LETTER FROM THE COMMISSIONER
Deer herds a priority as my term begins This issue of Maine Fish and Wildlife magazine is unlike any of our previous issues because we're focusing only on one subject - deer. Less than two weeks after becom ing commissioner of the Maine De partment of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife in March, I stood Commissioner Chandler alongside Gov. Paul Woodcock LePage, Sen. David Trahan, legislators and MDIF&W Advisory Council members to announce Maine's Game Plan for Deer, our efforts to rebuild deer population numbers in northern, eastern and west ern Maine. The Governor's cabinet room was filled to capacity as the plan was publicized, and I made a commitment to
steadfastly work on this important - and economically vital - issue. Much of what you'll read in this issue already is on our website. Some of it you have not seen before. By putting the focus on deer - and memorializing it in one issue - we're demonstrating to you, our readers and constituents, that your concerns have been heard and will be ad dressed with greater emphasis. Maine's Game Plan for Deer is not all that we're working on. The current legislative session has been a busy one, with more than 200 bills before the Joint Standing Committee on Inland Fisheries and Wildlife. We're taking a hard look at our budget, and evaluating our priorities while developing operational efficiencies in our divisions - fisheries, wildlife, war den service, licensing and public informa tion and education. We're thinking about our future, and
coming up with ways to get more children involved in outdoor pursuits such as hunt ing and fishing. We love to go outside; they will, too. Deer is not the only species that will be our priority. In these initial months of my service as commissioner, it's the first one and it's the right time for it to be done. More information on other projects will be presented to the Legislature, our Advisory Council and to you - our readers and constituents - when prepared. While looking at this issue remem ber this: the industry, per se, of deer has more than a $200 million economic impact, generated by hunters, guides and wildlife watchers. Money aside, deer are important to us as Mainers. We like to know that they live among us. That level of comfort alone is one of the main reasons this issue is focused on deer.
2111 umm P L E A S E T R Y T H I S A T lH O M E !
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MAINE
Did you know? That deer have more than a $200 million impact on Maine's economy? OK, not deer, but from hunters and wildlife watchers who love deer.
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MAY 2011
V/e are stewards of Maine’s fish and wildlife, protecting and preserving Maine’s natural resources, quality of place and economic future.
VOL. 51, NO. 3
I nside Why Maine Loves Deer It goes beyond hunting to aesthetics and economics By Travis Barrett Pages 4-7
GOVERNOR Paul LePage
IF&W COMMISSIONER C h and ler W oodcock
IF&W DEPUTY COMMISSIONER
Rebuilding Maine's Deer Herd
Andrea Erskine
BUREAU OF RESOURCE MANAGEMENT DIRECTOR
MDIF&W puts greater emphasis on three key state regions By Commissioner Chandler Woodcock
John Boland
Page 8-13
MAINE WARDEN SERVICE COLONEL Joel W ilkinson
PUBLIC INFORMATION AND EDUCATION DIRECTOR
Maine's Game Plan
Edith Sm ith
Executive Summary
Pages 14-17
Deborah Turcotte
New, improved management efforts
Pages 18-19
COPY EDITORS
Myths depunked
Pages 20-21
Aerial surveys
Pages 22-25
If you care, leave them there
Pages 26-27
Living on the Edge
Pages 28-39
MAGAZINE EDITOR/DESIGNER
Lisa Kane, S a n d y Ritchie, John Pratte
PHOTO ASSISTANT Kristina Paulhus
Deer management overview Supplemental feedings
IF&W ADVISORY COUNCIL Cathy D eM erchant, Vassalboro
Landowner relations
Alan G reenleaf, Old Town W ade Kelly, A llagash Jeffrey C. Lewis, Ellsw orth Stephen Philbrick, O quossoc Richard Thurston, Scarborough Ron Usher, Buxton
Warning signs
Pages 40-41
Reflections on past management efforts
Pages 42-49
Kid-Bits
Pages 50-51
Lila S. Ware, Skow hegan
To Catch A Poacher
Lance S. W heaton, Forrest City Twp. M ike Witte, New Harbor
Maine Warden Service actions stop game thieves By Major Gregory Sanborn
COVER PHOTO
Pages 36-39
By Paul Cyr R eprinted with Perm ission
MAINE Fish and Wildlife is published quarterly by the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife, 284 State St., Station 41, Augusta, ME 04333. ISSN 0360-005X
MAY 2011
Legalese 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 discrimi nated against should write to the Office of Equal Opportunity, U.S. Department of the Interior, Washington, D.C., 20240.
MAINE FISH AND WILDLIFE
Permission to reprint text material is granted, pro vided proper credit is given to the author and to the Department. Clearance must be obtained from art ists, photographers and non-staff authors to repro duce credited work. © Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife, 2009.
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M Photo by Paul Vitucci. Found on Flickr.com and reprinted with permission.
W hy 'Maine Coves deer By Travis Barrett MDIF&W Public Relations Representative Make no mistake about it, Maine folks are passionate when it comes to the state's whitetail deer herd. Deer represent arguably the most sought after staple of Maine's hunters. We slow vehicles and gawk when we see deer assembled in a nearby field on our way to work. They take our breath when they venture unexpectedly into the back yard. Where deer live, how they behave and their impact on our quality of life in the northern-most reaches of New England fascinate all of us. But more than simply providing Maine and its visitors with recreation, deer in Maine are big business. Conservative estimates put the overall economic impact of Maine's whitetail deer over the $200 million mark. That figure covers every thing from the sale of hunting licenses to more than 200,000 resident and non-resident hunters, the hiring of guides and cost of fuel, lodging and other incidentals for hunting trips and wildlife watching. With numbers like that, it goes without saying that Maine's whitetail deer are of supreme impor tance across the state. It's also equally clear that the current low deer population numbers in the northern, western and eastern parts of Maine are cause for concern. To all of us. "There is not one single factor for the low numbers of deer in parts of our state," MDIF&W Commissioner Chandler Woodcock said. "You can’t solely blame coyotes or bears. They play a part but are not the only reason. Just as culpable are severe winters, the loss of quality habitats and deer yards, poaching, vehicle collisions and
Photos by Carrie L. Johnson (right) and Jeff Hawkins (far right). Found on Flickr.com and reprinted with permission.
winter feeding. We can't control Maine winters. Wish we could. But we can work together on reducing all of the dangers to the herd." In the face of dwindling deer numbers, the challenge is managing the statewide population for a number of audiences in the face of difficult conditions Several factors, of course, have brought us to where are now. While popular across Maine, whitetail deer are obviously not unique to the state. In North America, Maine is positioned as virtually the northernmost point of the species' range. In fact, just 100 miles north of the Maine border with Canada - at the south shore of the St. Lawrence seaway in Quebec - lies the top of whitetail deer's reach. The reasons are many. The most significant factors are the duration and severity of win ters across the region, as well as the difficulty in maintaining suitable habitat for the coldest months on the calendar. Deer may be important to Maine, but Maine is
equally important to deer. Consider that a valuable part of the Maine hunting experience is being in the woods during late autumn, when early-season snowfall some times blankets hunting grounds in a thin coating of white. Instead of still- or stand-hunting, many hunters prefer the art of tracking - taking to the foot and locating deer tracks tracing their way through the snow. Instead of sitting over bumper crops of acorns or on a rock wall at the edge of an apple orchard, there's something to be said for the thrilling exer cise of carefully following deer tracks and search ing out deer while on the hunt. In warmer climates, obviously, where deer might be more abundant (think: southern United States locales), the opportunity to track them over snow is non-existent. Even after the end of hunting season, when winter grips the region a little tighter, the chance to shoot deer from behind a camera lens instead of a rifle scope continues. Simply coining "wild life watching" as a trite exercise is misguided. In
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fact, internet searches sh dozens upon dozens of r< now turning to the eco-tc These trips send folks, eras and video equipmen see deer up close. And proper deer manai nent in making both the whitetails the best it can "proper deer managemer managing so that the de< unchecked. There are ne deer densities run too hie collisions with vehicles, h gardens and expensive lc spread of illness such as With nearly 90 percent holders in Maine targetin million economy centerec viewing and photographi see the importance of m; viable population. Both for the deer and f MAY 2011
there are literally agistered Maine guides 3urism boon, many armed with camit, out into the woods to io w
gement is a key compohunting and watching of be for everybody. But it" doesn't mean simply ar population skyrockets gative impacts where jh - including increased ungry deer feeding on mdscape plants, and the Lyme disease, of all hunting license g deer, and a $200 j around the hunting, ng of deer, it's easy to aintaining and healthy, or Maine people. MAY 2011
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M aine's deer Herd t's a fact that cannot be disputed: Maine's deer are widely loved and appreciated by A L L of the people of Maine. We like to watch them as they graze in a chopping, be surprised by a fawn venturing across our backyards, and hunt them to put food on our tables. While we find peace in knowing that deer are in Maine's woods, we also need to be realistic about a few facts regarding deer, their populations in our state, and how they are managed: First, Maine is at the northern limit of range for deer, particularly in northern, western and eastern Maine. If you go 100 miles into Quebec, you will reach the end of their range. Go south, into Pennsylvania and other states, and you'll find healthy populations. Even in our own Commissioner Chandler state deer populations vary - more in the south, fewer in the north, west and east. Woodcock Second, there is not one single factor for the low numbers of deer in parts of our state. You can't solely blame coyotes or bears. They play a part, but are not the only reason. Just as culpable are severe winters, the loss of quality habitats and deer yards, poaching, vehicle collisions and winter feeding. We can't control Maine winters. Wish we could. But we can work together on reducing all of the dan gers to the herd.
