Maine Fish and Wildlife Magazine, Winter 2006

Maine State Library

Maine State Documents Inland Fisheries and Wildlife Magazine

Inland Fisheries and Wildlife

12-1-2006

Maine Fish and Game Magazine, Winter 2006 Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife

Follow this and additional works at: http://digitalmaine.com/ifw_magazine Recommended Citation Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife, "Maine Fish and Game Magazine, Winter 2006" (2006). Inland Fisheries and Wildlife Magazine. Book 141. http://digitalmaine.com/ifw_magazine/141

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MAR O2 2006

DID YOU KNOW

FEDERAL GUN LAWS PROHIBIT YOU FROM • Possessing a gun if you've been convicted of assaulting: -your child; -your spouse or live-in partner (past or present); or - the mother or father of your child.

18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(9)

• Possessing a gun if you are subject to a final protection from abuse order.

18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(8)

• Possessing a gun if you are a convicted felon.

18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(1)

• Providing a handgun to anyone under age 18.

18 U.S .C. § 922(x)

• Buying a gun for someone who is prohibited from owning a gun.

18 U.S.C. § 922(a)(6) and 922(d)

• Selling a gun to someone who lives out of state.

18 U.S.C. § 922(a)(5)

• Lying on an application to buy a gun.

18 U.S.C. § 922(a)(6)

IGNORANCE OF THE LAW IS NO EXCUSE.

Project Safe Neighborhoods Task Force

United States Attorney - District of Maine • Portland/Bangor, Maine (207) 771-3294 or 262-4694 • usame.psn@usdoj.gov Page 2 MAINE Fish and Wildl ife

Winter 2006

MAINE Fish and Wildlife Governor John E. Baldacci Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife Roland D. Martin, Commissioner Paul F. Jacques, Deputy Commissioner Kenneth H. Elowe, Director, Bureau of Resource Management Don Ellis, Financial Analysist Bureau of Administrative Services Thomas Santaguida, Colonel, Bureau of Warden Service Andrea Erskine, Assistant to the Commissioner Advisory Council Robert. S. Savage, Limington, Vice Chair Ron Usher, Westbrook R. Leo Keiffer, Caribou John Law, Mexico Sheridan Oldham, Waterville Lance Wheaton, Forest City David A. Wardwell, Penobscot Marc Michaud, Editor Lisa Kane, Copy Editor Mark Latti, Copy Editor (ISSN 0360-005X) MAINE Fish and Wildlife is published quarterly by the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife , 284 State St.. Station 41 , Augusta, Maine 04333, under appropriation 010-09A-0529. Subscription rate is $14.95 per year.

Permission to reprint text material is granted, provided proper credit is given to the author and to the Department. Clearance must be obtained from artists, photographers and non-staff authors to reproduce credited work. Š Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife, 2002.

CHANGE OF ADDRESS: Send both old and new addresses to P.O. Box 1457, Yarmouth, Maine 04096.

POSTMASTER: Please send address changes to MAINE Fish and Wildlife, P.O. Box 1457, Yarmouth , Maine 04096.

QUESTIONS ABOUT YOUR SUBSCRIPTION? Call 1-800-276-0883 Out of state call 207-846-9501 Periodical Postage Paid at Augusta, Maine The Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife receives federal funds from the U.S. Department of Interior.

Accordingly, all department programs and activities must be operated free from discrimination with regard to race, color. national origin, age or handicap. Any person who believes he or she has been discriminated against should write to the Office of Equal Opportunity, U.S. Department of the Interior, Washington , D.C. 20240

Vol. 47, No.4

Winter 2006 Editorial

4

Roland D. Martin

5

Ken Allen

The loon plate: Is it needed?

Meet Lee Kantar

Introducing Maine's new whitetailed deer biologist.

Three New Wardens

6

Tom Seymour

What's it like to become a part of Maine's Warden Service?

Southern Moose Hunt

8

Tom Seymour

Collisions with vehicles the driving force behind this proposal.

Hunt of a Lifetime

11

David Drexel

Two youngsters get to go on a Maine moose hun t.

Trophy Trout

13

Tom Seymour

Jee fishermen benefit from tocking of brood fish.

Kidbits

16

Lisa Kane

18

Jay Pelletier

Nuts to you! A quiz about trees.

CSI TAR 13 WELS

A cooperative investigation between wardens and troopers.

Winter Skills Weekend

21

Cathy Genthner

Building confidence and outdoor knowledge for women.

Conservation Strategy

24

Sandy Ritchie

Maine's visionary leadership in wildlife management.

It's Raining Trout

29

Mark Latti

Using airplanes makes fishing stocking more effective.

About the Cover: Maine Wildlife photographer David A. Murray caught this beaver out walking on the ice.

Winter 2006 Page 3

Editorial By Roland D. Martin, Commissioner

The Loon Plate: Is It Needed?

This past month, a bald eagle was released in Turner, Maine. Seeing the eagle fly away marked a success story that has many partners. Endangered species management, like the Bald Eagle recovery, is funded in this state through private contributions and partnerships.

The eagle, injured in June of this past year, was discovered by a citizen and reported to the Department. That set in motion a series of events that included game warden John MacDonald tracking and then capturing the flightless bird in a quest that took nearly 3 hours.

Lewiston's Animal Emergency Clinic of Mid-Maine provided emergency medical attention. Volunteers transported the eagle the next day to Avian Haven, a non-profit wildlife rehabilitation clinic in Freedom, Maine . There, after five months, the eagle began flying again.

The eagle was released at Gulf Island Pond, where FPL Energy Maine Hydro owns the island that the eagles call home, and Central Maine Power adjusted schedules to accommodate eagles nesting on their power line. The eagle was fitted with a satellite transmitter that will allow biologists to track its movements.

Biologists with the Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife, FPL Energy Maine Hydro, BioDiversity Research Institute, and the US Fish and Wildlife Service are all involved in various studies and aspects of bald eagle management in Maine.

Cooperative studies offset tight budgets for state wildlife management efforts since agency funding is mostly limited to sportsmen dollars and charitable contributions from citizens.

The support and participation of citizens remains a crucial need in Maine.

State funding for bald eagle management and other programs for Endangered / Threatened species in Maine is the Maine Endangered Wildlife Fund. These funds are dedicated to these programs and accrue via direct contributions, the "Chickadee Checkoff' on state income tax returns, or purchase of "loon plates"

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when registering vehicles in Maine.

The Endangered Species program has never had a stable source of funding.

In 1994, the "loon license plate" conservation registration was initiated, from which a portion of the proceeds go directly to the Endangered and ongame Wildlife Fund. In its first two years, more than 80,000 loon plates were sold.

Another source of income however, from the chickadee check-off dropped dramatically (40-50%) in 1998, when the check-off was moved from the primary tax form to a supplemental form. The loon license plate has been very successful, but competition with the general issue chickadee plate, introduced in July 1999, has significantly reduced this important source of funding.

Loon plate sales rose from nearly 60,000 in 1994 to over 110,000 in 1998, but since peaking with over 110,000 in 1998, the loon plate now seems every bit as threatened as the endangered and threatened species it was designed to help.

The first threat came when the general issue chickadee plate was introduced. Immediately, sales of the loon plate plummeted by nearly 20%, from over 110,000 plates to fewer than 90,000 in just two years. Since then, other plates have been introduced as well, such as the University of Maine plate and the lobster plate. These plates have cut loon license sales even further, down to 69,615 in 2004, the lowest number of loon plates since their inaugural year.

All money donated to the Endangered and Nongame Wildlife Fund, whether through the tax check-off, car registrations, grants, or direct gifts, is deposited into a special, interest-bearing account, from which money can only be spent on the conservation of Maine's endangered and nongame species.

Among some of the projects it has funded include: o IFW monitors lynx populations in northern Maine. Lynx are Ii ted by the US Fish and Wildlife Service as

Threatened.

By documenting lynx habitat and ranges, IFW can provide the basis for multiple uses of Maine's forested lands that won't impact this threatened species. o For several years, the IFW staff has been conducting nighttime surveys for owls in late winter and early spring.

The purpose has been to evaluate the status and distribution of several owl species. Data collected from these surveys indicates a statewide distribution of barred, great horned owl and northern saw-whet owls. Even more interesting, however, are the observations of eastern screech owls in central and southern Maine. o Vernal pools are small isolated forested wetlands that fill with water from early spring snowmelt and rain then dry up by mid to late summer. Many of Maine's amphibians use these pools as breeding habitats, and they also provide valuable wildlife habitat. IFW is working with volunteers to research wildlife use and the characteristics of vernal pools.

Data collected will help protect vernal pools in the future. o By the end of 2004. 521 bald eagle nest sites were mapped and protected as Essential Habitats (habitat essential to the conservation of Endangered and Threatened species.)

The first data from the eagle was received just days after its release. It seems to be traveling back and forth from Gulf Island Pond to Lake Auburn and other surrounding lakes. The movement is a ign of good health.

This is just another success story that can be attributed to the loon plate (conservation plate), a program that our Endangered and ongame Wildlife Fund cannot do without.

Winter 2006

Meet Maine's New Deer Biologist

By Ken Allen Lee Kantar has just stepped into one of the more exciting jobs in all of wildlife biology - managing Maine's deer herd.

Deer hold a high profile position, the highest of any game animal in the state, and with that notoriety comes public scrutiny.

Kantar, now 39, spent the first 30 years of his life in neighboring New Hampshire, which gives him a general idea of the Pine Tree State scene.

His education, work experience and deer-hunting interests make him a strong choice to replace the retired Gerry Lavigne, a deer biologist for over 20 years.

One of Kantar's degrees may seem like a strange one for a biologist -a Bachelor of Arts in Anthropology. However, he claims that it helps him with his writing, no small consideration.

Naturally, Kantar has science degrees too, including a Bachelor of Science in Wildlife Management from the University of New Hampshire and a Master's in Wildlife Science from New Mexico State University.

His job history includes summer guiding during his college years, and being a district wildlife biologist and wildlife area manager for the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife.

Kantar claims to have an outside perspective "in looking at the status of the Maine deer herd," and before taking the job, he knew about the two Maines when it comes to deer. In the north country and Down East, the problem is too few deer and in the southern third of the state it's too many deer. Solutions entail entirely different approaches .

