Maine Fish and Wildlife Magazine, Winter 1982 by Maine State Library

MAINE FISH AND \VILDI~IFE Vol. 24, No. 4

Winter 1982

Gove rn or Joseph E. Brennan Departme nt of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife Glenn H. Manue l J. Willia m Peppard Ke nn eth H. Anderson

David 0. Locke J ohn F. Ma rs h Lyndon H. Bond Peter C. Brazier Robert W. Boettger W. Thomas Shoe ner No rm a n E. Trask Clayto n G. Gra n t Lorenzo J. Ga udreau Alfred L. Meister

Commissioner Deputy Commissioner Director, Program Development and Co-ordination Superintendent of Hatcheries Chief Warden Director, Fishery Division Business Manager Director , Wildlife Division Director, Public Information Director, Regulations Division Chief, Engineering and Realty Division Director, Licensing Division Chief Biologist, Atlantic Salmon Commission

Advisory Council

INSIDE Winter Sleepers

James Connolly

Nongame Checkqff: A Wild Idea?

Jane Arbuckle Bill Ploujfe

Search And Rescue Volunteers: We Would Be Lost Without Them!

Gary Anderson

Return Of The Puffin

Stephen W. Kress

Who Owns The Game?

KID-BITS

The Dog/ Deer Dilemma: IN BLACK AND WHITE

Maine Cooperative Wildlife Research Unit: Learning, Teaching, Serving

John T. Major

From The Fly Tying Bench: THE PARMACHENE BELLE

Pet,er G. Walker

Military Rifles: Customized For Sport

Ronald Kley

Fish And Wildlife Briefs

Editorial Questionnaire

John Madsen

THE COVERS Front: The Atlantic puffin - complete with dinner! Photo by Stephen Kress, who also wrote the article ( beginning on page 9 ) dealing wit h efforts to re-establish puffin populations on Maine's coastal islands. Inside Front: It will soon be the season for ice angling - and the thoughts of this type of daily catch will send thousands of fishermen onto the frozen s urfaces of Maine lakes. Drill your holes, set your traps, and wait ( hopefully warmly) for a flag to go! Photo by Bill Cross. Inside Back: The Kennebec River, right in the town of Skowhegan, really looks its best during the snow and ice days. Photo Editor Tom Carbone took this "diamonds on the water" shot.

Casco

Back: A long winter's nap - for mothe r and cubs. Assistant Big Game Research George Matula, Jr. took this rare picture during winter bear research work in the north woods.

Dennis L. Smit h Rumford Otter Creek Nathan Co he n Alva S. Appleby Eastport Skowhegan Rodn ey W . Ross Francis D. Dunn Broumville Patten Ma rc Plo urde Eagle Lake

MAINE FISH AND WILDLIFE ( ISSN 0360-005 X) is publis h ed quarte rly by t he Ma ine De pt . of In land Fis heries a nd Wildlife, 284 Sta te St., Sta t ion 41 , Augusta, ME 04333, unde r Appropriat ion 4550. Subsc ript ion rate: $6.00 per year. No stamps, please. Second class postage paid at Augusta, ME 04330. ÂŠ Maine Dept. of Inland Fis he ries a nd Wildlife, 1982. Permission to reprint te xt mate rial is gran ted , provide d proper c redit is give n to t he a ut ho r a nd to MAINE FI SH AND WILDLIFE. Clearan ce must be obt ain ed from art ists, photogra phe rs , a nd non -staff au t hors to reprodu ce c redited work.

Robe rt E. Moo re, Chairman Geo rge E. Pre nt iss

Maine Fish and Wildlife Magazine W. Thomas Shoene r, Editor Thomas J . Chamberla in , Managing Edi tor Thom as L. Carbone, Photographer Patricia J. Hogan, Editorial A ssistant All ph otograph s in t his iss ue were ma d e by t he Public In fo rmat ion Division unless otherwise indicated.

Maine Fish and Wildlife-Winter 1982

CHANGE OF ADDRESS: Send both old a nd new a ddresses to Circulation Section, MAINE FISH AND WILDLIFE Magazine, 284 State St., Sta. #41, Augusta, ME 04333. Allow six weeks for change to take effect. Your post office cannot forward copies unless you provide forwarding postage. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Circulation Section, MAINE FISH AND WILDLIFE Magazine, 284 State St., Sta. #41 , Augusta, ME 04333. 1

WINTER'S SLEEPERZ-Z-Z By James Connolly Wildlife Technician

WINTER APPROACHES, most Mainers' thoughts turn to visions of vacations in warmer climates. This is especially true after the second snow storm in a week or the second time the car needs to be jump-started. For the c reatures of the surrounding fields and forests , however, the decisions about where to winter have already been made - no travel brochures have to be looked at. Evolution has played a part in the decision-making process, resulting in adaptations being made. Large numbers of birds just take to the skies (no reservations necessary) and head south, avoiding all the hassles of snow and ice. Insects may overwinter as adults, tucked away in some crevice in a rock or under the bark of a tree. Other insects lay their eggs in the late summer and fall, just before dying, trusting in them to keep up the family traditions. Some cold-blooded animals have no choice but to retreat when cold weather arrives. They warm up when the air does, and cool off when it does. As they get colder, their systems slow down, hearts beat slower and breathing becomes less frequent. In order to survive, they retreat into the soil or under logs or ledges where they're protected from freezing - or so they hope. If all goes well, they return to activity when the weather warms up in spring. The warm-blooded creatures, however, don't escape the cold so easily. Deer, moose, fox, squirrel, snowshoe hare, mink, marten, fisher, and others all have to keep on moving and eating to survive. They are out there every day, trying to eat without being eaten. Some warm-blooded animals have evolved to pass up the ordeal of spending winter this way. They have developed ways of sleeping through the cold weather, avoiding the food shortages which others face . These sleepers include woodland and meadow jumping mice, little brown and big brown bats, woodchuck, raccoon, chipmunk, skunk, and black bear. The word hibernation is generally used to describe this winter sleep. Technically, hibernation involves a significant reduction in the heart rate, breathing rate, and body temperature, as well as a lack of response to noise or physical contact. Not all of these sleepers meet these requirements. The jumping mice, woodchuck, and the two species of bats are true hibernators. The others are simply deep sleepers. Let's examine the "winter sleepers" more closely.

IRST, THE MICE. The meadow jumping mouse is yellowish brown with extra-long hind legs and a long tail for balance. Normally, they

walk slowly or take little hops of one to six inches. When frightened, however, they may leap up to three feet. Meadow jumping mice are excellent swimmers, and can dive to a depth of 18 inches and stay under for 30 seconds. They inhabit moist, abandoned , grassy, and brushy fields. As fall begins, the mice prepare for winter by building up their bodies. At the same time, a den is selected in a sand bank or under a log. Around October 20, in a chamber lined with leaves as much as three feet underground, the long sleep commences. The mouse rolls into a tight ball, buries his nose in his belly, closes his eyes, and curls his tail around himself. Occasionally in pairs, they then live off their fat reserves until food again becomes available in May. Adult jumping mice go into hibernation first , followed by the immatures; in the spring, the "wake-up" order is reversed. Woodland jumping mice are better jumpers, able to jump six feet in a single hop. They inhabit moist, cool woodlands, avoiding open fields , and den up only a few inches underground. Their nests, consisting of dry leaves and grass, are five to six inches in diameter. They curl up for their winter sleep in much the same manner as their cousins, the meadow jumping mice.

ATS, OUR NEXT SLEEPERS, don't curl up underground to sleep, but rather hang upside down in caves. Little brown and big brown bats feed upon nocturnal moths, beetles, flies , and mosquitoes during the spring and summer. The disappearance of these insects marks the end of their feeding binge and signals the onset of hibernation. Traditional wintering caves are used as dens. The bats rely on the caves' relatively constant 40Â°F temperature and 80 percent relative humidity to keep the winter chill away. Bats are more susceptible to cold than other sleepers. They lack a thick insulating layer of fur over their entire bodies. So throughout the year, they rely on the atmosphere for warmth; they must otherwise become active to get warm. On cool mornings, they shiver in order to warm up enough to fly. Both species of brown bats will take off for a quick flight around the cave on warm winter days, after they have sufficiently warmed up. Once they are thus aroused, they have been observed drinking water, although they don't eat anything until spring. The big brown bat is more tolerant of drafts than the little brown, and is usually found nearer the cave entrance. Big browns also use attics and steeples as hibernaculums (winter residences). They have been found to enter hibernation with as much as 33 percent of their body weight as fat; when they awaken , they are

Maine Fish and Wildlife-Winter 1982

often down to only 10 percent fat. They have enough fat stored for approximately 194 days, so winter had best not run long! With the arrival of warmer temperatures in May and June, they leave the caves and go out into the world again. At this time, fertilization of female brown bats occurs, the sperm having been stored within themselves since their fall mating! The bats then scatter to their summer ranges, but return for a onenight get-together at the cave in mid-July to August. This meeting is thought to be part of the education process of younger bats (for hibernation locations ). After the meeting, they break up again until they return to the cave for hibernation in September.

HE WOODCHUCK ISN'T INTO TOGETHERNESS like the bats; he dens alone. In order to ensure his privacy, he plugs the entrance to his hibernating chamber. This prevents freeloaders like skunks, rabbits, mice, and others from taking over his home. The winter den is located in a well-drained wooded area or fence row, in contrast to the open field site of his summer den. With the ears covering the inner ear openings to keep out dirt, the woodchuck digs with alternate strokes of his front legs, kicking dirt back to his hind legs which shove it back still further. At times, he will even turn around and plow the soil and rocks out of the way with his head. The chamber is lined with dry grasses and leaves for bedding. Here the woodchuck retreats after the feeding orgies of late summer. Before entering the den for the

All curled up and sleeping, he now awaits warm weather.

last time until warmer weather returns, the fat woodchuck fasts for a few days to cleanse his digestive tract. Once in the hibernating chamber he seals the entrance with dirt, rolls into a ball, tucks his head between his hind legs, and goes to sleep. While in the chamber, the woodchuck wakes from time to time, and although he doesn't eat, he moves about a little before returning to sleep. When they emerge in February, they aren't looking for their shadows - they're looking for mates! But if they did see their shadows, they would see still-plump shapes. Once they're active again , they lose weight much quicker than during hibernation , and continue to do so until spring. A woodchuck undergoes much more stress as a result of this early activity than an animal like the jumping mouse, who remains in the den until food again becomes available. Hibernating woodchucks have been poked and rolled around by biologists, and have awakened slowly only as the air around them warmed up.

HE RACCOON IS NOT AS SOUND A SLEEPER as the woodchuck. Raccoons are famous for their foraging expeditions in corn fields and apple orchards as they try to store enough energy to sustain them through the colder stretches of the winter. Unlike the woodchuck, the raccoon not only wakes up and moves around outside the den, but actively forages throughout the forest on warm winter days. On colder days, they return to the den (located in a hollow tree or log). Here, family groups will often nestle together for warmth. From the time they den up in November until their departure in March, they may lose up to 50 percent of their body weight in spite of the foraging expeditions.