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Photo by David M. Tunick. Found on Flickr.com and reprinted
www.mefishwildlife.com
MAY 2011
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with permission.
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(Above) Deer walk through the Maine Wildlife Park in Gray. (Below) Gov. Paul LePage (center) addresses "Ms David Trahan (right), legislators and members of MDIF&W's Advisory Council. Third, no one is to blame for the herd reduc tion in some regions of Maine. I've heard hunt ers claim that mismanagement on the part of the Department of Inland Fisheries and Wild life caused the numbers to go down. That's not true. Our biologists and wardens are just as interested in maintaining strong deer num bers as hunters, and devote their careers to the study of deer, the way they live in Maine, the causes that affect their numbers, and the prevention of illegal taking by poachers. Fourth, throughout Maine's history, we have experienced ebbs and flows in deer popula tion. I remember talking to sportsmen about a decline in the 1970s. We're at that point again. So what are we - all of us - going to do about it? On March 17, we presented Maine's Game Plan for Deer. It's on our website right now for the public to see. Please, take a look. It's not IF&W's plan - it's Maine's plan. It's broken
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into sections according to issues, like any good plan, but not one issue stands alone. Two of them carry more weight than others - the need for quality deer wintering areas and the effort to reduce predation -- but all of them need to be worked on, by everyone, for this plan to work. In a lot of ways, this plan is not new. Flow we implement it is. In 2008, after a year of time spent on research and discussions, the Northern and Eastern Maine Deer Task Force presented its deer management recommenda tions to the Joint Legislative Committee on In land Fisheries and Wildlife. These recommen dations now guide the Department's current deer management program. Also in 2008, the Deer Predation Working Group presented its recommendations on how to address coyotes and bears' impact on herds. These recommen dations guide IF&W's current predator man agement program.
www.mefishwildlife.com
And, in January, Ser George Smith convene shop, which was well ; guides and outfitters.' from that event melds of the Northern and E; Force. All of the recommen into the plan aptly call for Deer." This plan wi you to ask yourself, "V Let's start with deer survive Maine winters, conifer forests, most c lands. In the late 197C western Maine experie of spruce budworm, v\i ened and killed entire spruce. The spruce bu conifer forests to youn a warning back then, <
MAY 2011
Photos by Deb Plengey (above) and Deborah Turcotte (below)
line's Game Plan for Deer" at a press conference in March. With him are Commissioner Woodcock (left), Sen.
i. David Trahan and ;d a one-day deer workattended by sportsmen, The strategy that came well with the findings astern Maine Deer Task dations are incorporated ed "Maine's Game Plan II guide IF&W. We want Vi 11 it guide you as well?" wintering areas. To deer move to dense if which are on private )s, northern, eastern and :nced a severe outbreak rhich defoliated, weakstands of balsam fir and dworm changed mature iger stands. We issued saying it would take 30
MAY 2011
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“This effort is going to tahe time.
I t won't happen overnight or in a year. ‘We're going to made great strides. I'm confident o f that. ” —
years or more for the forests to mature. And it has. Also, during the last couple of decades, Maine has witnessed a change in how private lands are owned and managed. Gone are the days of a few private landowners. Recent trends indicate an increased frequency of land sales, as well as annual increases in harvested areas. That affects deer wintering areas. This is what we need to do to address this. As Gov. LePage has mentioned publicly, our depart ment already is doing a good job working with landowners on cooperative agreements to es tablish and protect deer wintering areas. We will continue to do so, because having landowners on our side - landowners who understand that deer yards are good for Maine's bottom line and not just theirs - is important for Maine's future. That's a great start. Next up, with the sup port of Gov. LePage, we are going to look at this situation as opportunity to secure funding from Lands for Maine's Future to establish and protect deer wintering areas in locations where they are most needed. On the issue of predation, we will be imme diately implementing a predation plan that will be targeted and sustained in documented deer wintering areas. It needs to be done. And we ask sportsmen to ask themselves, "What can I do to help decrease predation?" You may find ideas in this plan.
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Commissioner (fiandCer Woodcock
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Legislatively, a number of bills are being in troduced that reflect well of this game plan. We encourage the public to look at those bills and contact their legislators to urge their support. A few bills are controversial, and some that don't take into account the role of our management plans. We need you to think about our state's future, and the hunting and wildlife watching op portunities we want to enjoy for years to come. The Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and
www.mefishwildlife.com
Wildlife already is buildin ment efforts to jump star the Forest Products Coun Small Woodland Owners we've established deer w We're taking to the air, surveys to document dee study populations. The d tion and Marine Resource effort, augmenting Maine and pilots. We're in the field condi surveys, and we're worki of Transportation to deve to alert drivers to deer in high rate of collisions. Also, we will be going 1 including attending sport and gun club meetings, t encourage all of you to c us, just like a number of have promised to do. We are on Facebook. B our website often. It will what we're doing, tips or closing, I would like to ac LePage for his leadership important issue. This effort is going to t pen overnight or in a yea great strides. I'm confide
MAY 2011
g on its deer managet this plan. Along with icil of Maine and the Association of Maine, intering area guidelines, conducting more aerial :r wintering areas and to epartments of Conserva;s are helping us in this ; Warden Service aircraft jcting deer productivity ng with the Department slop highly visible signs areas where there's a :hroughout the state, sman shows and rod 0 promote this plan. I ome on board and help leading outdoor groups lecome our friend. Visit contain information on 1 what you can do. In gain thank Governor i and support on this ake time. It won't hapir. We're going to make nt of that.
MAY 2011
Photo by Paul Cyr. Reprinted with permission.
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W E S T tR * PEE R " r u n t r !t, NORTHERN. EASTERN INCREASE MAINE S NOK1
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Photo by Mike Krug
While we've all been impressed by healthy deer populations, including trophy bucks, in parts of Maine, we've been concerned about low deer numbers in northern, eastern and western Maine. The population is below our publicly derived goals, and below the desires and expectations of hunters, guides and outfitters, rural Maine business owners, and those who enjoy watching deer.
WE'RE DOING SOMETHING ABOUT IT! The Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife has identified
FIVE ELEMENTS that are necessary to rebuild the northern, eastern and western deer herd. The elements are based upon MDIF&Ws White-Tailed Deer Management System and Database, recommendations from the Northern and Eastern Maine Deer Task Force [2007] and the Deer Predation Working Group [2008].
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Keep in mind, there are several inter-related factors that are suppressing deer numbers: winter severity, diminished number and quality of deer wintering areas, predation, and other mortality factors, such as illegal hunting, improper winter feeding, vehicle collisions, etc.
THE FIVE ELEMENTS Each one is critical, and there is no single strategy that will increase deer numbers. Achieving an increase will require successful implementation of the strategies that span each of the five elements below.