The spruce budworm invasion in the 1970s, in addition to wood-cutting operations , destroyed wintering habitat negatively mpacting deer populations in northern and Down East Maine. Kantar said it will take 40 to 60 years for these forests to grow back.

Maine Fish and Wildlife

Because deer in these forested areas have scarce populations, coyotes hamper the restoration effort.

When wintering habitat comes back, the deer herd can better sustain coyote predation. Increasing wintering habitat offers new challenges.

As softwoods grow back to provide a canopy to protect deer from cold and snow, Kantar and his fellow biologists must keep an eye on emerging deeryards and work with landowners to protect the future "winter homes" for these deer.

In the bottom third of Maine, development has destroyed some habitat, and creates anothe pitfall.

Exurban development blocks hunters from entering small woodlands that have excellent deer habitat. It is just too dangerous to discharge a firearm in many of these settings.

In populated sections of Maine, Kantar said , "One of my challenges is to educate people that hunting is a needed tool to keep the herd in check."

Because folks routinely experience increasing problems such as a mushrooming whitetail population, property damage, Lyme disease and vehicle accidents, Lee Kantar may have an easier sell than Lavigne did , getting people to open land to hunting.

In 1999 DIF&W started the threemonth long expanded archery season to help control the herd where firearms could not be discharged. It has met with great success.

Kantar realizes that in the future , the Department must come up with programs to reduce deer in the developed regions of the state. He readily admitts he has no new ideas yet, but is seriously contemplating the topic.

"The present any-deer-permit system is a good system ," Kantar said. "It allows the Department to fine-tune the harvest in different areas ."

For example, in 2006 , DIF&W has realigned two Wildlife Management Districts (WMDs) with

higher deer densities on one side and lower on the other. This "tailoring" of WMDs allows Kantar and his fellow professionals to come up with the right number of permits.

When the any-deer-permit system began in 1986, more hunters wanted permits than the Department was giving out. In 2006, the herd has rebounded so well that in some WMDs, there are more permits than hunters who want them , creating a challenge for Kantar. How can they make sure that every permit finds an owner?

In some districts with scarce deer populations , there are no permits given out. Because of habitat issues, the herd won 't bounce back soon , another problem for the Department.

It's difficult to leave the topic of Lee Kantar without touching upon one of his great strengths for the job. He is an avid hunter himself so understands the challenge ahead . That point can never be underestimated.

That's a great start for his new career in Maine.

Winter 2006 Page 5

What's it Like to be a New Game Warden?

Three Maine Wardens Tell Their Stories

By Tom Seymour Photos By Mark Latti Being a Maine game warden is not your average job. Why would someone want to be a warden? What do wardens do? Are Maine game wardens happy with their lot in life? Three wardens, recruited only recently, answer these questions and more.

Jeremy Kemp Jeremy Kemp works out of Danforth, in the Maine Department of Inland and Fisheries and Wildlife's (DIF&W) Northern Division. Kemp had a love for the outdoors for as long as he can remember. Even as a child, he knew he wanted a career in the Maine outdoors. Hunting and fishing had always been his two favorite pursuits.

Kemp began work as a fisheries biologist. As much as he enjoyed that, it didn't take him where he really wanted to be ... in the field. When the Department announced it was recruiting new wardens, Kemp knew he should try for a slot. And, of course, he got hired.

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When asked if he was happy about being a Maine game warden, Kemp said, "This is definitely the best job I ever had." Kemp was quick to point out that he enjoys the freedom to make his own decisions . He said, "You have a tremendous amount of freedom to decide what type of thing you want to work. You can plan your schedule accordingly."

Kemp enjoys doing resource work, and checking fishermen and hunters.

"A warden's fall begins in early August, when bear baiting begins," Kemp said.

And by October, you are really into the swing of it, with upland game and duck hunting. Then there is November, that really busy time of year for a warden.

Besides working in what we may term a "traditional warden's role," Kemp is frequently involved in many non-traditional tasks, too. These include everything from responding to snowmobile accidents to answering calls from the pub lic on any number of subjects.

I asked Kemp if he had experienced any surprises on becoming a warden, anything he hadn't expected.

"Not really," he replied. I asked if there was anything that perhaps he didn't like, and Kemp's answer was plain and simple and it made me smile. He told me that the only thing that he doesn't like about his job, is that it interferes with his own hunting and fishing.

"But I don't regret it," he said. "l could take more time off to go deer hunting, but I won't do that. All the other wardens have that same work ethic, too."

Jeremy Kemp has no regrets about being a Maine game warden. It is his lifelong dream come true.

Finally, Kemp told me that two aspects of his job appeal to him the most. First, is apprehending a resource violation. Often, this requires planning and preparatory work.

"I love it when a plan comes together." he said. His second most favorite endeavor is working search and rescue (S&R). He particularly likes working

S&R when the situation is local. The ideal scenario is when the warden locates the lost individual even before other resources are called in. All in all, Jeremy Kemp is typical of the kind of individual perfectly suited to be a Maine game warden.

John Lonergan John Lonergan, working out of the Warden Service's Southern Division, based in York County, smiled when he told me that he was probably the oldest person ever hired to be a Maine game warden. Lonergan was 46 when he began his wardencareer.

Lonergan, who hails from Connecticut, spent years working for United Parcel Service, all the while dreaming of being a Maine game warden. When asked why he wasn't content to land a similar career in Connecticut, Lonergan told me that if he were to be a warden, it would have to be in Maine, "Where there is still something left to protect." So when the last recruitment push for new game wardens came about, Lonergan applied. And he passed with flying colors.

Winter 2006

It is plain to see that John Lonergan likes his job. In fact, he literally beams when he talks about what he does. One of the things he likes most about his new career is the feeling of camaraderie experienced by all Maine Wardens.

"You are part of a team. You are all on the same page," Lonergan said.

What surprised Lonergan most was that he hadn't anticipated that he would have to act like a state trooper.

According to Lonergan, wardens often back up troopers in solving various situations. This facet of a warden's work may be more concentrated in southern Maine, where there are so many more people.

Lonergan described several of the less-pleasant aspects of his work. He doesn't care for investigating ATV accidents. "It might take half a day or more to even determine who is responsible for an accident," Lonergan said. He would much prefer to work on apprehending game law violators.

The other part of Lonergan's job that does not especially appeal to him is responding to nuisance animal calls.

"People will call and tell me there is a dead skunk in the road," he said, shrugging . Lonergan and indeed, all wardens must be especially diplomatic when dealing with such inquiries. Lonergan pointed out that in northern Maine, people rarely call a game warden with a nuisance animal complaint, but in southern Maine, such calls are commonplace.

Lonergan ended our interview by telling me "There is no substitute for doing something you like."

Jeremy Judd The last new game warden interviewed is Jeremy Judd. Judd came on duty the same time as Lonergan, in 2003. Judd said that being a Maine Game Warden has been his lifelong dream. He simply never wished to be anything else.

Judd remembers clearly the very day he knew that he wanted to eventually be a warden.

"When I was eight or IO years old, a Maine garden took me aside and showed me the difference between a spruce grouse and a ruffed grouse."

MAINE Fish and Wildlife

that he was patticularly fortunate to be selected to be part of the Maine Warden Service Dive Team.

"There are so many great opp01tunities like this in the Warden Service," Judd said.

Hearing from these three men, it is plain to see that there is a common thread running among them. That is, they all had the dream of being a Maine Game Warden long before they actually became one. All three are equally dedicated to their jobs and they all agree that nothing pleases them more than lo be a Maine game warden.

How to Become a Warden

That simple act directly influenced Judd to apply to be a Maine game warden.

Regarding that decision, Judd said, "It's one of the best things I have ever done."

Judd works the New Gloucester Region. His special tactic for patrolling his assigned area is, as he puts it, to "Get off the beaten path." That is, Judd uses his canoe to paddle far up streams and rivers, to places where few persons would expect to encounter a warden.

Judd also patrols salt water bays, watching waterfowl hunters. He also checks deer on some of the offshore islands.

When asked if there is anything about his job that he doesn't much care for, Judd paused to think. But he couldn't come up with anything he really doesn't like about being a warden.

Finally, when asked if there were any aspects of his job that surprised him, he said that he wasn't aware of the staggering amount of paperwork a warden must contend with. He learned quickly, though. Dealing with courts, lawyers and the like requires the warden to be scrupulously accurate in every aspect of every case.

Ending our interview, Judd noted

Janet Silva, formerpersonnel officer for the Department, explained the process involved in recruiting and then hiring game wardens. First, the Department advertises in newspapers, on the radio, on the Department's website (www.mefishwildlife.com) and State of Maine website (http://www.maine.gov/statejobs/al pha_list.htm). Representatives from the Department attend career days around Maine.

Silva said that there is no particular target group, and there is no discrimination regarding age or gender.

"Some people in their 40s have at least 25 years of good, active service in them," Silva said. Eligibility, then, depends wholly upon the individual.

Recruitment into the ranks of the Maine Warden Service is not ongoing. Rather, as vacancies occur, recruiting efforts are linked to coincide with times of operation of the Maine Criminal Justice Academy training courses.

Applicants are required to complete 18 weeks of law enforcement training. After graduation from the academy, recruits must then complete advanced Warden Service training, hosted by the Department. Only then is a person ready to become a Maine game warden.

Winter 2006 Page 7

Bill Si lliker photo

Page 8 MAINE Fish and Wildlife

Winter 2006

High numbers of crashes involving moose are commonplace in certain areas of Maine. In 2000 through 2002, Aroostook County saw the highest number of these incidents. Next in line was Franklin County, another area with historically high numbers of moose/vehicle collisions. Now here's the big surprise.

York, Cumberland and Oxford Counties, all in southern Maine, occupy third place, along with Somerset, Piscataquis, Penobscot and Washington Counties.

Confusing Statistics Statistics can be confusing, though.

A map of Maine, with dots representing moose crashes between 1999 and 2001, was included in a pamphlet recently compiled by the Department entitled, "Moose-Vehicle Collisions: What You Need to Know About Maine's Moose Management Program and How to Stay Safe."

A person skilled at playing connectthe-dots can easily decipher the routes of all of Maine 's major roads and highways.

Interstate 95 is particularly highlighted by a practically unbroken string of dots, reaching from Kittery to Houlton. This well-defined line becomes U.S. Route 1 from Houlton to Fort Kent.