A NOTHER SLEEPER WHO TAKES NO CHANCES in being caught without food is the chipmunk. In a den he excavates in near secrecy, the chipmunk stores food for winter snacking. The den has a front entrance concealed by rocks or vegetation. The dirt from the excavation is carried in their checks out through a utility entrance and scattered around away from the site. When the den is complete, the utility entrance is closed up. Chambers for storage, as well as one for use as a toilet and a nesting chamber, are included in the finished tunnel complex. In late October or early November, after plugging the den entrances with dirt, the chipmunk settles in to rest and enjoy the fruits and nuts of his summer labors. Napping for a few days at a time, the chipmunk will awake, stumble around sleepily, eat something, and maybe even peek outside, before returning to sleep. Chipmunks den alone, and become sociable only during the late February to March breeding time.

.l"1.

This busy little skunk is preparing his den for the long winter ahead.

HE ANIMAL THAT EVERYONE WISHES would spend all his time alone is also a napper; this animal (who is about as popular as the bats) is the striped skunk. The skunk steals woodchuck burrows for dens (no wonder the woodchuck plugs off his hibernating chamber!). And what is worse than one skunk in your den? A group of stinkers! Often male and female skunks will spend the winter together. Skunks do not hibernate because, like the raccoons, their body temperature doesn't decrease significantly - and they often go outside in search of food. They rely on their extra body fat for energy during the colder stretches. Females may lose 10 to 30 percent of their body weight during this time, while males, who feed more often, may lose only 10 percent. During the months of February and March, male skunks leave their snug dens on the trail of romance, even in the face of temperatures of around 10Â°F.

LACK BEARS ARE ANOTHER STORY. The subject of an intensive investigation by Fish and Wildlife Department biologist, the black bear has caused most of the controversy over the term "hibernation." Black bears den up in late fall, utilizing hollow logs, brushpiles, stumps, rock cavities, and hollow trees for dens. Biologists now feel black bears exhibit a very special form of hibernation. They may hibernate from late October through March or April. Some years when food is not plentiful, it appears that bears den earlier than when food is more abundant. Females usually den first and emerge from the dens last; sows with cubs stay denned the longest. During their stay in the den, bears may lose up to 25 percent of their body weight. To balance the weight loss 4

in the den , black bears may gain up to 40 or 50 pounds in the late summer and fall. Like the woodchuck, the bear's weight gain must tide him over until food becomes available again come spring. While in the den, a bear's temperature drops slightly and respiration and heart rate slow. Biologists have found that bears also shed their food pads during the denning period. A fecal plug formed of mucous, hair, and dry leaves is also found in bears. The reasons for these two occurrences are not fully understood at this time. Something else to keep in mind, as many bear biologists will testify, is that bears are often alert in their dens, and ready to greet visitors; bear dens are best left alone! When you add that bear cubs ( conceived in June) are born in the dens during this time, it reinforces the idea that black bears are a special type of hibernator.

IBERNATION IS CURRENTLY OF GREAT INTEREST to medical researches, who hope to find out the mechanisms behind "the winter sleep." There is great potential for this information to help develop cures for many diseases. Doctors feel that some drugs would be more effective if the patient's metabolism could be slowed down. Also of interest is why bears can lay around for long periods without getting sores while people confined to bed develop bed sores. In addition, think of the opportunity for weight control programs! Whatever the strategy - sleeping and eating stored food, like the chipmunk; sleeping and no eating with a reduced body temperature, like the little brown and big brown bats, woodchuck, and jumping mice; sleeping and no eating with a slightly reduced body temperature, like the black bear - or whatever the term, hibernators or deep sleepers, the animals around us have some interesting ideas on how to spend the winter.

Maine Fish and Wildlife-Winter 1982

A WILD IDEA?

The Nongame

Jane Arbuckle

and Bill Plouffe

Wildlife Coordinator Staff Attorney Maine Audubon Society ALD EAGLE ... common loon ... least tern ~all are nongame species which, to many people, symbolize the essence of Maine. Yet each is threatened by "civilization," and each depends on long-term management efforts if it is to survive. This is the case with literally hundreds of species in North America-yet in Maine (which is generally in keeping with the national average), less than 10 percent of the Fish and Wildlife Department's wildlife management budget is specifically earmarked for work with nongame and endangered species. The basic reason for this is that funding for virtually all wildlife management programs in Maine and nationwide has traditionally come from the sale of hunting, fish ing, and trapping licenses. One can easily see that the bulk of expenditures of this revenue are, and should be, directed towards management of game species, given the basic source of the funding in the first place. Although considerable work has already been done in Maine on nongame species (including bald eagles, loons, and marine birds), and given the fact that nongame as well as game species benefit from habitat created by beaver management

(flowages), development of federal and state wildlife management areas, and other efforts to preserve habitat for all wildlife (such as the Fish and Wildlife Department's cooperative work with the Land Use Regulation Commission, the Department of Environmental Protection, the Bureau of Public Lands, and the Soil Conservation Service), more-much more-still needs to be accomplished. The Fish and Wildlife Department cannot, and should not be expected to, place their primary financial emphasis on nongame species management. One solution which has worked very well in other states, and which can also work in Maine, is the "nongame checkoff' on state tax returns. One example of such a nongame funding source is the successful checkoff system initiated in Colorado in 1978. Under this program, taxpayers who are receiving refunds can check on their state income tax forms that they wish to contribute a portion of their refund to the state nongame wildlife management program. The results have been astounding! Over the first four years of this program, Colorado taxpayers have contributed $2.2 million for nongame management! Over 400 nongame vertebrate species exist in Maine. These include 5

mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians, and fish not taken for sport, meat, or profit. Currently, other than bird surveys, federal and state research and management funding is available for only about one percent of these species. Part of that money, through the federal Endangered Species Act, has not been authorized by congress. And revenues from the Pittman-Robertson Act come from a federal excise tax on firearms and ammunition, and their use for nongame species is limited. Although some nongame projects have been able to proceed in Maine due in part of volunteer efforts, adequat.e nongame management is impossible without a new funding source. Trained staff, equipment, program planning, data analysis, and supplies are essential; and these require money. The past lack of adequate funding shows: no species list or comprehensive understanding of reptiles and amphibians exists in Maine; no complete species list of birds has been compiled in more than 30 years; knowledge of nongame mammals is minimal.

NSPIRED BY THE RESULTS in Colorado, people concerned about wildlife have been successful in getting similar nongame checkoffs enacted in 16 other states (Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oklahoma, Oregon, South Carolina, Utah, Virginia, and West Virginia). Asampling of those states which have used the checkoff shows strong support for the concept among taxpayers. For example, Oregon shows an eight percent participation rate, with an average contribution of $3.67; Utah has a participation rate of 16 percent, average contribution of $3.91; New Jersey has a rate of 4.5 percent and an average of $4.02; Minnesota has a rate of 10 percent and an average of $3.43; and Colorado has a rate of 12. 7 percent and 6

an average contribution of $5.30! Experience in these states has demonstrated that the rate of participation tends to increase each year as more taxpayers become aware of the program, and of what the revenues are doing for their nongame wildlife. Clearly, the potential exists in Maine to raise significant amounts of money through a checkoff for nongame management. In 1982, about 460,000 individual income tax returns were filed in Maine. Assuming an eight percent participation rate and an average contribution of $3.50, this would yield $128,800 in the first year! And, if the experience of other states holds true, this would increase as years passed. The most often heard objection to the checkoff approach is the contention that allowing a nongame checkoff will inevitably lead to a "laundry list" of social causes appearing on the tax form. There are, however, several reasons why a nongame checkoff is distinguishable from other causes, and, therefore, why legislators would be justified in singling out the nongame checkoff for support. First, the management of wildlife has traditionally been a government function. Second, state agencies already have in place, by virtue of federally funded programs, the framework of modest nongame programs. Third, private groups such as the Maine Audubon Society, simply don't have the resources or the organizational structure to undertake the long-term state-wide effort that would be required. Fourth, we cannot afford to have a lapse in nongame management, because once a species falls below a certain critical level, it cannot be brought back-it is lost forever. Fifth, the nongame checkoff has been shown to be a cause to which taxpayers will contribute. These points aside, one can argue that if the people want an opportunity to contribute to a cause through a checkoff vehicle, they should be given that opportunity. It is up to the legislature to decide

which causes have enough support to warrant placement on the income tax form. (In fact, a wildlife checkoff would not be the first one, nor the only one to appear on Maine's form-there is already a political party checkoff option.) It is worth noting that efforts to enact nongame checkoffs have often won the support of hunters and anglers, as well as nonconsumptive users. (This was the case in Maine two years ago when an unsuccessful checkoff measure was supported by the Sportsmen's Alliance of Maine.) This is not only because of the concern of many sportsmen for wildlife in general, but also because sportsmen realize that nongame management benefits game species as well, through habitat protection, food source enhancement, and other factors.

OST NONGAME SPECIES are virtually ignored. The need for research and management of all wildlife species is urgent. With a nongame tax checkoff, bald eagle, common loon, and least tern research could be continued and expanded; efforts to establish a population of peregrine falcons in Maine could begin; comprehensive censusing of bird, mammal, reptile, and amphibian populations could take place; the relationship between forestry practices and nongame species could be more thoroughly studied; problem species such as gulls and cormorants could be thoroughly studiedthe list is virtually endless! With a voluntary nongame checkoff, Maine will increase its ability to maintain the natural communities in which we take so much pride. The Maine Audubon Society intends to work with other environmental and wildlife groups to get a nongame checkoff bill passed in Maine. It is a needed new approach to a serious problem. We urge everyone to support this concept when it is brought before our legislature. â&#x20AC;˘

Maine Fish and Wildlife-Winter 1982

Search and Rescue Volunteers

WE WOULD BE LOST WITHOUT THEM! By Gary Ande rson Saf ty Offi c r Author's Note: In the last issue of MAINE FISH AND WILDLIFE Magazine, we presented an article outlining new search and rescue techniques which the department has put into operation following a new mandate from the Maine legislature placing the responsibility for search and rescue squarely in our hands. While we realize the scope of, and accept the responsibility for, this activity, we would be hard-pressed to sucessfully carry out search and rescue functions without the help of the many volunteer search and rescue groups throughout the state. This article, the second in a two-part series on search and rescue in Maine, focuses on the work of these organized groups, and acknowledges just how much their help means to us.

HE AROOSTOOK RIVER FISH AND GAME SEARCH AND RESCUE SQUAD may be one of the largest in the state. The current roster lists approximately 60 people from the greater Ashland-OxbowMasardis area. These woodsmen/ sportsmen excel in finding a lost hunter the first night out, and often work with only radio supervision that first night. Wdn. Sgt. John Robertson has supervised them many times and, in his opinion, they have saved lives, suffering, time, and money for our department over the years. They have a unique system of dividing their members into team divisions, each with its own captain leader. In this way, they are able to call out a specific team in the specific area of the search.

HE CAMDEN MOUNTAIN RESCUE TEAM confines its efforts almost exclusively to high-angle rescues. They train extensively in Baxter State Park, and have carried out rescues there in the past. These members include EMTs from the Camden Fire Department-they also back up the first climbing team. Camden trains three times annually with other groups and BSP Rangers, and are prepared to move out immediately through the Camden Fire Department. Baxter State Park Director Buzz Caverley thinks very highly of this group, and says that he would be hard put to carry out a prolonged rescue without them, winter or summer.