ELEMENT 2 Deer Population Management The Department's White-Tailed Deer Management System and Database and the recommendations of the Northern and Eastern Maine Deer Task Force guide its deer manage ment program. Strategies: • conduct research to • refine our current deer population model • better understand interactions between deer, habitat, and predation • understand how moose management may affect our ability to increase the deer population • work with landowners to eliminate deer mortal ity where winter feeding makes deer susceptible to vehicle collisions • increase law enforcement efforts to target illegal kill ing of deer • work with the legislature to increase penalties for illegal killing of deer
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ELEMENT 1 Deer Wintering Areas and Winter Severity Maine's severe winters influence deer survival and deer numbers. To survive our harsh winter conditions, deer move to dense conifer forests, most of which occur on private land. Strategies: • • continue efforts to identify active deer wintering areas • • continue to work with landowners to manage deer wintering areas • • promote "current-use" tax programs as an incentive to manage deer habitat • • identify additional incentives to encourage greater landowner participation in DWA management • • involve landowners, stakeholders, and the legisla ture in the effort to identify incentives
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ELEMENT 4 Deer Planning and Public Involvement MDIF&W has employed public participation to develop management goals and objectives for many species of Maine's wildlife, including deer. The Department has con ducted species planning since the early 1970s and has re fined and expanded the process with each planning update. Most recently, the 1999 Big Game Working Group set the Department's deer population management objectives for 2000-2015. Deer are a public resource, but live on private lands. For any wildlife management effort to be successful, especially those occurring on private property [including deer winter ing area management] society must determine: 1] the wild life management result it desires, 2] the effort that it will undertake or require to achieve the result, and 3] to achieve the result, how much of the effort / cost will be borne by the private landowner and what, if any, society will bear. Strategies: • • convene a public working group in 2015 to update Maine's deer population goals • • ensure that all stakeholder groups interested in deer participate in the process • • ensure that the goals and objectives developed by the working group are fully vetted to the broader society • • determine applicability and feasibility of integrating the marten and lynx models with forest yield models to inform landscape management in NEWME [Super Species Planning effort]
ELEMENT 3 Predation White-tailed deer comprise a significant portion of coyote diets in Maine, particularly during winter and the spring pupping period. Coyote and bear predation are considered an important component of newborn fawn deaths in sum mer. Strategies: • increase efforts to achieve focused coyote control • increase success in deploying coyote hunters to pre dation sites • seek general funds to achieve sustained coyote con trol • consider ways that annual hunting and trapping har vests could be used to stabilize the bear population • continue to lobby the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service for an Incidental Take Permit for Maine's regulated trapping program
ELEMENT 5 Information and Outreach
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Public understanding of the Department's deer manage ment plan and public support for the plan is essential for it to be successful. Strategies: • the Department will enhance its public outreach on two fronts: • better informing the public about the many aspects of deer management and updating the public on progress in deer rebuilding efforts, and • better providing information on ways concerned individuals and groups can improve deer habitat • MDIF&W will increase public understanding and sup port for it efforts to increase the deer population
If we are to succeed in increasing the deer population in northern, eastern and western Maine, the Department, legislature, landowners, sportsmens groups, and interested citizens must all work together to implement A PLAN TO INCREASE M A IN E’S N O RTH ER N A N D EASTERN DEER HERD. MAY 2011
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Our latest efforts to improve deer herds Guidelines for Wildlife:
Managing Deer Wintering Areas in Northern, Western and Eastern Maine
Rebuilding Maine's deer herd will be challeng ing; the deer decline has been developing gradu ally over many years and it will take many years to improve. Increasing the deer population will require the collaborative efforts and resources of the Depart ment, legislature, sportsmen's groups, landowners, other outdoor partners, and interested individuals. With this challenge comes a great opportunity to expand and forge new partnerships and collec tively work to restore deer for future generations of outdoor enthusiasts.
DEER WINTERING AREAS AND WINTER SEVERITY NEW!! Deer Wintering Area [DWA] Management Guidelines MDIF&W, Maine Forest Products Council and the Small Woodland Owners Association of Maine jointly developed a set of deer wintering area management guidelines to be shared with all for est landowners. Guidelines for Wildlife: Managing Deer Wintering Areas in Northern, Western and Eastern Maine is the result of an extraordinary PAGE 18
www.mefishwildlife.com
collaboration between pri the Department to develc management guidelines f lines promote 1] improve of the ecological value of DWA management and 2 tions among landowners, Department biologists.
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State Ac< of Important Wint«
Funding opportunitie; available the state is pi tion of important DWAs conservation easemen state are including pro\ winter habitat.
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MDIF&W has intensifiei landowners on some leve habitat management. Cui of deer wintering habitat managed. We hope to se number as landowners ei MAY 2011
Maine Wildlife Park photos
in northern, eastern and western Maine vate landowners and )p biologically sound or DWAs. These guided landowner knowledge DWAs and enhanced ] improved communicaloggers, foresters, and
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s are limited, but when jrsuing free acquisiIn other cases, ts purchased by the /isions for managing
of the cooperative DWA management guidelines.
ENHANCED!! DWA Aerial Surveys MDIF&W has long recognized the importance of deer wintering habitat to deer survival in Maine and, depending on aircraft availability and favorable conditions, regards winter DWA aerial and ground surveys as a high priority of Wildlife Division biologists. Biologists and game wardens have been documenting the location of deer wintering areas since the 1950s. In 2011, the Department partnered with the Departments of Conservation and Marine Resources to augment Warden Service aircraft and pilots and expand opportunities for aerial surveys.
landowners, loggers and foresters in Maine.
DEER POPULATION MANAGEMENT NEW!! Helicopter Surveys The Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife along with its partner, the Maine Forest Service, is conducting helicopter deer surveys to estimate deer abundance in several southern and central wildlife management districts. The aerial surveys are low-level flights that incorporate a mark-resight estimate to gauge deer densities. Survey work is contingent on wintering conditions after the firearms hunt and must take place prior to deer moving to wintering areas.
ENHANCED!! \ICEDH fA Management j its efforts to work with :l of cooperative deer rrently, 300,000 acres are being cooperatively e further growth in this mbrace implementation MAY 2011
NEW!!
DWA Management Programs and Workshops
Productivity and Recruitment Surveys
MDIF&W is coordinating with the Small Wood足 land Owners Association of Maine, Maine Sustain足 able Forestry Initiative Implementation Com足 mittee, Maine Forest Products Council, Certified Logging Professional Program, and landowner initiatives to offer DWA management programs. To date, programs have reached more than 200
Production and recruitment of fawns into the population is important to the growth of the deer herd. In 2011, we began collecting road-killed does and documenting the number of fetuses per female to derive an index to female productivity and to provide information on breeding chronol足 ogy.
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MYTH #
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CLOSE DEER HUNTING STATEWIDE TO HELP HERD Some people say that closing deer hunting on a statewide scale would help deer herds. That would be a regrettable deci sion. Though more than half the state right now - the eastern, western and northern parts of Maine - are facing very low deer populations, that doesn't mean we should close hunting completely. Deer population management is about doe popula tion management, and MDIF&W manages the doe population by regulated hunting with any-deer permits. Since 1983, deer hunters in northern, eastern and western Maine have been restricted to bucks-only regulations. Most significantly, there are very good deer numbers in the southern portion of Maine. Closing hunting there would cause a significant increase in deer densities in southern Maine, increasing the risk of Lyme disease and negative interactions with humans, including a rise in vehicle collisions and property damage.
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STOP ISSUING ANY-DEER PERMITS Already, districts where deer numbers are well below the publicly derived population goals, there are no any-deer per mits issued. Stopping them statewide would create many of the same problems as closing all deer hunting in Maine. Anydeer permits are a management tool, not a reward system for hunters, and they are IF&W's best management tool in many cases. Tight control of doe populations mean having a firm grasp on the overall whitetail deer population numbers.
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MAY 2011
Debunking some popular misconceptions about Maine's management of the whitetail deer herd
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START MAKING LAWS TO PROTECT DEER YARDS MAINE SHOULD BE REINSTITUTING COYOTE SNARING Unfortunately, this isn't even up to the Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife. Federal law intervenes here - forbidding the take of coyotes via snare because they share habitat with the Canada lynx, a federally protected species listed officially as "threatened." Without acquiring an incidental take permit from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, coyote snaring can足 not take place. MDIF&W currently is working with USFWS to obtain an incidental take permit for its regulated trapping program.