Also of note on the Department's map, southern Maine is liberally speckled with dots, more so than Washington County and even much of northwestern Maine. This should not be interpreted to indicate that southern Maine has more moose than those areas, but rather that southern Maine has more roads for moose to cross, and more drivers to collide with them.

species Number of moose/vehicle accidents and number assessment, a detailed sumof miles driven by year in Southern Maine mary of (Androscoggin, Cumberland , Kennebec , Knox, Lincoln , everything Sagadahoc, Waldo and York Counties) known about 250 moose. This includes sta0 100 million tistics and 200 miles driven data from the past, present --<>- Accidents and projec150 a...._ tions for the Moose vehicle future. That collisions is how mancontinue 100 agement 0 0 0 to average over 0 0 0 0 goals are for100 per year in mulated. But this portion of 50 they are not Maine. automatically implemented.

I I I I I 0 Instead , goals 1994 1996 1998 2000 2002 2004 2006 are set according to including Sportsman's Alliance of Maine, a public input process. Stadler said, "The Maine Audubon, the Penobscot and Department does not do wildlife managePassamaquoddy nations, Small Woodlot ment in a vacuum."

Owners Association of Maine and Defenders of Wildlife, to name only a Big Game Working Group few. The working group was given a Accordingly, in 1999, the Big Game Maine Moose Assessment, and ultimately Working Group was convened. This delivered a 15-year plan for moose mangroup included all public interest groups,

~

Conservative Count Maine 's total moo e population is currently estimated at 29,000. According to Stadler, this is a conservative estimate.

Of these estimated 29,000 moose, around 3,000 are thought to occupy un-hunted areas in southern Maine. Since the late 1980s, moose mortality on southern Maine roads has varied little from year to year. Moose/vehicle crashes are a consistent problem.

The Department manages all of Maine's wildlife species according to a scientifically based management system.

Moose are managed according to a

MAINE Fish and Wildlife

How dangerous is it to hit a moose with a vehicle? This photo well demonstrates th~ danger of such collisions with the moose coming through the front wmdshteld and out the back window. Bill Woytek photo Winter 2006 Page 9

â&#x20AC;˘

agement to the Department. In fact, the Department had minimal involvement in this plan. It is purely a result of hard work and research by the working group, consisting of representatives of many constituencies. Stadler pointed out that the Department always endeavors to adhere to such directives, or plans, as long as they are biologically sound.

The working group determined that, in the Road Safety Area (most of southern and coastal Maine), current moose populations are unacceptably high.

Accordingly, it was recommended that these populations be reduced in order to reduce the number of moose/vehicle collisions.

In addition to this recommendation by the working group, public demand to reduce moose/vehicle crashes in southern Maine prompted the Maine Legislature to direct the Department to evaluate the possibility of a moo e hunt in southern Maine. This document, L.D. 13 l 3, also directs DIF&W to submit a report, based upon that evaluation, to the Joint Standing Committee of the Legislature.

The Joint Standing Committee may then submit a bill to the first regular session of the !23rd Maine Legislature.

Moose Meetings As a result of both the recommendation by the working group and the directive from the Maine Legislature, the Department conducted five public information meetings about moose hunting in southern Maine. These were held at various points in southern and Coastal Maine. Participants were given a history of moose management in Maine, species planning goals, proposals, along with a map, a moose/vehicle accident handout and a questionnaire. This questionnaire solicited participant opinions and comments on a variety of topics regarding moose in southern Maine.

According to Mark Stadler, most people attending these meetings were supportive of a southern Maine moose hunt. Those that were not conveyed some reservations, but nobody attending was wholly negative. From results of these meetings, and from ongoing public pressure on the Maine Legislature to act to diminish moose/vehicle crashes in southern Maine, it appears the Maine public is Page 10 MAINE Fish and Wildlife

This moose/car collision happened in Erving, Massachusetts. Even though the moose went completely through the vehicle, the driver was not injured.

Unfortunately, that is often not the case when vehicles collide with moose in the state of Maine. Bill Woytek photo supportive of a southern Maine moose hunt.

After analyzing and compiling data collected at these five public meetings, the Department will air a proposal. At that time, a working group will convene to discuss that proposal. Private landowners will be included in this group. Since most hunting in Maine occurs on private land, private landowners are especially important to the decision-making process.

Costly Accidents The need to address the problem of moose/car collisions in Maine is abundantly clear. About 700 such collisions occur annually in Maine. Of these, l 50 result in human injury. Two or three human deaths occur annually as a result of moose/vehicle accidents. Each year, moose/vehicle collisions cost an estimated $17,547,800. And while moose collisions represent only 14 percent of large animal collisions in Maine, they account for 80 percent of the fatalities.

While DIF&W is cu1Tently working

to control uch tragedies in southern Maine by proposing a moose hunting season, it also has addressed the problem in other high-risk areas. Among these efforts, an increase in antlerless-only (cow) permits has been implemented in certain areas. Also, Wildlife Management District 17 ( west of Bangor) was opened to moose hunting for the fir L time in 2003. This was done to address safety concerns in central and parts of southern Maine.

Finally, the Department belongs to the Maine Interagency Work Group on Wildlife-Motor Vehicle Collisions. This group does investigative research to investigate ways to reduce the number and also the severity of moose/vehicle collisions.

In the end, a southern Maine moose hunt will help mitigate the problem of moose/vehicle collisions and the human and economic misery that accompanies them. It will also provide hunters in southern Maine with a long-awaited opportunity to hunt moose on their own turf.

Winter 2006

By David Drexel The 2005 Maine moose hunt was a dream come true for two young men who participated in the hunt.

Buckley Parker, l 5, of Jackson, Tennessee, was accompanied by his father Mike Parker. The other young man, Jeremy Koob, 18, of Michigan, was accompanied by his grandfather, Tom Pomorski.

I guided Buckley Parker; while Maine Guide Ed Ludgon and Hunt Of A Lifetime (HOAL) volunteer Paul Lozier of Soldier Pond, guided Jeremy Koob.

HOAL's Creation Before we talk about their moose hunts, let me tell you how HOAL came to be.

The Hunt Of A Lifetime organization was founded in 1999 in memory of Matt Pattison to fill the gap left by other wishgranting organizations. Matt had a rare type of cancer and wished for a "moo e hunt with Dad." His mom, Tina Pattison, contacted a wish-granting organization but was told that they no longer honored requests for hunting and since Matt was past his 18th birthday, he was no longer eligible for a wish of any kind.

Not wanting to give up, Tina asked a several outfitter if they would help. One day she got a call from Clayton Grosso, an outfitter in Nordegg, a tiny village in Alberta, Canada, whose wife had lost an arm to cancer several years before. The Grossos were willing to grant Matt his wish.

On the first day of his hunt, Matt and his guide spotted a huge bull moose and Matt's wish was fulfilled. His health improved for the next few months and it seem like he might win his fight with

MAINE Fish and Wildlife

From left, Mike parker, the father, Buckley Parker, the hunter, and David Drexel, the guide. Parker photo cancer. However, in February, at his sixmonth check-up, the cancer was back and spreading quickly. He died in April of 1999, six month after his successful trip.

On the following Christmas Eve, a call came in to the Pattison home from an individual asking for help. The caller said his 14-year-old godson had just completed his hunter certification course and, a few days later, was diagnosed with a brain tumor. Instead of being out harvesting his buck, the boy was enduring the ravages of surgery and chemotherapy. His name was Matthew Riley. Because of that call, Tina Pattison founded the Hunt of a Lifetime organization.

The Maine Hunt Because HOAL was created it was possible to arrange for the two young men introduced at the beginning of this

article to embark on their lifelong dream: bagging a Maine moose.

On the fir t day it was pouring rain most of the day. Some bulls were spotted and both boy decided to pas for a bigger bull. Even though weather conditions for the next few days weren ' t the best, they both were willing to look for a larger bull.

After seeing a bull moose for the first time and realizing just how large an animal he was hunting, Buckley Parker was energized and not about to miss a minute of this hunt.

Excited Hunters Jeremy Koob came back to camp after seeing his first moose, and ju t couldn't top talking about it. I don't think he slept a lot that night. The next morning both boys were ready to hunt.

Winter 2006 Page 11

Buckley Parker put in two long days riding woods roads, stalking and calling.

The third day it all paid off.

Twenty minutes after the start of legal shooting time, we spotted several moose in an open area. As Buckley examined a smaller bull and a cow, we spotted a larger bull chasing a cow around in circles, and he decided that was the bull he was looking for. As I positioned Buckley for a good shot, he needed to take time to calm down. I told him he had plenty of time to relax; none of the moose were paying any attention to us.

As he set up to shoot in a prone position he told me he couldn't shoot with the cow moving in and out of the line of fire. I told him to tell me when he was steady and I would separate the two animals with a call, and I would let him know when it was safe to shoot.

Everything went as planned, and Buckley made a perfect shot. The bull staggered toward the hardwood and I told Buckley Lo shoot again to put him down.

And he did just that. What a shot! The second shot was two inches from the first shot. Buckley stood up and looked at me and said, "I can't believe I did it". He looked strong, healthy and happy. That's when all my work paid off. His happiness was unforgettable.

Jeremy's Bull Jeremy Koob started his week with HOAL volunteer Paul Lozier and Maine Guide Ed Ludgon. Jeremy decided to pass on some smaller bulls. He even had the opportunity to shoot a bull that was still in velvet, but he decided to pass on that one too. As the week went on, Jeremy was having second thoughts; that maybe he should have taken one of the bulls he seen earlier in the week . I told him not to worry and that there would be other opportunities.

Friday evening l had taken Jeremy to a swamp where I have frequently, seen moose activity. With an hour of shooting time left I called, a bull answered, and Jeremy prepared to shoot.

We Ji tened and waited, when all at once a twig snapped behind Jeremy and us and Jeremy said, "There's a black bear!" He didn't want to shoot for fear of caring off the bull we were waiting for.

Page 12 MAINE Fish and Wildlife

At left, Jeremy Koob with his grandfather, Tom Pomorski.

He could hardly believe what he saw.

The bull never gave us a shot so we returned to the same area in the morning.