ILDERNESS RESCUE TEAM, based in Waterville, has totalled to date more than 3,700 actual search hours. They train an average of 2,688 man hours per year, whether they are called out or not. While we are discussing such things as personal donations of time and travel, we might mention that the average expenditure for those willing to be prepared for general or special rescue may approach $2,000 per man. It is apparent that these people take their SAR work very seriously, and can be counted on in emergencies.

Maine Fish and Wildlife-Winter 1982

IRIGO SEARCH AND RESCUE is based in Orono, and takes pride in being able to operate as a communication organization as well as a general search and rescue unit. They operate an astonishing amount of communications equipment, and can arrange direct contact with other SAR units or with the national SAR coordinating frequency (155.160 MC); communication from field to any unit on Region 6 State Police or to helicopter units of 112th Medivac; and communication between untrained or semi-trained volunteers at the scene. They have the capability for many phases of SAR, including air scent dog search, SCUBA, technical mountain rescue, and others. In addition, they often are prime safety control for road race and canoe race activities. As with all such groups, Dirigo doesn't mind travelling. They have responded to requests as far away as Machias, Houlton, and Baker Lake.

ENTRY SEARCH AND RESCUE MEDICAL TEAM in Lewiston is available for general SAR, but the members excel in medical emergencies and SCUBA recovery missions. Sentry has been around for quite some time, and has been involved in some difficult and lengthy SAR missions.

HE YORK COUNTY TACTICAL SEARCH AND RESCUE TEAM works out of the York County Sheriff's Office. They are a highly trained, dedicated professional SAR group of long standing. They are a general SAR group, high in emergency medical training and SCUBA recovery. The York County group has been among the leaders in the newest SAR techniques and training. There are at least three newer search and rescue groups organizing or reorganizing. The Durham Fire Dept. is busily training a SAR squad, and is ready now for limited activity. They are planning on general SAR status, and have already completed first aid requirements, SAR, map and compass use, and basic survival. In Washington County, Wdn. Ernest Smith is working with a group based in Machias, and in York County, a river rescue group is busy training this summer. We ought also to mention other groups that offer valuable assistance to our SAR efforts. The Salvation Army is quick to organize for indepth searches, and often sets up mobile kitchens at the search mission headquarters. Many merchants donate food, and also materials such as flashlights, batteries, and bulbs. There are various other groups, such as the Palermo Explorer Scout SAR Team. These young people are very quick to lend their time and 7

talent to help others, and are eager to train and prepare for emergencies. In Aroostook County, there are teams at Presque Isle, Washburn, Houlton, and Caribou which have worked to find lost people on occasion. These local teams are often affiliated with the Department of Civil Emergency Preparedness or local fire departments. It is always reassuring to see the United States Navy from Brunswick Naval Air Station, usually under the supervision of graduates of the Naval Survival School, show up. On a recent search, 100 of them were fed and

prepared to search by 4:30 a.m.! The Maine National Guard rarely misses an extensive search either, and as of this writing , a new special SAR element of the Dexter Army Reserve Center is forming. This is a light infantry group which is able to cover lots of ground. As in every instance when an attempt is made to give thanks and credit, someone is often left out. We want to take this opportunity to thank all volunteers for their help and urge anyone interested in SAR to become part of an organized group. â&#x20AC;˘

THE SCIENCE OF WILDLIFE MANAGEMENT:

The Future of ourWddlife Depends on It R esearch The precarious future that many species of N orth American wildlife faced around the turn of the century provided the impetus for the establishment of our first wildlife parks and refuges. Though initiall y effective, these early efforts aimed at helping wildlife soon developed serious shortcomings. The concept of providing complete protection, including the elimination of natural predators, to certain species was successful in building up threatened herds of animals, including elk and deer; however, as early as the 1920s, populations in many areas were outstripping their available food supplies. Such problems helped spur the rapid growth of the modem science of wildlife management. Early wildlife management professionals were the first to recognize the vital importance of vegetation and other aspects of the natural environment that supported wild animal populations. This new understanding of the relationship between wildlife and habitat helped

lead to the practical steps necessary to ensure the long, term abundance and health of certain kinds of wildlife. Extensive biological research is the foundation on which all management programs are built. Studies on animal numbers, their distribution, food preferences and the like provide a detailed picture of a species' needs and habits. Bird banding projects, such as these, help determine a species ' seasonal and local movements and can provide information on age, longevity and other vital characteris, tics important in developing successful conservation programs. Over the years, it has been the American hunter who, through license fees and excise taxes, has provided the lion's s,hare of the funds necessary for these conservation

ational Shooting Spo rt s Fou ndati on 1075 Pos t Road Ri ve rside, Co n n. 0 6 878

THE RETURN OF THE ATLANTIC PUFFIN to Eastern Egg Rock, Maine by Stephen W. Kress

1887: Deep under a huge boulder, an Atlantic puffin, Fratercula arctic a, wedged itself into a shadowed corner to incubate its single egg. For 10 years it had returned to this hidden crevice on a wind-blasted jumble of granite called Eastern Egg Rock, eight miles to sea off the Maine coast. But even here there was little safety. Above, muffled voices reviewed plans to spread herring nets over the boulders to trap puffins as they emerged in the early dawn. Puffins and other seabirds had been hunted on this tiny islandfor several hundred years. But by 1887, seabirds were scarce. Only afew ternsjlushedfrom the trampling feet of grazing sheep and virtually no puffins teasedfishermen by circling within gunning range. Trapping efforts were poorly rewarded; only one puffin struggled in the waiting net. Atlantic puffin, Handa Island, Scotland. Photograph c by J.C. Carton (Bruce Coleman Inc.)

TTLE DID the disappointed fishermen realize that there were no more puffins on Eastern Egg Rock, or on nearby Western Egg Rock, and that most seabird populations from Florida to Labrador were in a state of serious decline. By 1900, puffins had been eliminated from all but two colonies in the Gulf of Maine: Machias Seal Island and Matinicus Rock. Where once they had been abundant, puffins and most other seabirds had almost disappeared from the islands of Maine. By 1900, however, things began to change. With protective legislation, such as the federal Migratory Bird Treaty Act of 1918, The Lacey Act, and Maine's Model Wild Bird Act (both of 1900), puffins received a legal reprieve from more than 200 years of excessive hunting. Even more important to the renaissance of seabirds were the life style changes affecting coastal Mainers around the turn of the century. Long isolated by the convoluted coastline, highways and railroads were starting to connect even remote communities. With the advent of electricity and refrigeration , fresh seafowl meat and eggs became less important. Gasoline-powered boats made it possible for fishermen to commute to and from the mainland. This combination of life style changes and protective legislation made the islands suitable for nesting once again. Arctic and common terns, Sterna paradisae and S. hirundo, were among the first birds to re-colonize islands such as Eastern Egg Rock. And their return was noteworthy. They had not inhabited Egg Rock since the millinery raids of the 1880s destroyed their populations. But puffins, unlike terns, are not quick to settle into new nesting sites, nor are they known for their ability to arrive en masse to a suitable habitat. If puffins were to recolonize Egg Rock in the near future , we would have to devise a plan to help them along. Our effort to re-establish a breed-

ing colony of puffins at Eastern Egg Rock began in 1973 with financial support from the National Audubon Society and private contributors. Dr. Robert Noyce, a good friend and neighbor of the Audubon Ecology Camp in Maine, flew us to Newfoundland in his private plane to collect puffin chicks during the first three years of the project. These chicks, and those from subsequent transplants, were reared on Egg Roc k by biology students from Cornell and other universities. Our re-establishment program was based on the premise that young puffins usually return to breed at their natal island, sometimes in the immediate vicinity of their parents' burrow. All we had to do was to transplant some young puffins to Egg Rock and hope that eventually they would return there to breed. As simple as this sounds, we had no way of knowing if it would work. However, the vision of bright-beaked adults coursing over the boulders was incentive enough for us to try. "Can't be serious," grumbled a crusty old lobsterrnan when I explained my plan to have assistants live in a tent on Eastern Egg Rock. Surely if the winds didn't shred the tent, the rigors of rain , sun, and flood tides would prevent us from surviving on this seven acres of saltsprayed, treeless granite. Yet our resolve, the novelty of the adventure, and a good dose of blind optimism made the goal of re-establishing puffins on Eastern Egg Rock seem highly plausible and worth whatever physical discomforts the island had in store.

T WAS AUGUST, 1973 when we arrived at Egg Rock with some very unusual cargo. As the greater black-backed gulls, Larus marinus, chanted overhead, five fledgling puffins huddled against the walls of the artificial burrows we had constructed for them. These two-week-old chicks were from the large puffin colony on

Great Island, Newfoundland, and were hand-reared on nearby Hog Island. We reasoned that, by this age, young puffins are capable of maintaining their own body temperature and should be strong enough to resist the shock of the transplant. We gambled that they probably had not learned where home was and that if we transferred them quickly to a new island, finished rearing them there and then permitted them to fledge , they should acquire their horning information at the release site and return there to breed several years later. Little is known about how seabirds find their way home after winter migrations that may take them thousands of miles away, but the transplant program rested on the hypothesis that, while the puffin's methods for horning were of agenetic nature, the specific information was learned some time during the development of the nestling. Although resident garnebirds such as turkey and pheasant have been successfully transplanted for years to stock vacant habitat, this was the first time such a program had been ventured for a migratory seabird. While waiting for our transplanted puffins to mature on Egg Rock, we prepared the island for them by establishing 10 colonies to control the gull population. The island is protected by its status as a Maine Critical Area, and by a cooperative leasing agreement between the Maine Bureau of Public Lands (Dept. of Conservation) and the Maine Audubon Society. In 1976, this agreement led to the dedication of the island as Audubon's Allan D. Cruickshank Wildlife Sanctuary. The Maine Fish and Wildlife Dept. has also cooperated fully in all phases of the project. Besides gaining safety for the puffins, we studied the development of our nestlings, examining thesequence in which new feathers and behaviors transformed the helpless and clumsy chick into a trim and alert young seabird. To learn as

Maine Fish and Wildlife-Winter 1982

much as possible about these changes, we built an observation blind over four plexiglas-roofed burrows and noted the behavior of four nestlings from 1976 to 1978. These puffin chicks showed remarkable variety in personality. Some were vocal, restless birds that actively roamed their underground domain , excavating side chambers of their own design, pursuing intruding flies and mosquitoes and sometimes arranging platforms of vegetation on which they rested in their nest chamber. By contrast, other chicks seldom moved from their nest chamber except to consume their daily rations. Our studies of nestling behavior revealed some of the ways that puffin chicks avoid the menacing gulls which frequently wait outside their burrows. By monitoring the puffin chicks in our observation burrows, it soon became evident that even the most active avoid the vicinity of the burrow entrance until they are about four weeks old. During these weeks the slow, awkward chicks would be easy prey if they ventured too close to the entrance. We observed that deep inside the burrow the young chicks have a well-defined toilet area just outside their nest chamber. Here they back to the toilet wall, bend forward and squirt their excrement against it. By concentrating the excrement in one location the chick stays clean and avoids danger at the burrow entrance. After four weeks, the chicks usually move their toilet closer to the burrow entrance. Even though they are now much quicker and more coordinated , they still show the greatest caution. The usual approach is to edge slowly toward the entrance with the head held low. If all is clear, the nestling makes a quick 180 degree turn, backs up a few steps and ejects a vigorous stream that may be propelled more than a foot outside the burrow. Then, without hesitation , t he chick das hes back to the dark safety of its nest chamber. Maine Fish and Wildlife-Winter 1982