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Maine is unique in that virtually the entire state is the prop足 erty of private landowners, both big and small. Telling people what they can or cannot do on their own property is danger足 ous business. There have been various attempts in the past to create a regulatory approach to managing deer yards. For the most part, these were not supported by landowners, our elected officials and others. Flaving said that, it's true that the Department is working hard at establishing working relation足 ships with landowners large and small to increase the pool of landowners managing this critical deer habitat intact.
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A E R I A L S URVEYS
D UBLE UNT Method pioneered in Quebec being used in Maine to grasp deer population levels By Lee Kantar MDIF&W Deer Biologist Flying low over the tree tops my eyes are scan ning every nook and cranny in the forest below searching for movement, a flick of an ear or a burst of motion and energy out of the green tree tops and snowy ground. We are a crew of four aboard a Jet Ranger Heli copter traveling 200 feet above ground level at 45 miles per hour. Our pilot is keeping us steady on a 25-mile long transect across a wildlife manage ment district. Along with the pilot are three wild life biologists. One serves as recorder, navigator and referee, while the other two (one forward and one aft) try to spot deer or moose. One of the recorder's most important jobs is to listen to the front observer and secondary observer (who cannot hear each other) and determine whether they are seeing the same animals. This is just a glimpse of what is going on in the helicopter as Maine Department of Inland Fisher ies and Wildlife conducts a double count survey for either deer or moose. The double count survey was pioneered in Que bec by Francois Potvin and tested on deer on An ticosti Island. Anticosti Island has habitat similar to Maine in that it is primarily composed of spruce and fir. Spruce and fir often form a tight forest canopy, making it difficult to see animals on the PAGE 22
ground from the air. To improve the visibility of deer among the spruce-fir, bubble windows are installed on the observer sides of the helicopter to see directly down through the forest canopy. Observers attempt to spot deer or moose below and alongside the helicopter skid up to a 45-degree angle demarcated (and calibrated) on the window. When the helicopter is flown at an elevation of 200 feet, the ground area seen through this 45-degree angle delineates a 200foot wide transect from which deer or moose are observed. Deer that are sighted parallel to the helicopter and below the line marked on the window are counted as being in the transect, and those animals that are outside that line are out of the transect. Most deer and moose exhibit a flight response when a helicopter flies only 200 feet above them. Thus, animals that are bedded down, or that might otherwise be difficult to see, move when the helicopter flies overhead. The movement of these animals improves the sightability and detec tion rate of the observers. Nevertheless, in any aerial survey animals are missed, either because they are hidden from view or overlooked. The double count survey uses the difference in the number of animals seen by the two observers to calculate the total number of animals living in an area. In the double count survey, the two observers www.mefishwildlife.com
A Maine Forest Servici
are unable to hear or cor other. Thus, the number server sees is considered The total number of anin the number of animals th sees are used in mathem determine the number of 200-foot transect. Since 1 is carefully chosen to rep district, biologists can api ties seen on the transect MAY 2011
nmunicate with each of animals each oban independent count, lals they both see and iat only one observer atical calculations to animals residing in the :he path of the transect resent the habitat of the ply deer or moose densito the rest of the wildlife MAY 2011
management district. MDIF&W is testing this survey to provide a finer resolution of data to manage deer and moose. The survey requires many things; among the most vital is the capability to fly an aerial sur vey with the most appropriate equipment and crew. The standard aircraft has been the Bell Jet Ranger helicopter and Maine is fortunate to have this available to us, as well as highly skilled and dedicated pilots working for the Maine Forest Service. MAINE FISH AND WILDLIFE
The partnership that has been forged between MDIF&W and the MFS is not only an excellent example of two agencies working together but a collaboration that provides a great service to the people of Maine who cherish wildlife and our natural resources. Survey work will continue into the winter of 2011-2012, and we are working with our sister agencies in New Brunswick and New Flampshire to assess the applicability and reliability of the survey technique for deer and moose in Maine. PAGE 23
Taking to the air gives biologisl By Arlen Lovewell Assistant Regional Wildlife Biologist Ashland Regional Office Starting in early January, wildlife biologists in northern Maine began planning for aerial deer wintering area (DWA) surveys. Regional Biologists were ready to go by mid-January, but the lack of major snowstorms and deep snow resulted in un restricted travel conditions for deer. Subsequent ly, deer remained spread out over large areas until early February, when snow depths started restricting their travel. This resulted in a late start for aerial surveys, but also meant deer were only dealing with mild-moderate winter conditions here for most of December and January. The purpose for flying deeryard surveys is multi-fold: (1) To know the location of major deer PAGE 24
wintering areas and the approximate number of deer wintering in each deeryard; (2) To observe the physical condition of deer in a deeryard and see how well deer are faring during a particular winter; (3) To note any major issues or concerns with predation by coyotes; (4) To identify the boundaries of deer wintering areas, including the core shelter area as well as the peripheral sec ondary shelter and feeding areas; (5) To gather up-to-date deeryard information for cooperative DWA management programs. Wildlife biologists and forestland managers utilize this information to proactively plan for long-term forest manage ment programs that will both benefit deer and meet forest management objectives. The procedure used for aerial DWA surveys varies by wildlife region. This is partly due to the variability in deer wintering behavior in differ www.mefishwildlife.com
ent regions of the state, ern Maine, deer generally softwood forests that oft* streams; however further deer may also winter in \i forest, although not nece a riparian corridor. Becau: nature of deeryards in th< of Maine, aerial survey pr covering more forest tern nology to setup a grid of mile intervals. This type in a survey covering a lar many different forest star In northern Maine (Wile DWA surveys focus prima or stream corridors. Hov\ townships we also fly ove MAY 2011
AERIAL SURVEYS MDIF&W Photos by Kendall Marden (far left) and Travis Barrett
(Far Left) A Maine Forest Service helicopter flies over the Penobscot River as it be gins its journey to conduct aerial surveys for deer. (Top) The aerial survey team is: (from left) Maine Forest Service Pilot Chris Blackie, MDIF&W wildlife biologists Kendall Marden, Lee Kantar and Al Starr. (Left) The Maine Forest Service helicopter.
ts down-to-earth deeryard data For example, in northr winter in the lowland ;n occur along rivers and south in central Maine, irge tracts of softwood ssarily associated with se of the more random 2 more southern regions ocedures may require ain and using GPS techflight lines at 1A or Vi of aerial survey results ge variety of terrain and id types. Jlife Region G), aerial rily on following riparian rever, in the organized :r large blocks of soft MAY 2011
wood stands located outside the riparian cor ridors. In both the organized and unorganized townships, we will always check active timber harvest operations as they provide deer with large amounts of winter food and attract deer out of the surrounding deer wintering areas. GPS tech nology is often used to pinpoint our location when flying over unfamiliar terrain. Most of Wildlife Re gion G flying will be in the unorganized townships with the objective of providing the large forest landowners with updated deeryard information. We most often use Maine Warden Service aircraft, relying heavily on the knowledge provided by MWS pilots. A major benefit of using local warden service pilots is their extensive knowledge of the terrain within the unorganized territories. All of the large deeryards in northern Maine are well known by the regional wildlife biologists. MAINE FISH AND WILDLIFE
They have been identified, mapped and zoned, or in some cases, managed through cooperative landowner agreements. Our deeryard records in Wildlife Region G go back as far as the early 1950s, and they have been periodically updated through both aerial and ground surveys. One must keep in mind that a single flight over a deer yard in any given winter is only snapshot of deer use for that particular winter, and additional aerial and ground surveys over many years are neces sary to provide accurate information for both deeryard protection and management programs. These aerial winter deeryard surveys are just one of several deer management projects that have been undertaken by Regional Wildlife Biolo gists this winter. Identifying and maintaining these critical wildlife habitats is crucial to main taining deer populations in northern Maine. PAGE 25
IF YOU CARE, LEAVE THEM THERE Young wildlife is often 'kidnapped' by wellmeaning people in the mistaken belief that they have been abandoned. The mother-young bond is very strong in mammals and birds, and parents will return given the opportunity to do so with out human interference. Because wild parents can't hire babysitters, and must leave their youngsters alone while they search for food, people often stumble upon a fawn hidden in the leaves on the forest floor, young birds taking their first flights, or young raccoon and fox kits wandering a bit too far from the home den. Unfortunately, every spring moose calves and deer fawns are brought to the Maine Wildlife Park in Gray, and the majority of them are not orphans. Here is what you should do if you see young wild life or birds: If you encounter a fawn, leave it alone! Adult mother does return only 2-3 times a day to young fawns to nurse them, otherwise leaving them stashed in a protected place and relying on their camouflage and lack of scent to protect them from predators. As soon as fawns are able to keep up with mom, they travel more with her as she for ages for food.