Saturday, after five long days of hard hunting, it was Jeremy's turn to complete his dream. Thirty minutes into the last day of his moose hunt, we stopped the truck at the edge of the same open swamp we hunted the night before, surrounded by cedar and spruce.

Three interested bulls answered two short calls. Maine guide Barry Flood noticed the first bull. It appeared from the swamp's edge and headed straight at us as Jeremy loaded his gun and prepared to shoot. Jeremy was about to harvest the bull when all of a sudden the bull turned to his left and entered some heavy spruce cover.

Jeremy looked stunned and said to me, "What do we do now?"

I quietly walked him to an opening where we could see into the swamp. As the breeze hit us in the face, I figured the bull must have caught scent of the cow thinking she called him and turned toward her.

When we couldn't locate the first bull, a movement to our left caught our eye and we spotted a nice rack moving to our left. Jeremy and I both agreed the

first bull turned for a reason, and the bigger bull was meant for him.

He took his shot and the bull went down. After the shooting ended, his dream came true; he completed his moose hunt with success. He was a very happy, but tired hunter.

He then turned to me and said, "I'm glad the hunt took six days, the hunt is what it's all about".

It was my hunt of a lifetime, as well as Jeremy's and Buckley's. I will never forget a single moment of either hunt.

On behalf of Hunt of a Lifelime I wish lo !hank the following people for making !his special lzun1 possible: Taxidermy donated by Wildlife Artistry, Portage; Falls Taxidermy, Dixfield.

Participating guides and volunteers: Barry Flood,Washburn, guide; Ed Lugdon, Sinclair; guide; Nick Ludgon, Sinclair, guide; Paul Lozier, Soldier Pond, HOAL volunteer.

The Maine State Legislature and the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife.

Hunt Of A Lifetime Founder Tina Pattison.

Winter 2006

Trophy Trout Benefit Hardwater Anglers

By Tom Seymour Photos by Mark Latti Brilliantly-colored brook trout, most of them weighing about four pounds, splashed in the concrete runways at Governor Hill Hatchery in Augusta.

These fish were destined to be stripped of eggs and milt, and later stocked in selected waters throughout the State of Maine.

The Department perpetuates its stock of salmon ids by keeping a number of sexually-mature fish as "brood stock," or "brood fish." Eggs and milt are harvested annually in order to create another generation of game fish. But more of these larger, mature individuals are kept than are needed for propagation of the species. There are several reasons for this.

First, according to Steve Wilson, Hatchery Director for DIF&W, surplus broodstock constitute a backup system, a fail-safe in case a calamity strikes.

Brood fish are maintained at various hatcheries throughout Maine, not just Governor Hill. Thus, if fish in one hatchery contract a disease, or if any other type of failure compromises or even destroys brood fish in one location, other fish in other hatcheries are always available to fi 11 the niche.

The second reason for maintaining surplus brood fish has nothing to do with perpetuating the species. Rather, extra brood fish are produced to satisfy the needs of Maine's Trophy Fish Program.

When the DIF& W Hatchery Commission, an advisory body, recommended a trophy program, the need for increased numbers of trophy fish became manifest.

ate purpose. Any extra brood fish, then, are superfluous and need not be kept over winter. Wilson also mentioned the need to thin out hatchery raceways Lo make room for the next generation of brood fish. Maine's state hatcheries don ' t have much extra capacity, and every available bit of fish-raising space must be utilized to the fullest extent.

So in late fall, hatchery trucks from around Maine hit the road again, this time filled with trophy-sized trout. When opening day of ice-fishing season rolls around, anglers fishing waters stocked with trophy fish stand a good chance to hook on to a trophy fish.

Typically, brood stock brown trout range from 26-28 inches, togue measure between 26 and 28 inches and brook trout can measure up to 22 inches long.

Brood fish may be from three to 12 years old, depending on species.

Fall Job

No Record-Breakers

So then, why are these big, desirable salmonids stocked in fall , for winter anglers to catch, rather than in spring, to benefit open-water anglers? Director Wilson gave me the simple, logical explanation. Egg and milt-stripping occurs in fall. Arter this , fully-mature brood fish will have served their immedi-

A particular point needs to be stressed here. DIF&W never, ever, releases trophy fish that would even remotely qualify as a state record. If and when someone catches a trout that breaks a Maine record , they know that that fish attained its size legitimately, by surviving in the wild for a lengthy period. Trophy

MAINE Fish and Wildlife

Excess four-pound brook trout, like this one raised at a Department hatchery, are made available for winter ice angling. fish , however, are another tory. Simply put, trophy statu varies, according to species and according to an individual's expectations. Trophy fish are simply fish that are considerably larger than the average for that species.

Maine's trophy fish program is of particular benefit to anglers in populated, or urban areas. Lakes and ponds near population centers see considerably more fishing pressure than remote waters ..

Fish in wild, or rural areas have a chance to grow large after being stocked. In urban waters, though, the incidence of salmonids growing to trophy proportions decrea es. Consequently, extra effort must be devoted to giving urban anglers a chance to take a trophy fish. And that's just what Maine's trophy fish program does.

Here 's a thought on a popular misconception. While wintertime anglers benefit the most from trophy fish stocking, not all trophy fish are taken in winter. Steve Wilson cited reports from anglers catching these big fish in spring, summer and even during Maine's fall fishing eason. So, a certain percentage of trophy fish do survive the ice-fishing season and are available to open-water anglers.

As mentioned previously, fall-

Winter 2006 Page 13

stocked trout are a visual treat. Adorned in their spawning colors, these fish are bedecked in the most crimson shades of red and brilliant, chalky-white. Spots, dots and halos- extra-bright- stand out boldly. Such fish are worthy of any taxidermist's efforts and deserve a special place on a lucky angler's wall.

Maine's trophy fish program has, in its brief existence, transformed many previously marginal waters into trophy-fish waters. Anglers have come to anticipate these trophy fish being stocked in their favorite ponds and lakes. Where once an angler's be t chance to take a truly large trout was on a large, remote lake; now, handsome, trophy fish swim in smaller, more easily-accessible waters too.

The thrill of landing a huge brook trout does not decrease because that fish was a stocked. My first experience with these trophy trout came while ice-fishing on a small, Midcoast pond. A man next to me hooked and landed one of these trophies. Every person on that pond immediately walked over to marvel at this huge, brightly-colored fish. Trophy

Resplendant in fall spawning colors, this male brook trout is big and bright enough to set any angler's pulse to racing.

The need to produce more potential brood stock than what is actually needed pays off for anglers as these fish are stocked in the late fall.

Page 14 MAINE Fish and Wildlife

fish have a definite appeal. And yes, that lucky angler took his fish to the taxidermist for mounting. He told me "This is the biggest trout I ever caught and I want to have it on my wall." That's good testimony in favor of trophy fish stocking.

Maine 's fishery managers have established a priority list of waters to be stocked annually. According to Wilson, waters at the top of this list have priority over those at Ii t's end. Waters of lesser priority will be stocked according to how any one year's inventory of trophy fish holds up. Thus, it is possible for anglers to anticipate from year to year which water are likely to receive a stocking of trophy fish.

As with annual stocking list for all species, DIF&W also publishes a list of trophy fish stockings. However, these lists are after-the-fact, since slight changes occur each year and are available online. Go to the Department's website at: www.mefishwildlife.com. Or, order stocking lists directly from Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife, 284 Stale Street, 41 SHS, Augusta, ME 04333-0041. 207-2878000.

Winter 2006

Waters Stocked With Trophy Trout in 2005 Androscoggin County Androscoggin Lake, Leeds. brown trout Crystal (Beals) Pond. Turner. brook trout No Name Pond, Lewiston. brook trout Tripp Pond, Poland. landlocked salmon Aroostook County Faulkner Lake, Weston, brook trout Molunkus Lake. Tl RS, landlocked salmon Nickerson Lake. New Limerick. brook trout Rock Crusher Pond, Island Falls. Brook trout Saint Froid Lake. Winterville Pit, landlocked salmon Squapan Lake, Squapan Twp, brook trout Cumberland County Highland Lake, Windham. landlocked salmon Little River, Gorham, brook trout Panther Run, Raymond, brook trout Presumpscot River, Windham and Gorham , brook trout. brown trout. landlocked salmon Royal River. Yarmouth, brown trout Sabbathday Lake, New Gloucester, brook trout Little Sebago Lake. Windham. brown trout Songo River. Naples. brook trout Thomas Pond. Casco. brook trout Franklin County Clearwater Pond, Industry. brook trout Porter Lake, Strong, brook trout, lake trout Webb (Weld) Lake, Weld. brook trout. brown trout Wilson Pond, Wilton, brook trout, lake trout Hancock County Craig Pond, Orland. landlocked salmon Eagle Lake, Bar Harbor, brook trout Flanders Pond, Sullivan. brook trout Georges Pond, Franklin, brook trout Hopkins Pond. Mariaville. brook trout Jacob Buck Pond, Bucksport, brook trout Jones Pond, Gouldsboro. brook trout Oxhead (Middle Pond. T40 MD. brook trout Pickerel Pond, T32 MD. brook trout Walker Pond, Brooksville. brook trout Kennebec County China Lake. China. lake trout Cobbosseecontee Lake. Manchester. brown trout Cochnewagon Pond. Monmouth. brown trout Echo Lake. Mount Vernon and Payelle, brook trout. lake trout Jamie (Jimmie) Pond. Manchester. brook trout Long Pond , Belgrade. Mount Vernon. brook trout Maranacook Lake. Winthrop. Readfield. brook trout

MAINE Fish and Wildlife

McGrath Pond, Belgrade, brook trout Messalonskee Lake, Belgrade, lake trout Messalonskee Stream. Oakland, brook trout Minnehonk Lake, Mount Vernon, brook trout Upper and Lower Narrows ponds. Winthrop. brook trout. lake trout Parker Pond, Fayette, brook trout Salmon Lake (Ellis Pond), Belgrade. brown trout Sand Pond (Tacoma Lake). Litchfield, brown trout Spectacle Pond, Vassalboro. brown trout Togus Pond, Augusta, brook trout. brown trout Wilson Pond. Wayne, brown trout