A S FLEDGING TIME AP-

PROACHED, the nestling puffins became increasling active, pacing the length of the burrow, frequently rejecting food in the day or two prior to fledging. At night, when gulls sleep, the young puffins left their burrows to clamber over intervening boulders and crevices until they reached the sea. I have hidden among the boulders to watch the procession, listening for the clinking sound of metal bands against the granite. If moonlight permitted, a small white apparition appeared, for only the fledgling's white breast was visible, the dark head and body feathers blending into night shadows. Balancing with wing and sharp claws, the fledgling may climb up the boulders, only to tumble into a crevice and struggle forward again. Once I saw a bird gain the peak of a tall boulder and fly off to sea in a single attempt, but most plunge into the foaming surf, sometimes to be thrown back repeatedly to the island. When clear of the surf, the young birds dive and bathe as if they have done this many times before. By dawn the fledglings are no longer in sight from the island and no longer vulnerable to the predatory gulls which patrol the inshore waters. By June of 1977, we had released 248 young puffins from Egg Rock without having a single return. We were concerned that if the puffins did return, they would hesitate to come ashore without seeing established adults to attract and hold their interest. To overcome this problem, we prepared standing decoys and secured them atop several granite outcrops. We also moored floating decoys to the ocean bottom near the island, but strong seas soon broke them free, scattering them southward in the Gulf of Maine current. Even though we had watched daily during the summers of 1974 through 1976, we had sighted only one adult puffin at Egg Rock, that being a solitary bird that circled the

island once in 197 4. It was therefore a momentous occasion on June 12, 1977 when a puffin rounded the shore of Egg Rock and splashed down just as we were rowing ashore. With absolute confidence, the bird swam up to our landing boat where we could easily see that it carried a white band on its legproof at last that at least one transplanted chick from Newfoundland had found its way back to Egg Rock Our studies of two- and threeyear-olds show that puffins freely move among the Gulf of Maine colonies, but when they are three and four years old, they become involved in burrow prospecting and do less inter-island traveling. In 1979, at Matinicus Rock, 26 miles from Eastern Egg Rock, we observed a fouryear-old transplanted puffin that seemed especially fixed to a particular boulder site. This bird, identified as white #14 by its metal band and white plastic leg band, was one of 91 nestlings transplanted to Egg Rock from Great Island in 1975. Now at Matinicus Rock, it was defending a territory, growling and chasing other puffins that ventured too close. In 1980, white #14 was observed carrying fish into the same rock crevice from its own young. This was an exciting discovery, for not only was it proof that transplanted puffins will breed near the release site, but it also demonstrated that puffins will select their nesting colony and defend a burrow site the year before they actually nest, th us shedding some light on at least one reason for delayed breeding. It was late May, 1981 when we landed at Egg Rock and already the puffins were coming and going among the boulders. We had observed this behavior for the past two summers, but most of the puffins were four and five years old now and the chances for breeding had never looked better.

HROUGH LATE MAY, June and July the puffins teased us with their secretive

habits. At Matinicus Rock, puffin chicks hatched as early as June 7, but these were older, more experienced breeders that lay their eggs soon after arrival of mid-April. Yet as July began to unfold, we reasoned that if puffins were breeding at Egg Rock, their eggs must hatch soon because it would take the adults at least another six weeks to rear the chicks-a process that must be complete before the migratory urge pulls the adults back to the open sea by mid-August. It was nearly dark on a very hazy fourth of July when I spotted a puffin winging around the south end of Egg Rock, its beak packed with glistening herring. Without hesitation, it landed and scrambled into the boulders to emerge a moment later without a trace of its catch. After nearly 100 years of absence, puffins were nesting again at Egg Rock. Five pairs of puffins hatched young at Egg Rock in 1981 and, as far as we know, all successfully fledged their young. Both members of three pairs were four-year-old birds, one pair consisted of a fouryear-old and a five-year-old, and surprisingly, both members of the remaining pair were unhanded. Since there has been relatively little band loss, it is likely that these unhanded birds are recruits from either Matinicus Rock or Machias Seal Island. A certain amount of inter-colony breeding is normal even under completely natural conditions and these welcome additions may play a vital role in expanding the new Egg Rock colony, offsetting the loss of transplanted birds to other colonies. Once puffins select a nest site and successfully breed, they usually return to the same island and burrow for many years. Thus the future of the n~w Egg Rock colony looks encouraging, since this core of breeders will help attract increasing puffin numbers to the island. Of the 530 transplanted puffins old enough to have returned by 1981, 111, or 21 percent, have been sighted at Egg Rock, Matinicus Rock, or Machias

Seal Island. In the next year or two, numbers will further increase as the 1980 and 1981 transplant groups reach breeding age and return. While the future of the Egg Rock puffin project looks bright and the techniques developed could have application for other colonial seabirds, restoration projects must be only part of a comprehensive management program. Puffins are declining throughout their extensive range on both sides of the North Atlantic. Tragic losses result from poaching, drowning in fishing nets, and predation from increasing herring and greater black-backed gull populations. Although puffins still nest in a few colonies of more than 100,000 pairs, the losses from oil spills and overfishing of their food supplies can be enormous.

UFFINS HAVE SURVIVED hundreds of years of human history on the Maine coast, but it has taken all the tools of conservation to restore them from the grim days of seabird

exploitation. Legislation, enforcement, sanctuaries, and active man agement are necessary if the puffin is to mairytain its precarious posture on the Maine coast. Certainly the ability to re-establish puffins to former breeding sites is a useful new management tool, but to secure the puffins' future , we need a worldwide commitment to work toward maintaining the highest possible productivity and diversity of the seas. This article reprinted by permission, The Living Bird Quarterly, Cornell University Laboratory of Ornithology. The author supplied the following update for MAINE FISH AND WILDLIFE Magazine.

A LL FIVE PAIRS OF

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PUFFINS that bred at Eastern Egg Rock in 1981 returned to their same burrows in 1982. In addition, nine new breeding pairs were discovered, bringing the total numbers of pairs to 14. Of these, 13 pairs successfully fledged chicks in 1982. As evidenced by their color leg bands, 24 of the breeding birds were transplants from Newfoundland.

The author places nestlings in carrying case for the 1,000-mile journey from Newfoundland to Egg Rock .

Maine Fish and Wildlife-Winter 1982

Among the banded puffins were one six-year-old, 21 five-year-olds, and two four-year-olds. The remaining four breeding puffins were unhanded, providing further evidence that the Egg Rock colony is probably receiving recruits from either Matinicus Rock or Machias Seal Island, the only other puffin colonies in the Gulf of Maine. In addition to the 28 breeding puffins at Egg Rock, 42 non-breeding birds were also observed at the island. These should reach reproductive age in the next few years and significantly increase production at the island. Twenty-six miles to the east, on Matinicus Rock, 54 different Egg Rock transplanted puffins were observed in 1982; nine of these were breeding. Although the huge puffin colony on Machias Seal Island was only monitored for banded birds for two weeks in 1982, six transplanted puffins were observed and one five year-old was breeding-the first discovery of a transplanted puffin breeding on Machias Seal Island. Many of the transplanted puffins continue to fly between Eastern Egg Rock, Matinicus Rock, and Machias Seal Islands. During the 1982 field season, observers documented that at least 37 percent of the two- to four-year-olds made at least one intercolony flight , but only 5 percent of the breeding age birds (five years and older) made such flights. The tendency for pre-breeding puffins to visit other colonies is not limited to transplanted puffin chicks. This summer, five two-year-old native puffins that were color-banded as chicks at Machias Seal Island showed up on the loafing ledges at Matinicus Rock. Knowledge of the natural mixing of puffin populations, and documentation of the extensive wanderings of prebreeding puffins, led our puffin research in a new direction in 1982. We reasoned that since puffins fly past suitable, unoccupied nesting islands on their east-west summer excursions, perhaps we could lure them to investigate and eventually colonize new islands by Maine Fish and Wildlife-Winter 1982

Decoys are used to attract puffins to Eastern Egg Rock. Photo by M . Hopiak

displaying wooden decoys and broadcasting taped recordings of puffin calls. The site for this experiment was Wooden Ball Island, a 60-acre outpost of treeless granite four miles east of Matinicus Rock. With enthusiastic cooperation from Thomas Watkinson, the island's owner, we positioned 17 puffin decoys at or near suitable puffin breeding habitat on the island's ocean side. We soon found that puffins could be seen every day flying past the island, with as many as 55 sightings daily. While most stayed a mile or two offshore, a few circled for a close inspection and landed among the decoys with surprising regularity. Puffins landed on 66 percent of the 35 observation days when the decoys were in position-no landings occurred during 12 days without decoys. On several days, puffins explored rock crevices as if they were looking for suitable breeding sites, but when this occurred they were especially vulnerable to attacks from herring and great black-backed gulls. On one such occasion, four-year-old

puffin number 76 was grabbed in mid-air by a herring gull. Assistants watched in dismay as the two birds tumbled out of sight behind a cliffsoon thereafter, gulls were observed feeding on a dark-winged seabird the size of a puffin. Fortunately for puffin 76, it did escape the Herring Gull as it was observed four days later back at Eastern Egg Rock. Although 76 was later observed at Matinicus Rock and Machias Seal Islands, it was not sighted again at Wooden Ball Island. This and many similar observations suggest that severe attacks by large gulls may be one of the key factors that explain why puffins have not naturally recolonized any of their former nesting islands in Maine. â&#x20AC;˘

FURTHER READING Friedman, J. Puffins, Come Back. Dodd, Mead & Co., New York. 1981. Lockley, R. M. Puffins. Devin-Adair Co., New York. 1953.

THE AUTHOR Dr. Stephen W. Kress is a staff biologist and lecturer for the National Audubon Society and director of the Audubon Ecology Camp in Maine. He is also a laboratory associate of the Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology.