An Overview of Deer Management in Maine WHAT IS THE PROBLEM? Maine deer are widely loved and appreciated by the public and are important contributors to the state's economy. Deer populations in northern, eastern, and western Maine are below the Department's publicly derived population goals for deer. This has translated into a decline in deer hunting and viewing oppor tunity having a negative impact on Maine businesses.
WHAT ARE THE FACTORS AFFECTING DEER IN NORTHERN, WESTERN, AND EASTERN MAINE? White-tails are near the northern limit of their range in Maine and do not occur in viable numbers north of the St. Law rence River. Consequently, there are several inter-related fac tors that are likely causing low deer numbers in northern,
For Your Information The asterisks * throughout this article denote information that is available on our website: www.mefishwildlife.com. If you're unable to access the Internet, please call the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife at (207) 287-8000 or send a letter to MDIF&W 284 State St., SHS 41, Augusta, ME 04333
MDIF&W Photos by Travis Barrett (above) and Kendall Marden (below) MDIF&W Assistant Regional Wildlife Biologist Allen Starr and Deer and Moose Biologist Lee Kantar prepare for take off to conduct aerial deer surveys. (Below) A view from the helicopter of our partner, the Maine Forest Service. eastern and western Maine. These include: 1. Winter severity - three of the most severe winters of the past 60 years occurred in 2001, 2007, and 2008; 2. Diminished number and quality of deer wintering areas [DWAs]; 3. Predation, and 4. Other mortality factors [illegal hunting, food quality, improper supplemental feeding, vehicle collisions, etc.].
HOW DOES MDIF&W MANAGE DEER IN MAINE? White-tailed deer are a public resource, but their habitat is privately owned. The Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife [MDIF&W or Department] manages Maine's deer popula tion to ensure a healthy, secure population for both viewing and hunting, but at a balance that is mindful of other biological, social, and economic considerations. Management of deer habitat depends on a partnership between the Department and private landowners. • Public sets management direction - In 1999 the Big Game Public Working Group, comprised of stakeholders having diverse interests in deer, considered deer manage ment issues for several months and recommended deer management goals and objectives that covered the entire state for the period 2000-2015.
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Biological data from annual deer harvest - Each year Department biologists collect biological informa tion from 4,000 - 5,000 hunter-killed deer to assess the health and condition of Maine's deer herd. Monitoring winter severity - Since the 1950s
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Department biologists have been monitoring winter con ditions [temperature, snow depths, deer sinking depths, and snow profile characteristics] throughout the state from early December through late April to estimate the impact of winter conditions on deer mortality. DWA aerial and ground surveys - Each winter MDIF&W biologists survey DWAs to update and maintain records of historical and active DWAs throughout the state. Manage DWAs on state lands - MDIF&W manages 8,700 acres of DWAs on Department-owned lands and assists the Bureau of Parks and Lands with management on an additional 29,000 acres. Cooperative DWA management / agreements The Department works with many landowners on some level of collaboratively planned wintering habitat manage ment impacting almost 300,000 acres of winter habitat. State acquisition of important winter habitat for deer - Funding opportunities are limited, but when avail able the State has pursued fee acquisition of important DWAs; conservation easements purchased by the State have included provisions for managing winter habitat. Productivity and recruitment surveys - Production and survival of fawns into the population is important to the growth of the deer herd. The Department is collect ing road-killed does and counting the number of fetuses per female to derive an index to fawn productivity and to provide information on breeding chronology. Chronic Wasting Disease monitoring - For more than 10 years, the Departments of Agriculture, USDAWildlife Services, and Inland Fisheries and Wildlife have monitored for CWD - a fatal disease of the nervous system of deer - and worked to prevent its introduction. Annual surveys of deer and moose hunters - Annu ally, the Department conducts surveys of deer and moose hunters to derive an index of deer abundance. Unfortu nately, hunter response rates are often low and provide an inadequate sample size.
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WHAT IS BEING DONE TO INCREASE DEER NUMBERS IN NORTHERN, WESTERN, AND EASTERN MAINE? Increasing Maine's deer herd will require the collaborative efforts and resources of the Department, sportsmen's groups, landowners, interested citizens, and other partners. The effort is challenging, and progress will take time. Still, we are forging partnerships and we have accomplished much during the past 18 months. •
Deer management planning - Low deer popula tion concerns in northern, western, and eastern Maine have been intensifying for nearly 20 years and were topics explored in depth in 1993 by the Downeast Deer Committee, in 1999 by the Big Game Public Working Group, in 2007 by the Northern and Eastern Maine Deer Task Force [LD 823]*, and in 2008 by the Deer Preda tion Working Group [LD 2288]*. Implementation of these recommendations guides the Department's deer management program as we work to rebuild northern, western, and eastern deer populations.
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DWA management guidelines - Guidelines for Wildlife: Managing Deer Wintering Areas in Northern, Western and Eastern Maine* is the result of an extraor dinary collaboration between private landowners and the Department to develop biologically sound management guidelines for DWAs. These guidelines promote 1] im proved landowner knowledge of the ecological value of DWAs, and enhanced DWA management, 2] improved communications among landowners, loggers, foresters, and Department biologists. They seek to increase the number of managed DWAs. Cooperative DWA management / agreements - MDIFW continues to expand cooperative working relationships between landowners and MDIF&W to im prove the identification and monitoring of DWAs and to promote information sharing to guide timber harvesting. DWA management programs and workshops MDIF&W is coordinating with SWOAM, Maine SFI Imple mentation Committee, Maine Forest Products Council, Certified Logging Professional program, and landowner initiatives to offer DWA management programs. To date, programs have reached more than 200 landowners, log gers and foresters throughout Maine. Helicopter surveys - MDIF&W and the Maine Forest Service are conducting helicopter surveys of deer in central and southern Maine to estimate deer abundance as we work toward re-calibrating the deer population model. Identifying areas of high road mortality - De partment biologists partnered with the Department of Transportation to develop a highly visible deer crossing sign and are installing signs as we identify high deer collision areas. Winter deer feeding - Supplemental feeding is dis couraged by the Department as it draws deer near roads where they are susceptible to vehicle colli sions, cause malnutrition, and/or increase coyote and free-roaming predation. MDIF&W has increased its efforts to inform landowners of alternatives that
improve deer habitat naturally, as in the publication Winter Feeding of Deer - What You Should Know*. Coyote night-hunting season extended - To pro vide additional coyote night-hunting opportunities and address deer predation by coyotes, the 124th Legislature extended the coyote night-hunting season to run from Dec. 16 to Aug. 31. Previously it ended on June 1. Targeted and focused coyote hunting - As incidenc es are brought to our attention, Department biologists continue to work with coyote hunters and have agreed to work with the Sportsman's Alliance of Maine Coyote Hunting Network to direct coyote hunting into DWAs experiencing predation. Hunting season restrictions - The Department's Fish and Wildlife Advisory Council approved a rule in which any Wildlife Management District designated bucks-only during the regular firearms deer season would also be bucks-only for all deer hunting seasons, including archery and youth. NEMDTF recommended this rule. Exploring additional funding for deer manage ment - MDIF&W is exploring additional funding oppor tunities for deer management. Education and outreach - MDIF&W has developed a number of news articles on deer and deer management
appearing in the Department's online magazine and sev eral landowner newsletters such as How Deer Survive Winter*. The Department's Wildlife Division Webpage is being redesigned and will prominently feature a variety of informational materials on deer and deer manage ment.
