want (West Branch study)Paul R. Johnson . ... . . . . ....... . . . . . . . ... ...... . .. .... . Smr. '79 Streamer Fly Patterns-Peter G. Walker ............ . ....... . Fall '79

'79

"HOW-TO" The Maine Way (game and fish cookery) . ......... . .... Wntr . '78-'79 Streamer Fly Patterns-Peter G. Walker . . . . . . . . . ... . .. . .. . .. Fall '79

'79 '79 '79

FISH Voluntary Creel Census-William L. Woodward . . . . .. . . . Wntr. '78-'79 The Emerald Shiner-Frederick W. Kircheis .. . ... . . . . . .. . . .. . Spr . '79 Lake St. George: A Fishery Manager's ReportPeter G. Walker . . . ..... . . . ... .... . . .. . .... . ... ... . . . . . . Spr. '79 Five Senses of Fish-Owen C. Fenderson .. . . .. ....... . .... .. Smr. '79 Hooking Mortality: What We've Learned-Kendall Warner .. . . Smr. '79 Togue-Will Today's Limits Ruin Tomorrow's Fishing?Roger. P. AuClair . ... ......... . . .... .. . ... . ... . . ....... Fall '79 Landlocked Salmon Management at West Grand LakeJ. Dennis McNeish ... . . . . ... .. . . . .. . . . . . . . ... .. .. . .. . .. . Fall '79

ENVIRONMENT Foam: A Cause for Concern?-David Courtemanch .. . . .... .. . Spr. '79 Spruce Bud worm Monitoring-Steven A. Timpano . ....... .. . Smr. '79 Oil Soaked Birds: The Innocent Victims-Patrick 0. Corr . ...... Fall '79

FISH AND WILDLIFE DEPARTMENT, GENERAL Annual Report (FY 1977-78) .. . . . ........... . ..... . ... Wntr. ' 78-'79 Commissioner Marsh Retires . . . .. ....... .... ... ........... . Spr. '79 Meet Commissioner Manuel .. .. . . .. . . ..... ..... . .... ...... Smr. '79 Editorials (Department Finances) .... .. . . .. . ......... . Smr. & Fall '79 Legislative Roundup ......... . . . ... . . . ....... . ... .. ....... Fall '79

HUNTING " The Greatest Hunting Experience of All"Alanson B. Noble .. . . . .. . . ........ ....... .... .. . .. Wntr. '78-'79 Maine's Big Bucks-1978 .. ........ ..... . . . .. . ............. Fall '79

KID-BITS Build a Duck Nest Box .. . ....... .. . ... . . . . . . .. .... ... Wntr. '78-'79 "Bumpy Branches" (galls) . . ... .. . . ........... .... .. . .. .. .. Spr. '79 Why Do Beaver Build Dams? . . .. ... . . ... . .... . ............ . Smr ' 79 "Count the Critters" (population estimating) ..... .. .. ....... . Fall '79

LAND MANAGEMENT Stewardship and Our Natural ResourcesAlan G. Clark .. .... .. .. ....... ..... . . . . .. . . ... . . . Wntr. '78-'79 Habitat and the Landowner-Dale F. Whitesell . . . .. . . . . . . .... Spr. '79 Reverting Farms-Harold M. Blanchard . . . ....... .. .. ... . ... Fall '79

ENFORCEMENT Choppers!-John M. McPhee .. .. .. . ...... ....... . ......... Spr. '79 Warden School 1978-William F. Allen . ....... . . ..... . . . ... Smr. '79

RIVERS & STREAMS Maine Rivers: The Big Machias-Forrest R. Bonney . . . ...... . . Spr. '79

Maine Fish and Wildlife - Winter-Spring 1980

.-------------~

~ c.

;

.. Maine Department of Inland Fisheries & Wildlife

A deer still alive after being chased and sav· agely attacked by dogs-photographed by Karl Krieger of Augusta. Not a very pretty cover photo, and the decision to use it was not an easy one. We expect adverse reaction. But we also believe some good can come from it and that its use is consistent with this magazine's purpose. What happened to this deer was not a sensa· tionalized, isolated incidence. It happens with distressing regularity in many areas of Maine, especially in late winter and early spring. If such a shocking illustration finally gets the message to the owners of unrestrained dogs, its purpose has been served. This doe deer was chased and attacked by three dogs last winter in Fayette. After her

284 State St.,

Sta. #41

Augusta, Maine 04333

suffering had been mercifully ended, she was found to have been carrying twin fawns. The same three dogs killed another deer nearby within an hour. Game wardens located the owner of one, who later paid a $200 fine. The next day, the other two dogs were known to have killed two more deer and wounded an· other. They also may have been involved with two other deer deaths that occurred in the same area that day. On the third day, wardens caught up with the two dogs as they were chasing yet another deer. They destroyed one of the dogs and were able to follow the other to its home. The owner was summonsed to court and paid a $200 fine. End of this chapter, but the story continues.