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the Qame? WNERSHIP OF WILDLIFE has never been a simple thing. Even back when we were walking on our knuckles, hunters might dispute the right to hunt in a chosen territory, and when a kill was made, the hunter's claim might be contested by another predator. The title to meat was no stronger than a hunter's ability to defend it, and no meat was really owned until it had been eaten. Primitive men claimed no special ownership of wildlife. It was simply there for the taking or leaving. The early Romans called it ferae naturae, or "wild by nature," and applied this to wildlife that belonged to no one and everyone. The act of taking such wild creatures, however, was often regulated by law or custom. (Hundreds of years before Christ, Solon the lawmaker forbade the Athenians to go hunting because it was interfering with their work - an attitude still held by many wives.) When the lawmakers permitted publicly owned wild-

By John Madson life to be hunted, they might limit the rights of the hun ter. In about 530 A.D., Emperor Justinian recognized the right of Roman landowners to forbid hunting on their property, and this idea of commonly owned wildlife on privately owned land survives to this day in America. But in the centuries between Justinian and George Washington , the old concepts of public title to wildlife were often distorted - especially in England, where game became privileged property even on public lands. In old England, a class system of hunting developed in which only persons of special rank and privilege were allowed to take "royal" game animals. The practice gathered strength after the Norman Conquest in 1066 when William the Conqueror began to convert much of England to royal "forests" for the purpose of restricted hunting. This was done to "the great impoverishment" of his subjects, and went on for several hundred years. During that time, ownership of wild game in Great Britian was vested in the king - and this wasn't just token authority. The king owned the game, period. A commoner poaching a king's deer might be hanged with his own bowstring. Maine Fish and Wildlife-Winter 1982

CHANGE BEGAN IN 1215 when the English barons wrung new rights from King John with the Magna Charta, and established the fact that, although the king owns wild game in his sovereign authority, it is "held in sacred trust" for all English citizens. All this was part of English common law which the colonists brought to the New World - and they hadn't been here long before they developed a fierce sense of ownership of wildlife that was far stronger than it had been in the Old World. After the American Revolution, the title to all natural resources was formally transferred from king to state - where it rests today. In the United States, wildlife is public property held in trust by the government for the people. Much of it is protected at all times and may not be killed except and unless permitted by government. Generally, the federal government has jurisdiction over wildlife that migrates across state lines, while the individual states have charge of wildlife that is non-migratory. Migratory waterfowl are thus wards of the federal government, while deer and rabbits are under state jurisdiction. There are exceptions to this, of course. Resident wildlife that may be endangered or threatened may come under federal authority, while waterfowl and songbirds are protected by state as well as federal law. But while wildlife is publicly owned, it's privately controlled. A pheasant may be the ward of the state, but it is also a direct dependent of the farmer on whose land it lives. Yet that farmer may hunt that pheasant only in accordance with state law. He does not own the pheasant. In Great Britain today, there is no question of this. Game is the property of the landowner, and like any property, it entails privileges and obligations. If a landowner has a grouse moor, he may shoot any number of grouse and sell them. However, he is taxed on the productivity of that grouse moor, and must pay the tax even though actual production falls short. Since it's to his advantage to manage that grouse habitat well so that it can produce a high sustained yield, the owner of the grouse moor takes a dim view of a guest's poor shooting because it literally costs him money. And because shootable game is a valuable commodity in Great Britain, hunting rights are jealously guarded. We Americans like to think our hunting tradition is far more liberal than the Englishman's, but in some )Vays it is not. We go hunting in a maze of regulations that are utterly bewildering to the average European. Our free -ranging wildlife is the ward of some government or other, and may not be taken without official sanction. We carry a pocketful of licenses, tags, and stamps, enter drawings for permits, and must shoot the proper sex of game in the right place at the right time with the right gun and ammo in the right way. Why? Because we've learned _that doing it that way will assure us of the best hunting that available game supplies can safely permit.

Maine Fish and Wildlife-Winter 1982

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.4 LL THIS MIGHT SEEM TOO RESTRICTIVE ~ to the English hunter, perhaps, but few of us would trade places with him. For one thing, his access to privately owned game is highly limited and always expensive. An American hunter's access to publicly owned game is generally wider and cheaper. We have huge tracts of public land open to hunting, and countless private lands may be open for the asking things that scarcely exist in Europe. Neither does the game management system we take so much for granted exist in Great Britain. In general, foreign wildlife conservation is a pale shadow of the great North American programs. No wonder our wildlifers snort with disgust at international conventions that would tell us how to manage our own wildlife. Our system of game management is based on three critical elements: a long tradition of gun ownership and free hunting; a broad land base for our game supplies; and citizen ownership of wildlife - not just in principle, but in ironclad fact. None of these is more important than the others. If any one is lacking, game management as we know it could never work. With these three essentials as a base, Americans applied sound biology, ingenuity, and a long ton of dedication to create something that couldn't exist anywhere else in the world simply because one or more of the three essentials are lacking everywhere else. But since all three do exist here, millions of Americans have incentive to support their game management programs with money, political clout, and considerable pride. No other nation has so much wildlife of so many kinds in such rich and varied landscapes. Best of all, it belongs to each of us - as does the privilege of hunting. 15

When walking in the woods you must keep a sharp eye for any clues that nature has left behind for you. Identifying these will help you in knowing which creature left them behind. Broken branches and twigs on bayberry bushes, for example, may indicate that deer have been feeding here and may still be nearby. If you should see a sugar maple with its bark stripped off, this would indicate that a porcupine has been feeding here. There are many ways of telling which animal has been in your area recently. By reading about the different wildlife and their habits and going for frequent walks, you will be able to familiarize yourself with your area and its inhabitants. Animal tracks are probably one of the best ways of identifying which animal was there before you. A copy of MAINE ANIMAL TRACKS, which has a detailed description of the

Winter is the quiet season, but you have to get away from civilization to realize how quiet it can be. Get the family together and take your snowshoes if you have any-if you don't, just wear some warm winter boots and go for a walk in the woods. If you don't have snowshoes, you may want to use some of the snowmobile trails; they'll make walking easier and you'll still be able to enjoy the woods and wildlife. It's important to remember to always carry a compass and a small survival kit with you whenever you enter the woods. It can mean the difference between an enjoyable family outing and a disaster. Taking a walk in the woods can help you to better understand and to recognize the animals and birds that spend the winter with us. As you probably already know, some animals hibernate during the winter, so you may not get to see any of them until early spring. 16

........

Maine Fish and Wildlife-Winter 1982

Letters should be sent to: Patricia Hogan, KID-BITS Editor Maine Fish and Wildlife Magazine 284 State Street, Sta. #41 Augusta, ME 04333

most popular species found in Maine, can be obtained from the Public Information Division of the Fish & Wildlife Dept. You may want to take one with you on your next outing to use as a reference guide. Another interesting hobby that you might want to do while in the woods is bird watching. You may want to take a hand-held type recorder with you and record the different bird calls and also territorial songs. By watching and listening carefully, you will be able to determine which song goes with which bird. The next time you are out at home or in the woods, you may want to replay that tape to see if you are in any of the birds' territorial ranges. Along with the recorder, you may also want to bring with you a pair of binoculars and a camera. There are several different types of snowshoes that are available today. Two of the most popular are the Bearpaw and the Maine or Cross-

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Maine Fish and Wildlife-Winter 1982

country. The Bearpaw is used in deep powder snow conditions, and is used mainly in hilly and mountainous country. The Maine is used in crusty snow, and is best suited for trails and open areas. If you don't have snowshoes and decide to buy a pair, you may want to save the expense of buying bindings and try to make your own. The directions and pattern of how to "Make Your Own Innertube Snowshoe Harness" appeared in the Fall 1977 issue of MAINE FISH AND WILDLIFE Magazine. Having tried it, I can attest to the fact that innertubes make excellent harnesses and are very inexpensive bindings. This winter when you have had enough of the woodstove and city noises, and have played all the board games too many times, grab your winter gear and head for the woods. â&#x20AC;˘ 17

fflAIIIE COOPERATIUE WILDLIFE RESEARCH UIIIT

LEARNING, TEACHING, SERVING Wildlife and people both benefit from the programs of research, training and public service of this little-known organization.

By John T. Major

OBCATS, EAGLES, LOONS, MOOSEthese are just a few of the wildlife species currently under study through the Maine Cooperative Wildlife Research Unit (MCWRU). The unit is housed within the Wildlife Division of the College of Forest Resources at the University of Maine at Orono (UMO). It is one of the original cooperative research units established in the country (we began operations in 1935 ). Today, there are 21 wildlife units, 26 fisheries units (including one at UMO), and three combined wildlife and fisheries units in 29 states. Each unit conducts wildlife research in cooperation with state fish and wildlife agencies, land grant universities, and the Wildlife Management Institute. Two other important functions of the units are to provide training for wildlife students at the graduate level and to provide the public with information concerning the wildlife resource. Let's take a look at Maine's unit and some of its current research projects. Dr. James Sherburne, a native of Milo, is the unit's leader. Jim is an employee of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, as is his assistant, Dr. John Bissonnette. Both are assigned by the service to administer and

The author is a research assistant and doctoral candidate with the Maine Cooperative Wildlife Research Unit.

Maine Fish and Wildlife-Winter 1982

coordinate the activities of the MCWRU. They also .serve as cooperating associate professors of wildlife resources, complementing the wildlife faculty and staff of the University of Maine (headed by Dr. Malcolm Coulter). The cooperative nature of the unit program is illustrated by the contributions each of the agencies provide in research plans, support, and direction. Each of the cooperators has representatives present at an annual meeting where research priorities are identified and research plans are reviewed. Graduate degree programs are co-designed by unit personnel and UMO faculty members, and the students' research projects for their graduate theses address local, state, regional, and national needs. The Fish and Wildlife Service provides some of the vehicles, equipment, and base funding for the unit's operations. The Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife (MDIFW) also contributes base monies, and also offers logistical and technical support. The University of Maine provides a secretary, office and lab space, and some base funding. The fourth cooperator, the Wildlife Management Institute of Washington, D.C., contributes minimal financial support, but serves as a liaison among the unit, conservation groups, and governmental agencies on the national level. Financial support for research programs come from contracts and agreements with a variety of federal , state, and private organizations and agencies.

BOBCATS One of the unit's largest research efforts currently underway involves the bobcat. Maine offered a bounty on bobcat until 1974, but a number of factors in the few years since then have focused a great deal of attention and interest on our bobcat population. A decline in bobcat numbers and harvests from the western mountains area, which previously supported good bobcat numbers and recreational opportunities, coupled with a three-fold increase in trapping license sales from 1970 to 1980, and high fur prices, prompted an investigation into some of the factors that might be affecting bobcat numbers and distribution. Because of similar concerns with other furbearers, most notably the coyote and red fox ( see Predator and Prey-How do they Relate?, Maine Fish and WIidlife, Winter, 1981), the unit began a study in 1979 of bobcats and other furbearers. Several graduate students, technicians, and undergraduate students have had an opportunity to work on these studies under the supervision of the unit leader. John Hunt and Al Clark ofthe Fish and Wildlife Department's furbearer project have also worked closely with unit research personnel on this project. One aspect of bobcat ecology that is currently being studied is the relationship between bobcats and their prey. An analysis of bobcat scats and carcasses has shown that snowshoe hare and white-tailed deer are the two major prey items in the bobcat diet-in both the Pierce 19

Researchers attach a radio transmitter collar and numbered ear tags to a swimming moose. Radio tracking and identification of individual moose enable biologists to study the animal's movements and will help in future refinement of population surveys. Lydia, below, models collar and tags.