HOW CAN OUR OUTDOOR PARTNERS HELP? There are several areas where the Department could benefit greatly from public support and that of our outdoor partners: 1. Coordinate efforts with outdoor partners to improve deer hunter survey response rates; 2. Implement SAM's coyote-network to direct hunting to DWAs identified by the Department; 3. Coordinate with outdoor partners to compile information for landowners about food plots and habitat manage ment and to promote these activities; 4. Improve promotion and awareness of current-use tax programs that provide landowners with incentives to manage deer habitat; and 5. Explore additional funding opportunities for the De partment to help achieve these goals and others more swiftly.
Winter Feeding of Deer: What You Should Know When it comes to winter feeding of deer in Maine the adage might be: "if you care, let them fend for themselves". Despite a sincere concern for wild deer, many people will do more harm than good and may be killing deer with kindness. In winter, the microorganisms within the deer stomach are different from the microorganisms in spring, summer, and fall. This change allows deer to digest a diet of woody browse during winter months and turn the high-fiber diet into proteins through intricate physiological processes. Offering food items during this period other then woody browse requires different microorgan isms in the stomach to complete digestion, thus potentially starv ing a deer by feeding it or causing other feeding illnesses. Remember: Just because deer will eat a food provided by
humans in winter does not mean that it is good for them. Three main factors impact winter survival: 1] winter severity, 2] body condition going into winter as determined by availability of high quality foods in the summer and fall, and 3] adequate softwood cover in the winter. In this brochure we have outlined some of the undesired impacts of supplemental feeding and provided alternative op portunities to help improve winter survival of deer. In most cases supplemental feeding does not reduce deer losses during winter and in some cases actually increases losses. Although abnormally severe winters inevitably cause periodic declines in deer abundance, healthy and naturally-fed deer do not require a handout to thrive in Maine.
WINTER ADAPTATIONS OF DEER Deer increase food intake during September and October, increasing fat accumula tion by as much as 20-30%. During the winter, they reduce food intake (regardless of availability), relying on fat reserves for as much as 40% of daily nutritional needs. Deer conserve energy during winter months to slow fat loss, and select specific win ter habitat offering features that enhance energy conservation. Yard-up" with other deer to share the energetic cost of maintaining a winter trail network that provides access to cover and browse and escape routes from predators.
UNDESIRED IMPACTS OF WINTER FEEDING • • • •
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Feeding deer in late fall may disrupt deer migration to natural wintering areas. Feeding concentrates deer in smaller areas reducing size and effectiveness of trail networks. Concentrating deer in smaller areas can create a feed ing ground for predators. Concentrating deer in smaller areas may increase their vulnerability to diseases such as Chronic Wasting Disease. Concentrating deer in smaller areas can literally kill all vegetation within their reach over one to several hun dred acres, impacting regeneration and reducing the forest's ability to shelter deer in the future. May cause long-term impacts on deer behavior as they lose their wariness toward people. Feeding sites near homes also place deer at greater risk of death from free-roaming dogs. Feeding sites can significantly increase deer/vehicle collisions. Deer may actually starve when fed supplemental foods during winter if they have a full belly of indi gestible foods; many deer have starved to death with stomachs packed full of hay. Providing inadequate amounts of supplemental foods can actually cause malnutrition in normally healthy deer populations. Spoiled or moldy feed may be ingested and can be fatal. Introducing a sugary diet to a deer used to eating a fiber-rich diet of browse can also lead to rapid death. Deer compete aggressively for scarce, high-quality foods and only the strongest, most dominant deer (who would have survived the winter anyway) gain access to food, while deer most vulnerable to starvation in winter (usually fawns) are denied access to supplemental feed by more aggressive deer. Deer may die from eating too much feed at one time. Ending a feeding operation prematurely will lead to nutritional problems for deer that have become de pendent on winter feeding, as will beginning a feeding operation too late. Winter feeding is expensive; one deer requires 2 to 5 lbs of feed per day depending on the quality of feed.
INAPPROPRIATE WINTER FEEDING OF HAY WITHIN A DEER WINTERING AREA: Note how high concentrations of deer have consumed all available browse indicating that deer densities have exceeded local carrying capacities. With complete regeneration failure, there will be no mature winter-cover trees in the future.
HARMFUL WINTER FEEDING: Hay and potatoes left for deer can cause malnutrition, starvation and death. Many deer congregated to this site, as shown by the paths. In recent years, there have been more than 60 deer killed adjacent this site from vehicle collisions as they leave softwood cover and travel across a state road.
PRACTICES TO MINIMIZE UNDESIRABLE IMPACTS OF FEEDING • • • • •
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The best option is to not feed deer at all, but if you choose to please read on. Locate deer feeding sites in or near deer wintering areas (softwood cover). Locate deer feeding sites 1/2 mile or more from plowed roads to minimize road-kill losses. Distribute feed in many locations, every day to reduce competition among deer. Begin feeding in late December or after accumulating 12 inches of snowpack (whichever comes first) when deer have likely transitioned to their wintering areas. Proper feed is natural browse items such as; dogwood, maple, ash, birch, or witch hobble. Oats or acorns can be given as diet supplements. If providing artificial feed consider the following: • Deer require up to three weeks to adjust to new foods, so deer should not be overfed, nor introduced abruptly to new foods; • Food with high sugar content must be intro duced in early December; if later than intro duce very gradually or rapid death can occur; • Deer feed should not contain animal proteins from animals rendered into feed; • DO NOT FEED: hay, corn, kitchen scraps,
potatoes, or cabbage/lettuce trimmings; Use a complete horse, dairy, or deer formula tion in pellet form. Other feeds are available with corn and molasses but offer less nutri tional value increasing the volume you need to provide and ultimately costing you more (even though the price per bag is similar); • Feed should be protected from moisture or located on a platform off the ground to prevent mold which can be fatal; and • Consider that an average deer may consume 2 to 5 pounds per day (depending on quality), a 50-pound bag is about $11, and duration of feeding could be about 90 days in northern Maine. That equals $40 to $100 per deer, per winter or if you are feeding 30 deer than $1,200 to $3,000 for the winter. Once a feeding program is begun, do not interrupt or terminate it until spring greenery emerges. People who feed a few deer in December should expect to buy food for considerably more deer by February. Watch for over-browsing or stripping bark off trees, this can be an indication of too many deer and not enough food. •
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BENEFIT OF HARVEST TIMING: Deer browse on treetops made readily available from harvesting near their softwood cover.
PREFERRED ALTERNATIVES FOR LANDOWNERS • • •
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Take an active role in managing your woodlands to improve deer habitat naturally. Key is to maintain sufficient amounts of high-quality wintering habitat. The Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife (MDIF&W) encourages landowners to develop a man agement plan for their woodlands to provide optimal winter and/or summer habitat (depending on applicabil ity) for deer. Many wood harvesting practices are good for deer, while also providing income from timber production. Some practices, such as thinning, crop tree selection, and fire wood cutting can provide immediate benefits for deer, and simultaneously enhance the value of future timber sales. Timing one's forest management activities, whether for firewood or lumber, to occur during winter also provides deer with a large amount of natural browse from treetops, when they can best use it. Generally, deer prefer hardwood tree-tops for browse. Many practices improve year-round habitat for deer and other wildlife:
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Apple trees can be released from competition to encourage better production of fall foods, • Small fields can be planted with cool season forages, or create food-plots for deer, • Flardwood stands can be managed to favor acorn and/or beechnut production, and • Wetlands can be improved to diversify forages for deer. Team up with your neighbor to increase the benefit of these efforts. There are a number of avenues for assistance if you are interested in improving wildlife habitat: • The USDA Natural Resource Conservation Service offers many cost-sharing programs, educational materials, and technical advice. • Enlist the services of a licensed forester. • Contact your Maine Forest Service District For ester at http://www.maine.gov/doc/mfs/fpm/ df visit.htm • Use online resources or contact your Regional MDIF&W office. For telephone numbers, visit our website at www.mefishwildlife.com.
How Deer Survive Winter By Joe Wiley and Chuck Hulsey MDIF&W Wildlife Biologists The white-tailed deer has developed a remarkable set of adaptations that enable the species to survive the deep snow and cold temperatures that occur in Maine, the northern limit of their range in North America. The white-tailed deer found here in the Northeast is one of the three northernmost of 16 subspecies. It is also the largest of the white-tail subspecies. Deer do not occur in viable numbers north of the St. Lawrence River. Northern deer have larger body size than deer further south. This is true of all mammals, in that body size increases as you progress northward. Large body size conserves energy better because of a lower surface to mass ratio.