Knox County Alford Lake, Hope, brook trout Sennebec Pond, Appleton. brook trout Seven Tree Pond, Union, brook trout Lincoln County Biscay Pond, Damariscotta. brown trout Damariscotta Lake, Jefferson, brown trout. lake trout McCurdy Pond, Bremen, brown trout Medomak Pond (Little). Waldoboro. brown trout Pemaquid Pond, Nobleboro, brown trout Oxford County Anasagunticook Lake. Hartford, brook trout Androscoggin River, Gilead. brown trout Bear Pond, Waterford, brook trout Burnt Meadow Pond, Brownfield, brook trout Colcord Pond, Porter, brook trout Halls Pond, Paris, brook trout, brown trout Little Pennesseewassee Lake, Norway, brook trout Pennesseewassee Lake. Norway. brook trout. landlocked salmon Songo Pond, Albany TWP, brook trout, landlocked salmon Worthley Pond, Peru, brook trout Penobscot County Jerry Pond, Millinocket. brook trout Round (Little) Pond, Lincoln, brook trout Trout Pond, Lowell, brook trout Weir Pond, Lee. brook trout Branns Mill Pond. Dover Foxcroft, brook trout Pitzgerald (Mountain View) Pond, Big Moose TWP

Manhanock Pond. Parkman. Sangerville, brook trout. lake trout Prong Pond. Greenville, brook trout

Sagadahoc County Center Pond. Phippsburg. brook trout Nequasset Lake, Woolwich, brook trout, brown trout Silver Lake. Phippsburg. brook trout Somerset County Indian Pond (Big), St. Albans. brook trout Kingsbury Pond. Mayfield TWP. brook trout Moose Pond, Hartland. brook trout Wesserunsett lake. Madison. brown trout Wood Pond (Big). Attean TWP. brook trout. lake trout Waldo County St. George Lake. Liberty. brook trout Swan Lake. Swanville, brook trout Washington County Cathance Lake. TWP 14. landlocked salmon Gardner lake, East Machias. landlocked salmon Grand Lake Stream. Grand Lake Stream PLT, landlocked salmon Indian Lake. Whiting. brook trout Keene Lake. Calais. brook trout Mopang Lake. Devereaux TWP, landlocked salmon Musquash Lake (Little). Topsfield, landlocked salmon York County Adams Pond. Newfield, brook trout Ell Pond. Wells, brook trout Kennebunk Pond. Lyman. brook trout Knight Pond. South Berwick. brook trout Littlefield Pond, Sanford. brook trout Long Pond, Parsonsfield. brook trout Mousam Lake. Acton. Shapleigh. brook trout. brown trout. landlocked salmon. lake trout Mousam River, Kennebunk, brown trout Ogunquit River. Wells. brown trout Ossippce Lake (Little). Waterboro. brook rout. brown trout. landlocked salmon, lake trout Parker Pond. Lyman. brook trout Warren Pond. South Berwick. brook trout Wilcox Pond. Biddeford. brook trout Wilson Lake, Acton. brook trout

Winter 2006 Page 15

Nuts to Youl Any nut, seed or fruit produced by a woody plant and eaten by wildlife is considered mast. Although fleshy fruits like apples, berries and grapes are considered !'.Mil too , our focus today is on the nuts and cones.

Nuts and cones contain more fat and protein than other plant foods , are available over long time periods , and are a nutritious wildlife food source. Several kinds of nuts and cones are preferred foll and winter foods , and are extremely important in providing nutrition to wildlife during winter - the most difficult season of the year. Nuts and fruits are not produced in the same amounts year-after-year. In some years nut crops are super-abundant, while in other years there are hardly any to be found .

Nuts are basically fruits with a dry, hard coating. Bears fatten up on beechnuts and acorns to prepare for their long winter sleep , when they do not drink or eat for up to six months. Blue jays and squirrels cache, or store, nuts in hiding places for later use. Wood ducks forage for acorns and beechnuts at the edges of swamps, lakes and ponds. Wild turkeys swallow acorns whole, depending on their strong gizzards to grind them up. And all kinds of songbirds and small mammals feast on the seeds found within pine, spruce and hemlock cones. Some of Maine's most important mast-producing "wildlife trees" are highlighted below.

BIRCHES OAKS

It takes an oak up to 50 years to start producing its best acorn crops , and even then abundant acorn crops do not occur every year, but only every two to five years. Some wildlife species that depend heavily on acorns for food include: wood ducks, ruffed grouse, wild turkeys, blue jays, black bears, raccoons , squirrels and whitetailed deer.

BEECH By about age 40, beech trees just begin to produce crops of valuable beechnuts. Heavy production doesn't start until around age 60!

Again, good nut crops occur only every two to five years. This is the most important food source for black bears. In fact, successful bear reproduction has been closely correlated with abundant beechnut crop years. Deer, grouse, porcupines, songbirds, squirrels and a variety of other small mammals also depend on beechnuts as an important foll food.

Page 16 MAINE Fish and Wildlife

Because most of their seed crop persists above the snow during the winter, birches are a very important source of mast. Starting at age 40, or a bit younger , paper and yellow birch trees produce "catkins," seeds that provide food for grouse, songbirds and small mammals.

WHITE PINE These trees are important because of their abundance statewide. They provide oily, nutritious seeds at the base of each cone "scale." Spruce grouse and a variety of songbirds like crossbills, chickadees, grosbeaks and nuthatches depend heavily on pine cones. Beavers, ~~~~ porcupines, white-footed mice and squirrels also use them as an important food source.

SPRUCE The black, white and red spruce grow throughout Maine. Their cones are mast that provides food for many of the species that use white pine cones : crossbills, spruce grouse, nuthatches , porcupines , squirrels and other small mammals .

Winter 2006

How well do you know your wildlife trees?

See if you can identify each of the trees, nuts and cones pictured and then match the 'mast' to the tree.

Then use the number code to solve the mystery message. (Answers on Page 30)

OJ

' 123456

7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16

17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24

25 26 27

28 29 30 31 32 32 33 34 35

37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44

------ ---45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54

Mystery Message:

L

60 616263 64

2

55 56 57 58 59

- - - - .E_ _ _ _ _ _L_Q_L_ÂŁ__ 18 25 27

55

62 3

6

8

17 47 28 64

30

32

Now, go outside and try to find one or more of these valuable trees in your backyard or neighborhood.

MAINE Fish and Wildlife

Winter 2006 Page 17

person investigation, not allowing for closure by the family of the victim. The suspect was convicted of murder this past summer and is awaiting sentencing.

Sometimes it is the simple things that create a break in the case.

By Detective Jay Pelletier Maine State Police lthough three members of my family have become State Police troopers (Sergeant Tom PeJletier of Troop F, Trooper Dale Pelletier (Retired) and me), our roots run much deeper in the Maine Warden Service. Six members of my family, my great grandfather Tom Pelletier (part time), grandfath r Leonard Pelletier, his brother, Maynard Pelletier, and three uncles Leonard Pelletier Jr., Gary Pelletier: and Roland Pelletier, had well over 100 years of service in the Maine Warden Service.

Because of these deep roots, l jumped at the chance to help the warden service with the 2004 moose hunt in the Greenville area.

Detective Kenneth MacMaster called me and asked if I would be willing to help him out with processing moose kill sites that were suspicious. Detective.

MacMaster and l work out of the Banoor b office of the Maine State Police Criminal Investigation Division III (CID II I) and are both members of the Evidence Response Team (ERT), a team that is comprised of about 30 members.

Detective MacMaster had made a tradition out of helping the warden service during the hunting season to pay them back for all of their assistance at outdoor homicide scenes and search scenes throughout the year. Since I was one of the most recent additions to the criminal division, he asked me to come along for the experience.

A

Page 18 MAINE Fish and Wildlife

Most of our contact with the Warden Service in the CID 1lI area starts with Lt. Pat Dorian, Sgt. Roger Guay, or Warden Kevin Adams. They are members of the Warden's Incident Management Team.

This team has the task of documentino b outdoor crime scene and large search areas for search and rescue or search and recovery. They implement the Incident Command System (JCS) for large operations that include multiple agencies and/or volunteer searcher . The State Police rely heavily on the warden's expertise at outdoors scenes to observe items of evidence or items of interest that are helpful to the cases investigated.

One recent major case was of a missing person last seen in Glenburn. During a four-day search of a wooded area behind a residence, Warden Scott Thrasher located a small portion of dried mud. Warden Thrasher thought this mud was unique because of a semi-circular impre sion on it, which he felt came from a shovel. The obviou. question was "What is a shovel impression doing in the middle of the woods?" Lt was as though someone had tapped the mud off a shovel. lt turned out he was right.

After a brief excavation of the area, decomposing human remains were located. The missing person case then became a homicide investigation.

Without Warden Thrasher's discovery, this case may have remained a missing

The Evidence Response Team was created in 200 I to meet departmental needs of evidence collection and identification. In the world of evidence, new resources are presenting themselves continually. We work very closely with the Maine State Police Crime Laboratory and our services are available to all Jaw enforcement agencies in Maine.

Members are required to complete proper testing and receive a certificate from the International Association of Identification (]Al) as a Crime Scene Technician. In an era of TV shows such as CS!, Cold Case Files, and Forensic files, jurors are relying much more on physical evidence at trials than testimonial evidence by witnesses.

Our job is to first recognize potential evidence, and second, know the proper techniques in collecting it. We strive to recreate and reconstruct crime scenes and are able to do so by using specialties such as blood spaller analysis, forensic mapping, photography, ballistics, DNA, and fingerprints.

Sometimes good old fashion investigation creates solid cases. Physical evi-

Winter 2006

dence can help support that investigation.

Such was the case on October 13, 2004 in TAR 13 WELS, a township near Greenville. Sgt. Roger Guay was patrolling the woods supervising the field wardens he oversees in their search of illegal hunting activity. He stopped to speak with hunters loading a 900-pluspound bull moo e, conversation suddenly turned into suspicion when Sgt. Guay asked one simple question. "Where did you shoot the moose?"

One person from the hunting party pointed east, another pointed west. Then another simple question, "What was the moose shot with?"

One person stated, "8111111" while another stated, ".30-06."

Rather than interrogate these people at roadside, Sgt. Guay relied on his old fashioned investigation techniques. He let them go. Most people would think they were in the clear, that they just dodged a bullet. Instead, they were in the middle of a full-nedged investigation on the circumstances of how that moose was shot.