Pond area of Somerset County and the Cherryfield area of Washington County. John Litvaitis, a doctoral graduate student with the unit, is now taking a detailed look at the relationship between habitats supporting snowshoe hare populations, and bobcat use of these areas. Because the hare is such an important component of the bobcat diet, John is attempting to determine if bobcat density is correlated with hare density. Snowshoe hares respond favorably to the dense understory of mixed hardwood and softwood tree species that regenerate following some types of logging practices. This study may indicate if we could benefit bobcat populations by altering the habitat to the liking of snowshoe hares. Another aspect of bobcat ecology that needed to be explored was the relationship between bobcat and

other furbearers. As part of my doctoral research (in the Pierce Pond area with the MCWRU), I examined habitat use, feeding ecology, activity patterns, spatial distributions, and other components of furbearer ecology for coyote, bobcat, and red fox. I found that bobcat share home areas with both coyote and fox. They also eat many of the same foods , although bobcat rely on a meat diet the year round, whereas the two members of the dog family are opportunistic and have a more varied diet that includes fruit and berries when available. The furbearers also seem to follow similar patterns of activity. One of the more in teresting results of my study has been the effect of severe winter climate on the bobcat. Maine is at the northern edge of the bobcat's range. Everyone is con cerned about the effects of hard winters on our deer population, which is also at the northern limits

Maine Fish and Wildlife-Winter 1982

Radio telemetry enables researches to unlock some of the mysteries of bobcat ecology. This tranquilized bobcat, fitted with radio collar and ear tags, is about to be released by graduate student John Litvaitis.

of its range, but deep soft snow and cold temperatures can make life rough for bobcat. In the course of my field work, I observed increased mortality of both marked and unmarked bobcat during the winter of 1981 -1982 (compared with two previous unusually mild winters). The deep soft snow made travel extremely difficult for the bobcat. Of 12 bobcat I tagged or radio-collared during the three years of this study, four were known to have died between December, 1981, and February, 1982-as many as died in the other 32 months combined! Bobcat in western Maine are apparently more directly affected by climatic factors than by competition for resources with other furbearers. Information from these studies is giving us an indication of furbearer Maine Fish and Wildlife-Winter 1982

Knowledge of the movements, behavior and habitat preferences of bald eagles is vital to management of this endangered species. Here Mark McCollough attaches color markers on an immature eagle so it can be later identified .

densities, population dynamics, and predator/ prey relationships that can be applied to managing the furbearer resource.

EAGLES

Studies on bald eagles indicate

that the Cobscook Bay area contributes about 22 percent of the total annual bald eagle production in the northeastern U.S. This area is considered a nucleus for the recovery of the bald eagle population in Maine, yet it is also an area subject to consideration for a proposed oil 21

refinery, a tidal power project, and other development and recreational pressures. Mark McCollough is pursuing a doctoral study of the postfledgling ecology of Maine bald eagles to help ensure the recovery of our national symbol. Mark, along with Dr. Ray Owen and Charles Todd of the University of Maine, and Frank Gramlich (who recently retired from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service), have been involved in aerial surveys of eagle nests, and banding of eaglets. They have also attached radio transmitters to several young eagles to learn more about their movements, behavior, and habitat use. The radio-tagging, which began in 1981, led these biologists to a feeding and resting area used by 10 to 15 immature eaglesthe largest concentration known in Maine in the last 20 years. It takes five years for an immature bald eagle to reach maturity and attain the familiar white head and tail. Perhaps as high as 90 percent of these young eagles may die during this time, many from starvation. For this reason, a winter feeding program was initiated at four eagle wintering areas to improve survival of the young birds. Providing food free from pesticide contamination may help improve productivity of ad ult eagles as well. In 1981, at least 66 different eagles, including 18 adults and 48 immatures, were observed at these feeding stations.

LOONS The call of the loon at dusk on a placid Maine lake is never forgotten by those who once experience it. Unfortunately, it is a sound heard less frequently than in the past. In New Hampshire and southern Maine, there has been concern about a decline in the loon population and use of lakes (see The Common Loon: More Than a Symbol of Wilderness, Maine Fish and Wildlife, Summer 1981). A recently completed graduate study by Barry Christenson of the

MCWRU examined the effect of human recreational activity on the reproductive success of loons. His study compared the response of loons to boaters on Cobbosseecontee Lake in southern Maine, which is highly developed and where fishermen and waterskiers are frequently seen, to Grand Lake Sebois in northern Maine, where one rarely sees anyone. An interesting finding in this study was that the loons on Cobbosseecontee Lake demonstrated a high tolerance to boating activity and successfully hatched young, whereas the loons on Grand Lake Sebois did not exhibit a similar tolerance, and often left the nest when disturbed. A new loon study by Paul Strong, a graduate student working with Jim Sherburne, began this past summer. Paul is developing methods to capture and mark individual birds so that he can observe the nesting ecology and behavior of individuals to look more carefully at the effects of shore development on reproductive rates. His study will also take a look at where Maine loons go during the winter, a season of suspected high loon mortality. Although it is known that loons winter along the Atlantic coast from the Maritime Provinces to the Gulf of Mexico, no one knows whether there are migration routes or traditional wintering and breeding grounds for loons, as there are for many waterfowl species and populations.

MOOSE Maine has a very large and healthy moose herd. Ours is one of a very few states that can make such a claim. Although Maine has always had moose, they became scarce enough by 1935 that the legislature closed the moose season, a closure that remained in effect for 45 years. Habitat changes following logging are probably the prime force behind the great recovery and expansion of the moose herd in recent years. It is one of our most prized

wildlife species, attracting the interest of native Mainers and vacationers alike who enjoy the popular sport of moose-watching. There are a fortunate few who draw permits to hunt moose in a limited fall hunt that has recently been established. Studies in the past have examined moose winter ecology, including feeding habits and habitat use. Al Crossley, a master's student working with Dr. James Gilbert (UMO), is studying summer pond use by moose in northern Maine. He is particularly interested in aspects of the cow/ calf relationship. Al's study identifying the daily and seasonal patterns of pond use will be used to plan aerial surveys of the moose herd's productivity. Several moose have been radio-tagged to provide detailed information on these individuals, and Al has also spent hundreds of hours observing moose use of several ponds.

HESE ARE JUST A FEW of the many projects currently being conducted through the Maine Cooperative Wildlife Research Unit*. Over the years, the Maine unit has conducted studies in forest, wetland, and coastal ecosystems on a variety of threatened and endangered species, nongame animals, waterfowl, furbearers, and large and small game species. Each study provides valuable training in the design, performance, and analysis of research for the graduate students, field and lab experience for their undergraduate assistants, and valuable information to ensure the continued health of Maine's rich wildlife resources. â&#x20AC;˘

* Copies of the current MCWRU annual report providing summaries of these and other projects will be provided upon request to interested persons until supplies are exh'austed. Please write: Maine Cooperative Wildlife Research Unit, 240 Nutting Hall UMO, Orono, Maine 04469. Maine Fish and Wildlife-Winter 1982

the Fly Tying Bench

THE PARMACHENE BELLE

WET FLY #2

By Peter G. Walker

ABOUT THE FLY Parmachene Lake is a lake of legends. On its wild, mountainous shores once settled a French trapper and his Indian princess bride, Parmachene-daughter of the Abnaki chieftain, Metallak. It is recorded that Parmachene's life was cut short by illness and , legend has it, her ghost still roams the evening mists of the waters of her namesake. In the latter half of the 19th century, fly fishermen discovered Parmachene Lake and adjacent Magalloway River. The combination of abundant native brook trout and enchanting natural beauty have captivated generations of sportsmen ever since. One of the first fly fishermen ever to make the long trek in to Parmachene Lake, during the 1870s, was Henry P. Wells of Providence, RI. He never forgot the adventure, and later commemorated the country with this fly pattern-the Parmachene Belle. The Parmachene Belle is a traditional, ornate wet fly representative of an earlier era. Although nearly all of

the gaudy patterns of the previous century are now considered obsolete, the Parmachene Belle lives on. The main reason , of course, is that it still catches trout!

THE PATI'ERN HOOK: standard wet fly type. Originally, sized up to #2 were used , but sizes #8, #10, and #12 are more commonly used today THREAD: black TAIL: a few fibers of dyed red hackle over a few white hackle fibers. (Originally, the tail consisted of a section of married red over white goose quill.) RIBBING: fine , flat silver tinsel BODY: yellow floss or yarn HACKLE: a fairly sparse mixture of dyed red and white. WINGS: sections of married goose quill. Most modern versions are about one-third red over two-thirds white. The original possessed a three-striped wing of white/ red/ white

0 1

Don 't overdress a wet fly! Remember, both tail and hackle should be sparse. To tie a two-colored tail , lash down about four white hackle fibers directly over the bend, then tie an equal bunch of dyed red fibers over the white ones .

After winding the thread forward to the head area, carefully wind the body floss forward tightly and evenly . Secure with thread, then make the ribbing with evenly spaced winds of tinsel. Secure, trim.

Attach first the ribbing tinsel , then the body floss to the shank with thread . To ensure an even body, tie down tinsel and floss along the entire shank (except for a small space for the head) . Select red and white hackles with fibers 1112-2 times longer than the distance between the point and the shank . Trim off the fluffy base and separate the individual fibers by rubbing them the wrong way with thumb and forefinger. Attach the base of each to the shank with two or three firm wraps of thread .

Maine Fish and Wildlife-Winter 1982

Finish off the Parmachene Belle by trimming off the remaining wing quills and constructing a neat tapered head with tying thread . A coat or two of lacquer on the head lends a professional look to the finished product.

Attach hackle pliers to the tip of one hackle and wind it around the shank two times. Secure remainder of hackle with thread and trim . Do the same with the second hackle. There should now be a mixed array of red and white fibers radiat ing from the shank as shown .

CONSTRUCTING MARRIED QUILL WINGS - - -

With left thumb and forefinger, pull the hackle fibers back and down to form a throat. Wrapping the bases of these with a few winds of thread will hold them permanently in this position .

Tying wet fly quill wings properly is one of the more difficult procedures. Match up two wings from opposing quills (one from the bird's left wing and one from its right) so that they bend towards each other. (The process of marrying wings of two different colors is explained at right.) Holding the matched pair of wings between the left thumb and forefinger, put a downward bend in the wings by pulling them down with the other hand, then pinch them to hold this position . Now hold the wings directly over the shank . Make a loose wind over the base of the wings. While carefully holding them in place with the left hand, pull the thread tight. If the wings are in the correct position, secure them with a few more tight wraps of thread . If not, loosen the thread and reposition them .

Select matching pairs of quills of each color (one from the right wing , one from the left). Goose wing quills are best. Cut small sections from the qu ills (from approximately the same spot on each) .

Hold the butts of the sections with thumb and forefinger, then stroke the two sections with the other thumb and forefinger. The microscopic hooks on the edges of the fibers will engage, causing the two sections to join (as firmly as the original feather!).

Align sections of each color, in the desired order, so that their outer tips match up (be sure to mate right with right and left with left) .

It is often necessary to adjust the proportions of the colors after the sections are joined. This is accomplished with a dubbing needle. The wings of the Parmachene Belle, for instance, should be about one-third red over twothirds white.