Programs The Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife works with Small Woodlot Owners Associ ation of Maine to offer deer wintering area manag ing programs through SWOAM chapter events. This article appeared as a three-part series in SWOAM's newsletter in 2010 and in M aine Fish and W ildlife magazine Summer 2010 edition, avail able for viewing at www.mefishwildlife.com
Deer shed their hair coat in the spring and fall. The red summer hair has solid shafts and lacks an undercoat, but the gray-brown winter coat has hollow hair shafts and a dense, wool like under fur, providing effective insulation. Deer have special muscles that can adjust the angle of their hair shafts to obtain maximum insulation. During the fall, deer accumulate and store body fat under their skin and around internal organs. This serves both as insula tion and energy reserve for the rigors of the winter ahead. Fat reserves can be up to 30 percent of body mass of adult does in the fall. The natural winter diet is lower in protein and less digestible than the summer diet, requiring more energy to digest and resulting in fewer calories. This translates into a "voluntary" reduction of feed intake through the winter, particularly in late winter. The stored fat is burned during winter to partially com pensate for the lack of energy in the winter diet. Deer normally lose weight during the winter even when fed a free choice, high protein diet. These adaptations are designed for the conservation of en ergy. Deer go into the winter with a full tank of gas (fat reserves) not knowing how long the journey will be. If deep snow and bit ter winds start early or persist late into spring, some deer will run out of gas (fat reserves) and die. The greatest mortality is experienced by fawns, followed by adult bucks and then does. Severe winters can significantly de plete the fawn crop, resulting in drastically reduced recruitment into the population. These effects can be seen for many years in reduced numbers in the age class data. Consecutive severe win ters can reduce recruitment by 90 percent, resulting in drastically reduced summer densities. Deer behavior also changes in the fall, as family groups of deer congregate into larger groups made up of mostly adult does and fawns born the previous June (kin groups). These groups seek protection from wind and reduced snow depths by moving to sheltered areas, which comprise 5 to 15 percent of their summer range. These movements occur in late November through December. Northern deer are known to travel up to 40 miles between their summer range and winter range, but 5 to 10 miles is more typical. Mature bucks seek out these areas after mid-December when their testosterone levels start to drop after the rut. This important winter habitat provides several benefits, such as dense softwood canopies that intercept more snow, providing reduced snow depths. Congregating in these areas also allow many deer to share the energy cost of maintaining a trail net work to access cover and food and to escape predation. These and other benefits provide critical "deer yard" habitat deer need to survive Maine's winters.
WHAT IS A DEER WINTERING AREA? Deer Wintering Areas (DWAs) or "deer yards" are a critical habitat for white-tailed deer living at the northern end of their range. A DWA is the habitat where deer go to avoid harsh winter winds and deep snow. During a winter of average severity, a deer living in southern Maine will require this shelter for 20-60 days. In far northern Maine dependency is usually 90-125 days. Quality winter shelter occurs where certain landforms and forest stands meet. The former is less understood and underappreciated, but equally important as the type of conifer trees growing on a site. Let's look at each separately.
Photo by Thomas Long, via Flickr; Used with permission.
THE VALUE OF LANDFORM Most DWAs are within or near the riparian areas associated with lakes, ponds, rivers, or streams. A 'Reader's Digest' defini tion of a riparian area is an upland or wetland type associated with a watercourse that is affected by the hydrology of that watercourse. Keep in mind that there are many wetland classifi cations, including forested wetlands where not only could a duck not swim, but you might not even get your sneakers muddy in the summer. Valley bottoms, landscape depressions, aspect, and lower side-slopes provide protection from cold winds. You've experi enced firsthand the relief of standing behind a building or big tree when the temperature is low and the wind is blowing. Warm bodies exposed to cold wind lose heat rapidly. Subsequently, like adding wood to a fireplace in a drafty camp, more calories are burned to maintain a deer's core temperature when exposed to wind. In the north the most daunting challenge for deer survival is to make it through the wintering period with enough fuel left in the tank. Protection from cold wind equates to reducing the rate at which calories are burned. In the northern half of Maine, soils associated with riparian areas are often shallow, stony, poorly drained; or all three. Trees are aggressive life-forms that have evolved to exploit specific conditions associated with soils (site), water, and sunlight. Suc cess is not measured just in rings of growth per inch, but more important to the species, the ability to occupy and dominate a site. Regenerating one's own kind may be the ultimate measure of a tree's success. Cedar, spruce, fir, and to a lesser degree hemlock, are species that are very successful competitors on poorer soils often occurring in and adjacent to riparian habitat. The foliage structure of these trees is also superior to others in intercepting wind and snowfall.
(Above) Photo by Chuck Hulsey
Former Plum Creek forester Kirk MacDonald walking in a cedar-dominated Primary Winter Shelter stand within the Pierce Pond Stream DWA. This stand was lightly commercially thinned about 12 years before this picture was taken. In the foreground are stumps from a much older harvest.
THE CONTRIBUTION OF FOREST COVER A forest stand is a group of trees of same or similar spe cies, age, height, or canopy closure. Stands dominated by cedar, spruce, fir, or hemlock are by far the best at intercepting snow, when they are over 35 feet tall and have canopy or crown clo sure over 50 percent. Snow depths under such stands can be 40 percent lower than under hardwood stands with similar charac teristics. This is because their leaves (needles) intercept falling snowflakes. Three things can happen to snow caught in the treetops. Some snow will still come down to the ground. Some snow will melt, coming down as a liquid and reduce the snow profile. Last, some snow held in the canopy goes directly back to the atmosphere as a vapor. The behavior of "yarding" or congregating in large over wintering groups results in each deer contributing towards the development of a network of trails. Using a trail vs. traversing alone through the snow is a major energy savings. Think back to when you have trudged or snowshoed solo through deep snow. It can range from tough to exhausting, depending on your condi tion. Compare that to when you were with a group, at the back of the line and easing along a trail beaten down by others. For deer, this is the difference between life and death. In addition to conserving energy, adult deer know their network of trails like you know the streets in your neighborhood. So in addition to energy conservation, the network of beaten trails helps deer ac
cess browse and avoid predators. Probably because of the value of trails, larger DWAs with inherent higher number of winter inhabitants equates to a higher rate of survival. The best DWAs have a minimum of half their area in stands providing high quality conifer shelter for the tough months of January and February. Some of the DWA should be in younger stands to replace older shelter stands through time. A repre sentation of mixed softwood-hardwood stands provides a winter food source by way of hardwood browse. During the start and end of the wintering period (December and March) these stands can meet minimal shelter requirements, and at the same time be a source of natural food. Managing the spatial relationship of these stands over time is vital, as deer cannot survive if they use more calories in transit than they gain in the meal.
MANAGING DEER WINTERING AREAS Maintaining sufficient winter shelter for deer is primarily an exercise in forest management. A deer wintering area is the habitat where deer go to find protection from deep snow and cold wind. When the right landform meets the right assemblage of forest stands, the majority of deer can survive a typical Maine winter. Landowners large and small can and do play an essential role in providing, maintaining, and managing this critical winter wildlife habitat.