Once the party loaded up and left, Sgt. Guay and K-9, Raider, began to search the area. Raider is a rugged chocolate lab that has a reputation of being the best K-9 in the state. He is trained in searching for cadavers, and (unfortunately for these hunters) shell casings. Sgt. Guay immediately saw two distinct and different areas that looked like moose kill sites. The problem was only one person in the party had a permit for this area.

Sgt. Guay then called for as istance in proces ing the scene from Detective MacMaster and I. When we arrived, we observed a gut pile on the side of the road. Sgt. Guay said the hunting party had loaded the bull moose at this location. He then directed us to a location on a hillside that had drag marks and blood.

Using our own hunting experience and direction from Sgt. Guay, we followed a drag mark to the road. From here, the drag mark was not obvious, but the hair left behind was. We followed a hair trail 1.1 miles from the bloodspot to

MAINE Fish and Wildlife

Morning at the moose tagging station located at the Game Warden Hangar on Moosehead Lake.

the top of a hill. The views were phenomenal and somewhat distracting from our work. The hair trail that was abundant at the beginning of the search became sparse towards the top of the hill until it disappeared completely. Not only was this moose most likely shot illegally, but also was mistreated after being shot.

Sgt. Guay and K-9 raider began to search were the hair trail ended, unable to locate any further gut piles or abandoned moose. It was our belief that the "hunters" had removed a second moose from the scene quickly by dragging it then loading it on the back of a pick up truck.

We then concentrated our search back where the bloodspot was on the side of the hill. If 1 hadn't seen it, I probably wouldn't believe it. K-9 raider wa lked up a side road and indicated on something, a .30-06 shell casing. He went further up the road and indicated again, a second .30-06 shell casing. These shell casings were not obvious to the naked eye. In fact, they were so deep in the tall grass I had to move the grass in order to see them.

The locations of the shell casings were rather important. The first one was located before a bloody area, suggesting that the bullet from that shell casing caused the blood. The other shell casing was further up the road, suggesting another moose was being shot at. While surveying the area further we came upon our biggest break. Witnesses. Not just any witnesses, but ones that were nearly hit by a .30-06 bullet while camping up

the same side road where the blood and shell casings were found.

THREE WITNESSES

It gets better. Three witnesses, and all of them were hunter safety instructors.

They were more than willing to provide us with statements. It appears that on a bird-hunting trip a couple years ago, a careless "hunter" had hit a member of their party with birdshot while they were playing cards in their camper. Ironically, they chose this location because it was off the main road and away from the main flow of traffic.

Now our investigation was progressing quite well, while the hunters that had shot a trophy moose probably thought they were in the clear. We still needed more information. That information came from the three hunter safety instructors.

r.

I

IN THE

cow ZONE

~.

Ba ed on their statements it was learned that two vehicles were involved, and, as we suspected, two moose, one being a large bull, while the other wa a cow. Now there was another problem.

This was not a "cow zone." In other words this was not an area that a cow moose could be shot and tagged.

The cow wa seen dead where the

Winter 2006 Page 19

blood spot was on the side of the hill.

The bull was seen alive near the camper (while being shot at) and then dead, where Sgt. Guay encountered the hunters loading the moose. The cow moose was later seen on the back of a white Ford Ranger as it was turning in the hunter safety instructor's campsite, with a red tag on it. Now we had another problem.

Red tags were only used for cow moose.

We suspected these people would register their cow in a "cow zone."

Our suspicions were right. The investigation showed that the cow moose had been tagged in Washington County, "slightly" out of the way from Greenville.

Now we had what appeared to be two moose shot by the same gun, one of which was transported to its proper permit zone. We also learned that the 900+ pound bull moose had been tagged in Greenville and was currently in a refrigerated truck unit that was owned by a butcher. We placed a hold on the moose so that the "hunters" were not allowed to bring it home.

---

.

SEARCH WARRANT

.

~

â&#x20AC;˘'¡ IIi

-

_.

Detective MacMaster and I documented and collected the evidence, which included blood from the different areas, the shell casings, and hair that appeared to be moose hair. Tire impressions had disappeared due to rain, as did footwear impressions. Blood remained present due to the large amount.

Even though we had a full day of investigating, we were not yet finished.

Detective. MacMaster, Warden Adam Gormley, and I prepared an affidavit for a search warrant at the residence of the suspects. One was granted and executed, again, "slightly" out of the way from Greenville, in the City of Auburn. The warrant proved fruitful. Items collected were a .30-06 rife and moose antlers.

Interviews at this residence led us to another residence, this time in Biddeford.

This is where we found a white Ford Ranger in front of an apartment bui !ding.

We saw blood in the bed of the pick up truck and what appeared to be moose hair, not to mention, the whole truck melled like a moose, an odor that, if you

Page 20

MAINE Fish and Wildlife

Sgt. Roger Guay with K9 Raider, searching for evidence as a documentary filmmaker follows with a camera.

The hair recovered was used to show that the animal it came from was a moose. The blood and meat retained as evidence were held in case DNA analysis was needed.

are not familiar with, is rather di tinct.

At this residence, moose tenderloin was seized as welJ as blood and hair samples from the bed of the pick-up truck.

Further interviews revealed that the hunting party having possession of the cow permit for a district in Washington County were not having luck at the tart of the moose hunt. They decided to join friends who had a moose permit in Greenvi I le.

Once the cow moose was shot, the person doing the shooting then noticed the rather large bull further up the road.

He fired and missed, almost striking the camper with the three hunters safety instructors inside. The bull then ran down the hill and into the roadway, where it was shot and kilJed. The cow was dragged to the top of a nearby hill, loaded on to the pick up truck, and then transported to Washington County to be tagged. It was sei1,ed al a later time.

DISPOSITION OF THE CASE

THE PHYSICAL EVIDJ~NCE

.

After being examined by a firearms examination expert, it was determined that one of the .30-06 shell casings recovered came from the .30-06 firearm recovered in Auburn. The other shell casing could have come from that firearm , which basically mean there was not sufficient detail to make a positive match.

Three of the suspects were charged with exceeding the bag limit, hunting moose without a permit, driving moose, and illegal transportation of moose. The punishment included a $1,000 fine, three days in jail, three years loss of license, forfeiture of the .30-06 rine, and the loss of both moose. The meat from the moose went to the Hunters for the Hungry program.

Not only has the use of physical evidence benefited the areas of law enforcement to include crimes against people and crimes against property, but also it has been very helpful in crimes against Maine's natural resources.

Sgt. Guay, Detective MacMaster and I will once again venture into the woods this fall looking for evidence that poachers have left behind.

Quite honestly, I hope that we don't find any. True hunters are ones that respect our natural resources and take only what is legally allowed.

Winter 2006

Winter H Skills Weekend for Women

By Cathy Genthner

Building Confidence And Outdoor Knowledge

ave you ever really wanted to push yourself and do something that you never thought possible? The Becoming an Outdoor Woman (BOW) Winter Skills Weekend is the place to experience adventure in the extreme. It is two days of winter survival training including map and compass, orienteering, wilderness first aid, snowshoe usage and care, identifying animal tracks and signs, outdoor cooking and selecting appropriate winter outdoor clothing. The pinnacle of the weekend is the opportunity to construct a shelter out of pine, spruce and hemlock boughs and then spend a night in it with others as the temperature hovers near zero. Anna Carr of Northeast Harbor attended last year's BOW Winter Skills Weekend and the experience remains alive for her today. Carr reflects on the weekend often, particularly the night spent in the shelter.

"I remember the sharp coldness of the night air and the stillness of the woods. I remember hearing coyotes howling at night. I also remember how warm the lodge felt after my night outside and the companionship of the other ladies who participated that weekend ," said Carr who with the others returned to the lodge at 7 am. "It is a great confidence builder. I am now very comfortable in the woods in any season."

Leslie Trundy of Bath was also among the group of more than a dozen women who attended the clinic. Those who spent the night in the shelters were heard calling "Good Night John Boy" to one another under a ceiling of green fir.

"Winter camping in a shelter was wonderful. I never built a shelter like that. It felt so fabulous and I felt like I was a child again. I felt like a hobbit weaving in all those branches and I thought it was going to be more like an igloo. ft was fun weaving in and using existing fallen tree branches to make something to keep you warm secure and safe," said Trundy. "The thing I was really hoping to get and I've gotten is more confidence in terms of winter hiking and camping. I feel I can do things for myself and take care of those who are with me."

Safety is the main goal of the weekend. Women learn skills to keep themselves safe whether they are out in the wilderness camping 100 mile from the neare t town

Spending a night in a shelter constructed of pine, fir and spruce boughs was the most challenging part of the weekend for many of the BOW participants.

Emily Jones photo

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Winter 2006 Page 21

or out for an afternoon walk in their backyards.

"It is a pretty practical course. That is the beauty of it," said Mike Sawyer, the recreational safety and vehicle coord inator for the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife. "Some people think it is geared toward a w inter camping or hiking trip. But it helps anyone in almost any situation. A lot of times what you see is that the person who gets in the most trouble is the person just going for that half-day trip and they feel they don't need the appropri ate gear."

Having the appropriate gear and being prepared are vital to surviving in the outdoors, especially in Maine where winters are harsh and conditions can deteriorate rapidly. The women learn how to be prepared, testing their skill s on the expansive 400-acre St. Saviour Tree Farm in Parsonsfield in southwest Maine. The

2005 BOW Winter Skills Workshop Participants (from left to right): Karen Guiou, Diane Cass, Maria James (kneeling) , Den;se Desjardins, Vicki Vaughan , Ron St.Saviour, Kelly Supple, Laurie Muzzy, Sandy Deschaine, Leslie Trundy, Wendy Menard , Sonia Dillard, Anna Carr and Kathy Hockman .

Em ily Jones photo

BOW participants get warmed up by constructing shelters in which they will sleep as part of the Winter Skills Weekend in Parsonsfield. Emily Jones photo Page 22 MAINE Fish and Wildlife

tree fa rm includes a rustic lodge with a kitchen, dining room, classroom area and sleep ing quarters for those who didn't want to spend the nig ht in the elements.

Master registered Maine Gu ide Ron St. Saviour owns the tree farm and is one of the instructors fo r the cou rse. St. Saviour has been teaching outdoor courses for over twenty years.

"It is empowerin g. By taking the course, you build your confidence level , no matter what you do," said St. Saviour.