Maine Fish and Wildlife-Winter 1982

Military Rifles

CUSTOMIZED FOR SPORT By Ronald Kley Maine State Museum

HE RELATIONSHIP between military and civilian firearms in America is an unusually close one, and one that has persisted for well over two centuries. The roots of this relationship reach back into colonial times when , faced with the need to supplement domesticated animals as meat sources and the need to provide for personal and community defense, many common citizens armed themselves with

Aside from a few military muskets (which were often community property rather than being individually owned), colonial firearms were mostly "fowlers"-the equivalent of modern shotguns. They were created, intended, and used primarily for hunting purposes, but could be effectively employed as defensive weapons in an emergency. Some of these fowling pieces saw service in the hands of colonial militiamen in skirmishes against the French and the Indians, and in early clashes with British forces during the Revolutionary War.

rifles were considered to be of little military significance at the time of the American Revolution. In at least some Revolutionary War battles, however ( most notably at Cowpens in Georgia and at Kings Mountain in Tennessee), frontier marksmen and their hunting rifles proved to be very effective, th us setting the stage for military weapons and tactics of decades and generations yet to come. Wary of the expense and the political dangers of a standing army, yet fearful of civil insurrection and foreign invasion, America became very militia-conscious in the early

Rifles were also important as civilian weapons during the colonial period, especially in frontier areas of the central and southern Appalachians ( and in the New England hill country) where game was especially important as a diet supplement, and where defense against Indian attack was still a matter of concern. Because they were slow to reload as . compared to smoothbore weapons,

1800s, as citizen-soldiers drilled with varying degrees of precision and discipline on many a village green. Militiamen were generally required to furnish their own weapons, which were expected to meet basic military criteria, yet it seemed clear to all concerned that these arms were likely to be used most often for nonmilitary purposes. Accordingly, several

This tip-up flintlock breech mechanism (right) was patented in 1811 by John Hall of Portland , and was incorporated into a number of fine Maine-made sporting rifles such as the one shown above. The Hall rifle was adopted by the government for military use in 1819; Hall, then in charge of the rifle works at the Harpers Ferry armory superintended the production of plainer " militarized" versions of his weapons .

general purpose matchlock or early flintlock weapons. This was a rather sharp contrast to Old Country traditions, where domestic animals were more commonplace, where the hunting of wild game was a sport reserved for the privileged classes, where civil order was the normal state of affairs, where standing armies provided military security, and where ordinary citizens were rarely inclined ( or permitted) to own firearms. Maine Fish and Wildlife-Winter 1982

This Model 1903 Springfield rifle of World War I vintage hasÂˇhad virtually no changes made to "sporterize" its as-issue military form . The stock , however, has been embellished with elaborate relief carvings of geometric and vine patterns. The M-1 carbine, a light, semi-automatic shoulder arm which largely replaced the Colt .45 semi-automatic pistol as an officer's weapon during World War II and the Korean War, has here been "dressed up" by engine turning of the bolt and operating rod , and by the addition of a birdseye maple stock with pistol grip and cheekpiece. The stock form and dimensions have been customized to meet the needs of a long-armed left-handed shooter. This slender and graceful brass-mounted flintlock " musket," made circa 1820-30 and marked with the name of the Lane and Read Company of Boston , was made and sold for militia use in the New England states . It probably saw more use as a hunting weapon . A special-order armory-built Model 1875 "officer's rifle" version of the more common " trapdoor Springfield, features such refinements as stock checkering , a nicely crafted and engraved pewter forend cap, an engraved lockplate, and a tangmounted precision vernier-adjustable "peep sight. " The bolt action Krag repeating rifle, a veteran of the Spanish-American War, was offered to the public in this sporterized version (for $11.82!) by Francis Bannerman & Sons in their 1927 Catalog of Military Goods.

American arms manufacturers seem to have specialized, at this time, in producing a militia weapon that resembled a standard army issue musket, but was substantially shorter in length, lighter in weight, finer in trim and finish , and more suitable for individual hunting use between militia musters.

A S EARLY as the French

1""1.

and Indian Wars of the mid-1700s, military issue shoulder arms had begun to appear in civilian hands here in the American colonies, have been simply "brought home" by men returning from military service. In many instances, these muskets had their barrels and / or stocks shortened to lighten them and make them more suitable for civilian purposes. During the Revolutionary War, General George 26

Washington , well aware of this practice, insisted that all government arms be prominently stamped and / or branded "U.S.," "U. States," or "United States," to indicate governmental ownership; but there is no indication that this stopped the flow of military arms into private homes, or the adaptation of such weapons for civilian use. Sales of obsolete or otherwise "unfit" government arms to the states for militia use continued throughout much of the 19th century, and helped to continue the flow of military weapons into civilian hands for civilian use. It was the Civil War, however, that provided the first major surge of "war surplus" arms which were sold specifically for civilian use. Accelerated wartime arms production, together with major

developments in firearms technology (specifically the emergence of cartridge-firing, breech-loading weapons as the new state-of-the-art), combined to yield a vast surplus of muzzle-loading arms, which had become obsolete for military use. Hundred of thousands of these were dumped onto the civilian market, and were modified by individual purchasers or by major distributors for sporting use-a tradition that repeated itself after the Spanish-American War, World War I, and World War II. A reverse trend-the military adoption of an arm originally manufactured for sporting use-has also happened occasionally. One of the outstanding examples was the innovative breech-loading flintlock rifle patented in 1811 by John Hall of Portland. Hall's Maine-made sporting rifles were tested by the Maine Fish and Wildlife-Winter 1982

When this flintlock shoulder arm (above, detail at right) was made, probably a bit before 1600, it was probably intended for military use. In the early American colonies of that period, however, there was virtually no distinction between military weapons and hunting arms; this piece likely saw dual-purpose use.

United States government in 1817 and 1818; they were formally adopted for military use in 1819. Nearly 50,000 military rifles and carbines based on the Hall patent were manufactured between 1819 and 1842-most of these were produced at the government armory at Harpers Ferry, Virginia ( now West Virginia) under Hall's personal supervision. (A later Maine firearms manufacturer, the Evans Repeating Rifle Company of Mechanic Falls, hoped to follow in Hall's footsteps. The Evans rifle, with its prodigious 38-round magazine capacity, was tested by the U.S. Army in the 1870s. The government however, fearful of ammunition supply problems which might be created by the general military use of repeating arms, delayed the adoption of a repeating rifle until 1892). On more than one occasion, the government has tried its own hand at producing a sporting arm. The first and finest of these was the Model 1875 "Officers' Model" of the breech -loading single-shot .45-70 caliber "trapdoor Springfield," which was produced in limited quantity at the Springfield Armory for sale to military officers for personal sporting use. The adoption , in more recent decades, of fully automatic shoulder arms for standard issue military use has limited the potential for continuation of the "sporter" tradition. These modern weapons are, in general, illegal as well as unsuitable for sporting use-and

Maine Fish and Wildlife-Winter 1982

their cost is anything but economical. Nevertheless, for those who still appreciate the rugged quality and relative economy of obsolete military weapons as a basis for civilian sporting arms, the remaining supply of late 19th and early 20th century military repeating rifles seems to be adequate for many years to come. Given that supply to draw from , it seems s afe to predict that "sporterized" military rifles will continue to be popular among Maine's shooters because of their reliability and ruggedness, their comparatively low cost, and the opportunities that they offer for the exercise of individual taste and craftsmanship.

HE MAINE STATE MUSEUM has recently opened a major exhibit of American military shoulder arms, featuring a selection of 181 weapons ranging in age from about 1600 to the present day. Included among these are some of the early "dual purpose" weapons mentioned in this article, and an example of a government-built "sporter," the Model 1875 "trapdoor Springfield" officers' rifle. The museum is anxious to supplement this outstanding collection of "as issued" weapons with a representative sampling of sporterized arms. Tax deductible donations and bequests of such weapons are solicited. â&#x20AC;˘

WE CARE ABOUT YOUR SUBSCRIPTION! MAINE FISH AND WILDLIFE Magazine is now using an entirely new and more efficient system for maintaining subscription and circulation information. We are also involved in a program to build our circulation, and have been mailing some promotional material designed to encourage renewals and new subscriptions. The two most important parts of the new label to us are: your zip code-please make sure it is correct-and the top line of letters and numbers, by which your subscription is identified. Please give us at least this information when making any inquiry about your subscription. The most important part of the label to you, however, is the group of four digits in the upper right corner. This tells you when your subscription is set to expire; the first two digits are the year, and the last two are the issue (01 =Spring, 02=Summer, 03=Fall, 04=Winter). So, before you write us with a concern about your subscription, look at your label. If it says 8301 , for instance, your subscription does not expire until after you receive the Spring 1983 issue. And whenever you do correspond with us about your subscription , send a label, if possible, but at least the letters and numbers on the top line, including the expiration date.

FISH AND WILDLIFE BRIEFS SUPREME COURT RULING FAVORS DEER A dispute of long standing was settled in September by the Maine Supreme Court when it ruled in favor of the practice of protecting deer wintering areas through forest zoning. At issue was the constitutionality of the Land Use Regulation Commission (LURC) zoning regulations. It was the first time LURC-which acts as a zoning board for Maine's unorganized townships-has had its zoning authority reviewed by the Supreme Court. As with other areas and habitat types that come under its

Marten Released Down East Wildlife biologists released 23 marten in Washington County last September in an attempt to increase the range of the small furbearer. The marten population in northwestern Maine has been increasing rapidly in the last decade

protective zoning, LURC requires permits and may establish limitations on timber harvesting in deer wintering areas which have been designated for protection upon recommendation by Fish and Wildlife Department wildlife biologists. Timberland owners have maintained that the zoning represents an unconstitutional taking of their property without compensation and is an unreasonable exercise of the state's police power. The Land Use Regulation Commissio.n , established by the legislature in 1969, has been zoning deer wintering habitat for about 10

Marten surveys new home in Washington County before leaving holding pen .

and biologists would like to see populations in suitable habitat elsewhere in the state. With the cooperation of the Maine Trapper's Association, they live-trapped the marten in the Telos Lake region in northern Maine and transplanted them to the Moosehorn Wildlife Refuge and Township 42 MD in the eastern part of the state.

years. About 193,000 acres of deer yards, mostly in northern Maine, are under its protection. The case the Supreme Court considered involved a 632-acre deer yard on Burpee Brook in Aroostook County. The LURC permit had allowed unrestricted timber harvesting on 112 acres, the cutting of dead or dying fir on another 432 acres and no cutting at all on the remaining 118 acres. The case had first been considered in Superior Court, which ruled in favor of LURC, and then appealed to the Supreme Court. The court upheld the lower court decision and said the "preservation of wildlife is a valid

Plans call for a similar reintroduction attempt in the Rangeley lakes region of western Maine next year. Marten-also called pine marten and American sable-are members of the weasel family, which includes weasels, mink, fisher and otter. They are small-weighing two to three pounds. Marten were common in much of the state in the late 1800s, but the population underwent a decline to the extent that in the early 1940s they were considered rare and in danger of extirpation. There was a closed season on marten from 1935 until 1973, by which time the population had increased enough to allow limited trapping. Since then, as the population has continued to grow, trapping restrictions have been gradually eased and the number taken by trappers has increased to over 5,000 in 1981 . Marten pelts presently sell for an average of $16 to $20 each.

Maine Fish and Wildlife-Winter 1982

object for the exercise of the (state's) police power, and the record amply establishes both the importance in general of a deer wintering habitat to survival and the importance specifically of the Burpee Brook deer yard for that purpose. Controlled cutting in that area clearly furthers a legitimate and significant public purpose." The court also said the permit issued "displays a careful balancing between the necessities of providing winter cover in a longexisting deer yard ... and the interest of the private parties to realize a maximum return from the land ... " LURC director Jeff Pidot said the ruling means the deer yard protection program "is sound and will continue. The outcome couldn't have been more favorable to the commission's purpose and zoning in general." Fish and Wildlife Commissioner Glenn Manuel hailed the decision as a milestone in the department's long-range deer management plans. "Protection of the forest

1983 LICENSE FEES RESIDENT Hunting (16 and older) S 10.00 Fishing (16 and older) 10.00 17.00 Combination Hunting and Fishing (16 and older) Junior Hunting (10 to 15 years Inclusive) 2.00 Combination Fishing and Archery Hunting (16 and older) 17.00 Serviceman (resident) Combination Hunting 6.00 and Fishing 10.00 Archery Hunting (16 and older) 25.00 Trapping (16 and older) 5.00 Junior Trapping (10 to 15 years Inclusive) 34.00 Guide (18 and older)

canopy is absolutely essential if deer are to survive winters at the northern limit of their range," he said.