"I like teaching the course to the women because they li sten and they want to learn what you have to teach. I like knowing that I am helping someone o ut and down the line, make a difference in someone's survival. Once people have done a survival course w ith me, they say, ' ow you can ' t get me lost!'"

The course usually starts out with map and compass, which is extremely important if yo u are going to be out in the woods and possibly stray or choose to go off an established trail. The next part of the course entai ls wilderness survival where the women go ou t and learn how Lo build their shel ters as well as learn how to light a fire with just one match.

The second day cons ists of wi lderness first aid training. They learn how to spl int a broken limb, how to treat hypothermia as well as other first aid basics. As part of the first aid sec ti on, the group practices "what if" scenario~ in which the women answer how they Winter 2006

would respond in a particular emergency.

The women also get to try out their newly acquired map and compass skills, comparing readings from different check points around the lodge. Track and animal identification is a lighter but still important part of the course. The group had the opportunity to hike out to a beaver lodge on the property. In addition to more technical skills, the basics of what to wear - and not wear - are taught.

"The women learn how to dress appropriately for being active in the outdoors," said Emily Jones, activities coordinator for the BOW program. "A lot of people don't realize they have to wear something next to their skin that wicks away the moisture - like polypropylene.

The saying is 'Cotton is rotten' because it stays wet and cold. Wool is the warmest material."

The women learn the first and most important thing to do if they ever find themselves lost or "just turned around."

"The first thing to do is to stay calm if you are lost or injured. Anyone's mind can play tricks when they start to panic," said Jones. "Keeping a sense of humor can help too."

The women learn to stay put until help an-ives, rather than getting more lost or exhausted . That is when knowing how to build a shelter, light a campfire with one match and having an emergency survival kit on hand, as well as being properly dressed can make the difference between life and death . Staying put in an open space also helps any rescuers in their search.

Another part of the weekend teaches women to use good old fashioned common sense when even thinking about a winter trip into the Maine wilderness.

"Making the right decision to go - or not to go - is extremely important. A storm may progress and the wisest thing may be to put off a camping trip or make adjustments to it," said Sawyer. "One thing we always emphasize is that when you make those plans, make sure someone else knows about those plans and where you are going."

The women learn these outdoor skills in a friendly and relaxed environment with other women who have a love and curiosity about the outdoors. "l like being with other women and

MAINE Fish and Wildlife

â&#x20AC;˘ Master guide Ron St. Saviour teaches map and compass at the BOW Winter Skills Weekend clinic. Emily Jones photo being in the atmosphere of learning that is not competitive," said Karen Guiou of Richmond. "I've taken the BOW program in the fall and had learned so much that I wanted to learn more!"

The clinic not only helps those who are fairly new to the outdoors, but those who have substantial outdoor experience.

Sandy Deschaine of Medway grew up in an outdoor family. Deschaine is a registered Maine Guide who took the course to gain outdoor experience in the winter.

"I wanted to learn how to make a shelter and have the company of other women in which to do winter survival and camping. I have my Maine guide license and I do a lot of hiking and kayaking during the warmer months but I wanted to get more competent in the cold weather. I've been working for a company as a guide that might be interested in offering snowshoeing. I think the clinic has been very good, I like meeting all these other women who have the same interest."

Sonia Dillard was born and raised in Guilford, Maine. However, for the past 33 years she has been living in Texas.

Dillard retired and returned to Maine recently. She decided to get her outdoor skills polished up.

"I like adventure and I like the outdoors," said Dillard. "I like to get out as much as l can, whether it is winter, fall, spring or summer - I like to get out. I like the camaraderie with everyone and it has been fun ."

The BOW clinic has been operating in Maine for several years - throughout

the four seasons. The aim is that women will learn practical skills not only to keep them and others safe, but enhance their outdoor experiences, no matter what recreational activity they are taking part in.

"I had done other BOW programs and was very enthusiastic about the whole atmosphere of doing it with other women who had varying experiences and backgrounds," said Vicki Vaughn of Windham. "What I liked most was the opportunity to get out and try things that you normally wouldn't try. I am not from a hunting or fishing family but my husband fishes. I've always wanted to be an outdoorsperson. In my mind I am an outdoorsperson, but I needed the motivation to get me outdoors to do things. I cross country ski, but before this clinic, I never would have gone out and built a snow shelter in my back yard. This clinic was the impetus to get me out there and try things that I've always wanted to do."

The next Winter Skills Weekend will be held February 11-12 at Southern Maine Guide Service in Parsonsfield.

The weekend is limited to 15 participants and the cost is $150.

For more information contact Emily Jones at: emily.jones@maine.gov or call (207) 287-8069 or you can contact Southern Maine Guide Service at: SouthernMaineGuideService.com.

Winter 2006 Page 23

By Sandy Ritchie Habitat Conservation and Special Projects Biologist aine is a land rich in contrasts between the boreal and temperate, freshwater and saltwater, upland and wetland, and alpine and lowlands.

The state has enormous natural variety and owes its biological wealth to its 17.5 million acres of vast forests, rugged mountains, more than 5,600 lakes and ponds, 5,000,000 acres of wetlands, 3 l.800 miles of rivers and streams, 4, I 00 miles of bold coastline, and 4,613 coastal islands and ledges. Maine is the most heavily forested state in the nation, but also contains some of the most significant grassland and agricultural lands in the Northeast.

This mosaic of diverse physical settings supports a wide diversity of wildlife that can be equaled in few other states. Maine has the largest population of bald eagles in the Northeast. The state's islands support one of the most diverse nesting seabird populations on the East Coast, including habitat for rare species such as the roseate and Arctic tern, Atlantic puffin, and razorbill auk.

Maine's relatively clean, free-flowing rivers sustain some of the best remaining populations of rare freshwater mussels and dragonflies in the East, host globally rare endemics (occur only in

M

Page 24 MAINE Fish and Wildlife

MDIFW Photo

Maine) such as the Tomah mayfly and Roaring Brook mayfly, and support the recently listed Atlantic salmon DPS (Distinct Population Segment) (Salmo salar) found in eight mid-coast and downeast rivers. Maine's mountains and forested habitats contribute significantly to the global breeding habitat of neotropical migrants such as Bicknell's thrush and blackthroated-blue warbler. The state has some of the best examples of pitch pine-scrub oak forest remaining in New England, hosting a suite of globally rare plants and invertebrates.

Maine is a transition area, and its wildlife resources represent a blending of species that are at or approaching the northern or southern limit of their

ranges. The species most familiar to us birds (292 species), non-marine mammals (61 species), reptiles (20 species), amphibians ( 18 species), inland fish (56 species), and marine species (313 chordates, fishes, and mammals) - actually comprise less than two percent of the known wildlife species in the state.

Over 16,000 species of invertebrates have been documented, but experts believe many times these numbers actually exist. This impressive array of fauna is particularly impressive when one considers that only a handful of species were present just 15,000 years ago when a mile-high sheet of ice covered the state.

For more than 60 years, the

Winter 2006

Department, like other state fish and wildlife agencies, has benefited from funds generated by the Federal Aid in Wildlife Restoration Act (PittmanRobertson) and the Federal Aid in Sport Fish Restoration Act (Dingell-Johnson to fund conservation and management of game fish and wildlife species. These funds, collected through federal excise taxes on firearms, ammunition, fishing equipment and tackle have been critical to conserving game species and their habitat and have provided numerous secondary benefits to nongame species as well.

Unfortunately, stable and secure financial support for nongame and Endangered wildlife has not developed .

At the state level, a voluntary income tax donation (Endangered and Nongame Wildlife Fund, a.k.a. Chickadee Checkoff), a conservation registration plate (Loon Plate), and a special lottery ticket (Outdoor Heritage Fund) were enacted to support new programs, yet funding has been inconsistent and in many instances has declined because of placement on tax forms or competing checkoffs, license plates, and lottery tickets.

At the federal level, there has been limited funding for threatened and endangered species (Section 6 funds under the Endangered Species Act) and no reliable funding for nongame species.

Nonetheless, given our limited resources Maine can be proud of the accomplishments made for nongame and endan-

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MDIF&W Photo

gered wildlife in the last 25 years. Yet, the need for additional funding to continue conservation efforts far outweighs available funds. With more than 1,000 species listed on the Federal Endangered and Threatened species list (49 species are listed in Maine), the need has never been greater for a robust, complimentary source of funding to support the conservation, protection, and restoration of the full array of wildlife, especially those not covered by traditional funding strategies.

Congress Acts: The State Wildlife Grant Program As a result of Teaming with Wildlife

efforts sustained for more than a decade by fish and wildlife conservation interests across the country, and as a compromise to failed efforts to pass the Conservation and Reinvestment Act. Congress created the Wildlife Conservation and Restoration Program (WCRP) in 2001 and the State Wildlife Grant Program (SWG) in 2002.

The purpose of the State Wildlife Grant Program is to help state and tribal fish and wildlife agencies address conservation of fish and wildlife species of greatest conservation need. Funds appropriated under the State Wildlife Grant program are allocated to states according to a formula that takes into account each state's size and population.

To date, Maine has received nearly $3.5 million in SWG funds to support work on many of the state's rare, threatened, endangered, and nongame wildlife.

Projects funded to date are diverse, covering many species groups, all geographic areas of the state, and ranging in scale from ecosystems to subspecies. They vary in length from one to five years, and include baseline surveys, research, and habitat conservation. Projects reflect the needs of fish and wildlife and the desires of key constituent groups, partners, and Department staff.

Here are a few examples of projects in Maine supported, in part, by State Wildlife Grant funds.

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Winter 2006 Page 25

Beginning with Habitat Beginning with Habitat is a cooperative effort of agencies and organizations working together to secure Maine's outdoor legacy.

The goal of the program is to maintain sufficient habitat to support all native plant and animal species currently breeding in Maine by providing each Maine town with a collection of maps and accompanying information depicting and describing various habitats of statewide and national significance in the town. Beginning with Habitat partners can then work with communities to design a landscape that accommodates the growth they need with the highest resource conservation.

Ecoregional Surveys In 1996, the Maine Natural Areas Program and the Department embarked on an ambitious endeavor to conduct systematic, statewide surveys of rare species of plants, animals, and natural communities in Maine.

Wildlife surveys have included rare and listed birds, mammals, reptiles, amphibians, and invertebrates. To date, nearly 75% of the state has been surveyed. Surveys are designed to document new locations of rare species to better assess their status and distribution, and to design conservation strategies to promote their recovery.

Seabird Outreach The principal objective of this project is to inform Maine students and the general public about seabird biology and marine conservation by providing insight into the lives of Maine seabirds (puffins and terns) through a web-based school

Photo courtesy US Fish and Wildlife Service

curriculum and Internet access that features live-streaming video from Eastern Egg Rock, a state-owned 7-acre sanctuary managed by National Audubon Society.

Distribution & Ecology of Purple Sandpipers Wintering in Maine The northeast Atlantic coast is recognized by the U.S. Shorebird Conservation Council as an area that is extremely important to the survival of wintering purple sandpipers in the Western Hemisphere. In fact, there is strong evidence that Maine supports a large percentage of the wintering population.

With threats from catastrophic oil spills and consequent damage to shorebird habitats or shorebirds themselves, the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife has identified the need to locale and map important purple sandpiper habitats and determine population abundance, distribution, and limiting factors. This project will enable the Department to identify the most important sites for this declining species.

Safeguards to Bald Eagle Recovery: Habitat Conservation Bald eagles continue their dramatic comeback in Maine. Presently, the State is home to 385 nesting pairs, a remarkPhoto courtesy Bill Cross

Page 26 MAINE Fish and Wildlife

able increase from the 30 nesting pairs reported in the Iate- l 970s. Despite this accomplishment, our ultimate challenge is to provide suitable habitat for eagles in the future. Nesting eagles need mature trees and wooded buffers in shorelands, a niche that will always be al risk to land development and recreational pressures.

The purpose of this project is to identify and conserve eagle nesting sites. This "safety net" concept is the last pending objective for state reclassification of bald eagles from the current status of threatened.

Enhanced Management of Piping Plovers and Least Terns Piping plovers and least terns are designated as Endangered species in Maine and are known to nest on a handful of beaches in the State. To successfully raise young, these birds need sand beaches free from human disturbance and predators. This project enables MDIFW, working in cooperation with the Maine Audubon Society, to enhance the management of piping plovers and least terns, including the development of cooperative beach management agreements with Maine municipalities.

Canada Lynx Ecology The Canada lynx has long been a rare carnivore in northern and western Maine. Until recently, its status was largely unknown and was based on anec-

Winter 2006

dotal reports or a track in the snow. ln 1999, the Department and the U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service began an intensive study of Canada lynx in a fourtownship area of northwestern Maine.

Research efforts continue today and have greatly expanded our knowledge and understanding of lynx abundance, home ranges, habitat use, survival, den site selection, reproduction, and interspecific competition with other predators, and have provided a significant contribution to the understanding of lynx in the United States.

Stream Survey Databasing/Utilization of Restored Aquatic The Department is enhancing its efforts towards managing and conserving flowing water habitats and their respective animal communities.

Although the Department currently holds extensive survey information regarding these ecosystems, most data exists in a multitude of formats and physical locations. This project will compile existing stream habitat and fish community data into a computerized Geographic Information System (GIS) database for easier use and analysis.

Lake Habitat Inventories One of the primary responsibilities of the Department is to conduct habitat surveys of the aquatic resources in the State. These surveys include gathering data related to water quality, fish species composition and relative abundance, water depth, aquatic habitat types, and macroinvertebrate species composition.

These surveys are important to present and future management of Maine's Jakes and ponds. To date, there are

Photo courtesy Jennifer Vashon

roughly 3,800 ponds that have never been inventoried by Department staff and many that have been completed need to be updated. The purpose of this project is to collect data to properly plan for the future management of lake habitat in Maine.

An Investigation of Blanding's Turtle Road Mortality There is increasing emphasis on the part of federal and state transportation authorities to minimize and mitigate impacts to wildlife passage and mortality from road construction projects. This project will help the Departments of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife and Transportation identify the location and extent of road impacts on endangered turtles in Maine as a precursor towards designing conservation measures to ensure the future of these rare turtles.

Comprehensive Wildlife Conservation Strategy To be eligible for additional federal grants, and to satisfy requirements for participating in the State Wildlife Grant program, Congress charged each of the 56 States and Territories with developing a statewide Comprehensive Wildlife Conservation Strategy (CWCS or Strategy).

Strategies are to provide a foundation for the future of wildlife conserva-

MAINE Fish and Wildlife

tion and serve as a stimulus to engage the states, federal agencies, and other conservation partners to strategically think about their individual and coordinated roles in prioritizing conservation efforts. State fish and wildlife agencies are leading the effort to develop these strategies, but the goal is to create a vision for conserving wildlife, not just develop an agency plan.

Development of Maine's CWCS Development of Maine's CWCS began in earnest more than two years ago, and on September 26, 2005, we submitted our plan to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service for review. A copy of Maine's Strategy (all 1,600 pages, including appendices) may be viewed on the Department's website at http://www.state.me. us/ifw /wi Id] ife/compwildlifestrategy /index.htm.

Maine's strategy addresses the full array of fish and wildlife and their habitats in Maine, including vertebrates and invertebrates in aquatic (freshwater, estuarine, and marine) and terrestrial habitats, and targets species in greatest need of conservation while keeping "common species common." Wildlife is defined as any species of wild, free-ranging fauna including fish.

The plan is intended to supplement, not duplicate, existing fish and wildlife programs. It builds on a species planning effort ongoing in Maine since 1968; a landscape approach to habitat conserva-

Winter 2006 Page 27

tion, Beginning with Habitat, initiated in 2000; and a long history of public involvement and collaboration among conservation partners. This Strategy covers the entire state, from the dramatic heights of Mt. Katahdin to our rugged, rockbound coast.

Species of Greatest Conservation Need Maine's CWCS identifies 213 Species of Greatest Conservation Need (SGCN) within 6 major groups. In addition, we identified 21 key habitats within three major ecosystems (Coastal, Freshwater, and Upland) for conservation purposes.

The majority of Maine's Strategy is devoted to identifying problems and threats that may adversely affect Species of Greatest Conservation Need and their habitats, as well as hundreds of conservation actions to address the threats.

Conservation actions were synthesized into five broad super strategies: o Surveys and Monitoring o Research o Population Management o Habitat Conservation o Education and Outreach However, Maine's CWCS is not a fixed set of conservation strategies.

Rather, it is a series of processes that can be used to identify Department and partner priorities and opportunities from the individual species to the landscape level.

It is a process that is dynamic, responsive, and adaptive. Additional chapters in Maine's CWCS are devoted to describing proposed plans for monitoring species and their habitats, procedures to review the ewes at intervals not to exceed ten years, and opportunities for public involvement and collaboration with conservation partners.

Wildlife and Species of Greatest Conservation Need Wildlife Group Number in Maine

Threatened/ Endangered

Special Concern

SGCN

103

Birds

292

15

24

Reptiles and Amphibians

38

4

5

7

Invertebrates

<15,000

12

38

72

Inland Fish

56

1

0

12

Mammals

61

1

0

6

1,727

1

0

13

34

68

213

Marine Wildlife Totals

their conservation partners to provide effective and visionary leadership in conservation of all wildlife occurring in Maine. Never before has such a comprehensive effort been done in our state and every other state in the nation.

The ultimate test will be measured through the success of its implementation and the strengthening of collaborative efforts and partnerships. Ensuring longterm, stable, and adequate funding will be critical to ewes implementa-

tion.

The State Wildlife Grant Program is an important first step in funding SGCN conservation, but far more is needed. To make the most of SWG funds and to demonstrate success, Maine will need to identify required matching stateside funds, which often challenges the state's lean coffers. Nonetheless, demonstrating success will be key to continued congressional support.

The Value of the CWCS to Maine The value of Maine's CWCS extends far beyond the requirements of the State Wildlife Grant Program and beyond the missions of MDIFW, the Department of Marine Resources, and the Atlantic Salmon Commission.

Indeed, this is an historic opportunity and challenge for these agencies and Page 28 MAINE Fish and Wildlife

Photo courtesy John Hudson

Winter 2006

It's Raining Trout and Salmon Photos and text By Mark Latti This past year, the department stocked over 1,000,000 fish in over 700 waters throughout the state. In fact , the department stocked over 160 tons of trout and salmon.

In order to stock such huge numbers of fish, the Department uses a fleet of stocking trucks to move fish from our hatcheries to different ponds, lakes and streams all over the state. However, sometimes, a truck can 't reach a pond in order to stock it, and the department looks for other means.

We have stocked trout to remote ponds using ATVs and have First step is for hatchery personnel and the even brought fish in by backpack into some ponds, but by far, one of Warden pilot to coordinate the stocking. the most efficient ways to stock fish in remote ponds is by floatplane.

Each year, the Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife stocks nearly 200 waterways by using a floatplane . The Department has three planes that are used by the Warden Service, and in the late spring and early fall ; the Maine Warden Service attaches special tanks atop their floats that can hold hundreds of fish .

These tanks are constructed of fiberglass and secured to the plane's floats by struts. They are open on the top, and once in the air, they can be rotated by a pilot with the flick of a switch inside the cockpit of the plane, emptying their contents in the waterway below.

Before taking off, these tanks are filled with water, and then an oxygen tank is turned on , which feeds oxygen through a hose into the tanks. The water, supercharged with oxygen , can hold more fish.

Even with the extra oxygen, speed is important, and pilots and hatchery culturists work together to make sure that the fish go from the truck to the plane and into the air and then into a pond as quickly as possible .

The program is a success. The planes allow the department to stock ponds that otherwise would not be stocked , or in some cases, The trout go from hatchery, to stocking truck, to would not have a thriving coldwater fishery. This in turn gives a tank mounted on a float plane. anglers in Maine more opportunity, and variety in where to fish.

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Kidbit s Answers From Page 18

1. Spruce - 8 2. Beech - 5 3. Birch - 9 4. Oak - 10 5. Beech Nut 6. White Pine - 7 7. Pine Cone 8. Spruce Cone 9. Catkin 10. Acorn MYSTERY MESSAGE: Plant a tree Ready to go! With both tanks full of trout, this float plane heads for a remote pond stocking rendezvous.

for wildlife

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Winter 2006

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