TO CONTACT A WARDEN

The Maine Warden Service now has a toll-free phone system covering all areas of the state. To contact a warden, call the nearest warden headquarters listed below. Each headquarters is in radio contact with wardens on duty in that area. ASHLAND AUGUSTA BANGOR . . . . . . GRAY ......... GREENVILLE . .

1-800-322-4011 1-800-322-3606 1-800-332-2033 1-800-322-1333 1-800-322-9844

LOGGING IDSTORYRESTORATION

Future visitors to the Bangor area will be able to experience some of the history of logging and lumbering in Maine by visiting a planned restoration of a milling community in Bradley. Construction began this fall on the first phase of development at the Maine Forest and Logging Museum on Bradley's Blackman Stream. Initial construction consisted of concrete footings for the foundation of a water-powered

sawmill scheduled to be built next summer. The canal to deliver water to the mill has already been completed. Plans also call for the eventual reconstruction of a logging camp with a blacksmith shop and horse hovel, a trapper's camp, a sportsmens' camp and a museum. "The concept is an educational, activity-oriented complex, presenting an authentic portrayal of conditions and events in the forest and logging history of Maine from the late 1700s through the appearance and growth of the paper industry," according to Allan Leighton, president of the museum corporation. The development is on a 254-acre site, a mile below Chemo Pond, where various types of saw mills and related buildings were located into the early 1900s. Organizers of the Maine Forest and Logging Museum are trying to raise $30,000 this year to repair an existing dam, hire a museum curator, complete the sawmill foundation and design a museum complex. Persons interested in this project may obtain more information by contacting Henry Van DeBogert, Maine Forest and Logging Museum, Inc., 15 Cross St., Bangor ME 04401.

Moose Season '82

NONRESIDENT CITIZEN Big Game Hunting (10 and older) 66.00 Season Fishing (16 and older) 31.00 Junior Season Fishing (12 to 15 Incl.) 4.50 21.00 15-day Fishing 18.00 7-day Fishing 10.00 3-day Fishing Combination Hunting and Fishing (16 and older) 88.00 Small Game Hunting (16 and older) 36.00 Junior Small Game Hunting (10 to 15 years Inclusive) 16.00 Âˇ Archery Hunting (16 and older) 36.00 Gulde (18 and older) 130.00 Trapping (any age) 300.00

NONRESIDENT ALIEN Big Game Hunting (10 and older) 106.00 Season Fishing 51.00 Combination Hunting and Fishing (10 and older) 141.00 Small Game Hunting (10 and older) 51.00 Archery Hunting (16 and older) 51.00 Gulde (18 and older) 155.00

Maine Fish and Wildlife-Winter 1982

Maine's 1982 moose hunting season-the first since moose hunting was restored on an annual basis-was nearly as successful for hunters but not much less controversial than the 1980 experimental open season. Hunters in possession of the coveted permits took 883 moose in the six-day season in late September-an 88 percent success ratio, compared with 91 percent two years earlier. The most important difference

between the two seasons was the zoning that was in effect this year, correcting the only major problem with the 1980 season. Each of the 1,000 hunters was assigned to one of six zones established for the purpose of spreading out the hunting pressure. The concept was a success as concentrations of hunters were far less common, and the registered moose kill was spread out over many more townships, than in 1980. This was especially significant in lessening

Sterling Waterman, right, with Maine's new state record moose, which he shot while hunting in Aroostook County with his father, Willard. Details in accompanying article.

hunting pressure in the area between Moosehead and Telos lakes and moving hunters into more remote regions of northern Maine. The kill again ran heavily to bulls-nearly 70 percent of the total-and although most hunters seemed mainly interested in obtaining a winter's supply of meat, there were some noteworthy racks and heavyweight moose taken . At least three racks had a maximum spread of 64 inches or more. Leading in this category was a 1,130-pound bull with antlers measuring 64.9 inches across. It was taken by Phil Smith of North Berwick, hunting in Dole Brook Township with his wife, Ruth. Seventeen moose weighed over 1,000 pounds field dressed, without the heart and liver. The largest was the heaviest moose shot in Maine in modern times-a 1,330-pound bull, which probably weighed about 1,700 pounds alive. It was taken by Sterling Waterman, a 17-year-old senior at Gray-New Gloucester High School, who was hunting near Masardis with his father, Willard, of New Gloucester. Wildlife biologists again took full 30

advantage of the opportunity the moose season presented to gather information valuable to the management of the herd. They weighed many of the moose and took certain measurements, age and other biological information and samples from most of them. Results of their work will appear in a future issue of Maine Fish and Wildlife. Department field personnel found the moose hunters to be well prepared, generally selective in what they shot, friendly and helpful with each other and cooperative with the game wardens and biologists. Although each of the hunters has his or her individual story to tell about moose season '82, many reported that they regarded the hunt as possibly a once-in-alifetime opportunity. Another common report was that moose hunting was more difficult than expected. The Fish and Wildlife Department also drew commentfor efficient organization and implementation of the hunt. Some hunters saw many moose, a few saw none. Perhaps top honors for wildlife sightings by a moose hunter will go to the

individual, whose name went unrecorded, who reported seeing 11 adult bull moose, 10 adult cows, four calves, two bear, and six deer-all in just eight hours of hunting in the Munsungan Lake area. Six of the moose he saw he felt could have been killed, but he waited and later shot an 820pound bull. While the 1,000 pairs of moose hunters were enjoying themselves, organizers of a signature drive to ban future moose hunts were preparing to deliver petitions to force either legislative action against moose hunting or a referendum vote on it. Provided there are enough valid signatures on their petitions, a November 1983 referendum vote appears likely. A referendum committee to fight to save the moose season is being organized by the Sportsman's Alliance of Maine. SAM President Edie Cronk noted in announcing the committee that "Mainers were wise enough to close the season in ' was 1935 when the moose herd low and were wise enough to open the season when the moose population exploded to over 20,000 animals in northern Maine alone." Fish and Wildlife Commissioner Glenn Manuel noted that his concern about the anti-moosehunt effort is not so much about the possible loss of the moose season itself, or the loss of a relatively minor income source, but because of the extremely bad precedent it would be if it failed to survive a popular vote. Manuel says wildlife management policy should be determined by qualified experts within the department, the legislature and the governor-not as a popularity contest. Maine Fish and Wildlife-Winter 1982

THERE ARE A FEW things that we'd like to know about you and any others who might read your copy of Maine Fish and Wildlife. The information you provide will help us evaluate what we've done so far and indicate where we should go in the future. If you want to have a say in the planning of your magazine, just take a few minutes to fill in the blanks, cut out this page, tape or staple it, and mail. Use a separate sheet if you need more space or have any additional comments.

EDITORIAL QUESTIONNAIRE 1.

Count ing yourself, how many persons read your copy of Maine Fish and Wildlife? How many are in each of the follow i ng categor i es : Ma l es under 18 - - - - - - - - -Âˇ Females under 18 _ _ _ __ Males 19-39 . Fema l es 19-39 _ _ _ _ _ _ Males 40-65 . Females 40-65 Males over 65 Females

Is your copy of Maine Fish and WIidiife used by anyone for any school purpose? If so, by how many people and their grade level ( s) . _ __ _ _ _ _ _ __ _

Of those who read your copy , how many usually read the KID- BITS pages? Any suggestions for future KID-BITS art icle subjects? _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __

If Maine Fish and WIidiife were to sponsor a nature photography contest, would you enter it? _ _ _ _ __

Are there any aspects of the work of the Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife that you would like to know more about? (spec ify) _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __

If Maine Fish and WIidiife were to broaden its subj ect matter into other areas , what would you like to see inc luded? _ _

If you were the editor of Maine Fish and Wildlife, what would you change?

Maine Fish and Wildlife-Winter 1982

Again , if you were the ed itor, what would you try hardest to keep as it is now? _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __

Do you give gift subscript ions of Maine Fish and Wildlife to anyone? _ __ _ __

10.

If any of the follow ing changes we re to be made in Maine Fish and Wildlife, which would you prefe r? _ _ _ _ Increased number of pages in each issue _ _ _ _ Publish more frequently _ _ _ _ More use of color illustrations _ _ _ _ Other

11 .

If you checked any of the above, how should they be financed? _ _ _ _ Increased subscript ion fee _ _ _ _ Paid advertising in the magazine _ _ _ _ Other (spec ify) _ _ __ __ _ _ _ __

12.

Almost half of every fall issue is devoted to an annual report of the operations of the Maine Fish and Wildlife Department. Which of the following would you prefer? _ _ _ _ Shorten the annual report _ _ __ Lengthen the annual report _ _ _ _ Elim inate the annual report _ _ _ _ Maintain the annual report as is.

13.

Male or female? _ _ __ What is your age? What are your favorite outdoor activities? (favorite one first)

14.

Would you , as the reader, like to see more " how-to" articles in Maine Fish and WIidiife? If yes, can you suggest some " how-to" topics we should cover in future issues? - - - - - - - - - -- -- - - - - -

.._. 3cl3H 3ldv'.LS clO 3dV .l 8NI010.:I cl3.l.:IV 'h cup rals,n 1 tsp . salt 'It cup milk

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SALMON STEAKS AT CAMP

lb. butter or oleo ;'_ c_up lemn" , ·

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TROUT WITH MUSHROOMS AND ONIONS 4 medium trout (cleaned )

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THE MAINE WAY

a collection of Maine fish and game recipes

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ROAST BEAR Remove ALL fat from with a handful o _f table in cold water. w,_th a sl places and to v~,.. • punct••··

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Published by the Maine Fish and Wildlife Department, this 100-page cookbook is entirely devoted to those types of game and fresh-water fish -~hat a Maine sportsman might 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 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, State House Station 41 , Augusta, ME 04333 .

tukartr birds, splitt ing bre e or chicken. Fry slow

FOR COOKIN<J,

ound the h psen e dges ead and fas ten ength of of cut skin a to a n, " •• t he bod v. Ro~d QU 1ck , ')ve th e. is runn n botJ: : ut fi li •r With Ind PeJ

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TROUT FILLETS I

pancake mix Seven-up 8 trout fillets, salted com oil

I FOLD HERE I

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FIRST CLASS PERMIT NO. 8

AUGUSTA, ME. I

BUSINESS REPLY MAIL

N o Po stag e Sta m p N ecess ar y 1f Ma ll e d 1n U nited Sta te s I

I POSTAGE WILL BE PAID BY I

MAINE DEPT. OF INLAND FISHERIES & WILDLIFE I

284 STATE STREET I

AUGUSTA, MAINE 04330

I I

I AFTER FOLDING TAPE OR STAPLE HERE

OtC 2 - 1982 DEPT. MARINE RESOUR AUGUSTA Maine Department of Inland Fisheries & Wildlife

284 State St.

Sta . #41

Augu sta , Maine 04333