Before jumping into "Forestry-For-Deer 101," let's acknowl edge that Maine is a geographical mixing zone for our two members of the deer family. We sit where the southern end of the moose's range and the northern end of the white-tail's meet. There are biological, environmental, even evolutionary reasons why the range of these species does not extend farther. A basic ecological principle comes into play in that similar species will not compete for the exact same resource. Because Maine happens to be near the terminus of each range, moose are a bit over engineered and deer under-engineered for Maine winters. They generally do not coexist over the majority of each other's range. To cope with winter, deer assemble in groups (yarding) with in forests dominated by stands of spruce, fir, cedar or hemlock. Such stands must be tall enough and dense enough to intercept the snowfall and wind. The best DWAs include sufficient quality conifer cover and a component of mixed hardwood-softwood stands, either as inclusions among cover stands or adjacent to cover stands. Hardwood browse and canopy litterfall are important natural foods, however they are low in nutritional value compared to food available during the spring, summer, and fall. Deer cannot increase or even maintain body weights throughout a typical Maine winter. Browse intake is important to survival and serves to slow down the rate of weight loss. Shelter and the use of trails created and maintained by numbers of deer serve to conserve calories. The juxtaposition of cover and food is important simply because deer cannot burn more calories getting to food than the calories provided by that food. To that end, the spatial relationship of new harvests, current shelter, future shelter, and browse availability are important considerations in long-term forest management planning. The best DWAs have at least 50 percent of the acreage in stands comprised of what we call Primary Winter Shelter (PWS) and Secondary Winter Shelter (SWS). PWS stands are domi nated by spruce, fir, cedar, or hemlock and are >35 feet in height with crown closures > 70 percent. Crown closure is the percent age of the sky blotted out by limbs and leaves when you look up through the canopy. These stands provide shelter during the most severe winter conditions. Unless overmature, a common stand treatment would be a light commercial thinning, applied as an improvement cut to increase stand growth, quality, and vigor. SWS stands are similar except the crown closure is 50 percent to 70 percent. They provide shelter for all but the most severe conditions typical of the early and latter part of the wintering period. A PWS stand may become a SWS stand after a light commercial thinning, solely because the crown closure falls below 70 percent. If applied as an improvement cut, these stands can return to a PWS stand during the course of a typi cal cutting interval of 15 years. There is also the opportunity to maintain a high conifer component or increase the percentage of conifers over time. With at least 50 percent of a DWA in PWS and SWS stands, the remaining stands can be in younger age-classes and/or stands with a mixture of hardwoods. Young stands may be the product of past land use or a prescribed regeneration treatment. These Non-Mature/Future Shelter Stands provide a source of winter browse. They can be managed to increase their shelter attributes if the soil type favors conifers. Thinning over time can increase the softwood component of such stands. It is generally more challenging to regenerate conifers within a mixed-wood stand because conifers can only reproduce by seed (except pitch
Learn More! Due to many factors, Maine has experienced a decline in the amount and quality of DWA hab itat, especially in north ern, western and east ern Maine. It has become difficult to achieve deer population levels desired by the public. To that end, MDIF&W, the Maine Forest Prod ucts Council and SWOAM have collaborated to de velop DWA management guidelines and make them available to all forest landowners. The 9-page publication Guidelines for W ildlife: M anaging D eer W intering Areas in Northern, W est ern, and Eastern M aine is available on our website
at www.mefishwildlife.com or by writing to us at: Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife 284 State St., SHS 41 Augusta, ME 04333
pine), whereas hardwood species reproduce both by seed and vegetatively by sprouting off stumps and root systems. In my experience managing DWAs I find that hardwood browse is a nearly automatic by-product any time a deciduous tree is cut, whereas regenerating species like spruce, cedar, and hemlock requires close attention to details, such as the timing of cone crops, volume removals, and some good luck. There is no one-size-fits-all harvest prescription for DWAs. The starting point should be to assess what percentage of your land within the DWA provides PWS and SWS. Stand age, vigor, composition, and condition are important considerations. It is desirable to have a broad representation of stand age-classes, however the options available to an owner of 50 acres are dif ferent than an owner of 500 acres. If at the lower acreage end it would be good to know the condition of the DWA beyond your ownership. If less than half the DWA has PWS and SWS stands, maintaining such stands on your property longer via light thin nings, might be best. If a DWA has a lot more than 50 percent in older PWS or SWS, a harvest geared towards regenerating new stands would ensure that sufficient shelter comes on line in the near future. About one foot of growth per year of sites typical of DWAs is common, so it requires about 35 years for trees to reach the shelter stage. Travel corridors serve to connect cover stands within a DWA, and often occur along watercourses. Check your municipal rules for harvesting near these areas. Generally, light thinning or us ing the single-tree or group selection method to 1) maintain the overstory, and 2) establishing conifer regeneration, is desirable as long as connectivity values are maintained.
t> ^ i
.yin_______ i _
Photo by Carrie L. Johnson. Found on Flickr.com. Reprinted with permission.
Deer approach a roadway as if to cross. Drivers who travel in areas that historically have had a high rate of deer-vehicle collisions are urged to watch for new roadside signs, slow down and be alert for possible deer crossings.
MaineDOT PAGE 40
www.mefishwildlife.com
HIGH HIT MAY 2011
Drivers urged to heed new roadside warning signs, watch out for deer By Mark Latti Maine Dept, of Transportation Spokesman and Deborah Turcotte MDIF&W Spokeswoman The arrival of spring means deer are on the move along roadways. MaineDOT and the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife are urging drivers to heed posted warning signs and slow down, particularly in areas where histori cally a high number of deer-vehicle collisions have occurred. As snow slowly disappears this spring, areas along the sides of roads are generally one of the first areas to green up with vegetation. Deer, who have been feeding on poor quality food throughout much of the winter, flock to roadsides where they can feast on tender, green plants. As deer disperse from areas where they have wintered, motorists will often see deer feeding along the sides of roads. Often these areas are along the sides of major highways or high speed routes. Recognizing the need to protect both motorists and deer, MaineDOT and MDIF&W have identi fied several seasonal areas where there are a high number of deer crashes and have installed unique signs that alert motorists to deer dur ing this peak season. These signs are generally specific to a 1-mile or less stretch of road with very high collision rates. It is extremely impor tant that motorists watch for these signs and slow down. "It's a scenario we don't like to see happen - a car hitting a deer, injuring the driver and the ani mal," said MDOT Commissioner David Bernhardt. "Unfortunately, it does happen too often. Please, heed the roadside warning signs and be alert for deer that may want to cross in your path. Save your life, and that of the deer." These "Caution - High Flit Area" signs feature MAY 2011
MAINE FISH AND WILDLIFE
a silhouette of a deer, and are a bright, reflec tive orange and yellow. These signs are foldable signs, and they are only opened and displayed during this time of year, when deer collisions are frequent. As deer disperse away from the roads, these signs will be folded up by MDIF&W personnel so drivers do not become accustomed to them. Next year, they will be unfolded as deer start to move. These signs were recently installed at a high deer crash area along 1-95 in Sherman. That particular stretch of highway is located alongside a deer wintering area, and crosses a traditional travel corridor used heavily by deer. "As we work to reduce mortality factors on deer and rebuild Maine's deer population, alert ing motorists to these high-hit areas is critical," said MDIF&W Commissioner Chandler Woodcock. "By slowing down and using extra caution in these limited-but-distinct sites, drivers have an opportunity to save a deer." Over the past two years, these orange-andyellow signs have been installed at the following locations where there has been a history of deer/ vehicle crashes during this time of year: Route 9-Amherst, Route 9-Wesley, Route 193-Cherryfield, Route 191- Jacksonville, Route 1-Edmunds, Route 1 in East Machias, Route 2-Oakfield, Route 212-Smyrna Mills and Route 1-Monticello. Motorists who see these new signs should be aware that deer are likely in the area, and should drive accordingly. Remember, these signs are only erected during high risk periods for a spe cific section of road. Over the past 10 years, Maine has averaged over 3,000 deer-vehicle crashes each year. Driv ers should take care this time of year, and be on the lookout for all wildlife on the sides of the road. Motorists should reduce their speed when it is dark, use high beams where appropriate, and always wear their seatbelt. PAGE 41
rrxueriM
A LOOK BACK AT OUR HISTORY
Maine o Deer Losses: How Do They Stack
U p? by Gerald R. Lavigne and
ne of lhe more controver sial Issues debated by hunters in Maine concerns the impact of coyote predation on the deer population. Not surprisingly, opinions vary widely as to the imc magnitude of losses to coyo tes and olher nonhunt trig Causes. In addition lo being fod der for lively debate in the hunt ing camp, the issue of ihese deer losses is crucial lo deer manage ment. Although we cannot directly Lally lhe number of deer dying from specific causes, we can determine mortality attributable to legal harvest vs. all olher losses. Data from sources such as deer harvests, dead deer sur veys, examination or winter mor talities, monitoring of winter severity, embryo counts, and predator research allow us to determine the relative Impor tance of various causes of mor tality. Losses of fawns, as well as does of breeding age (six mouths and older), are critical because these deaths affect the capability of the herd to replace dying deer. We know less about fawn mor tality than we do about adult doe deaths.
Let's slant with fawns. We know that 1.000 does or breed ing age in Maine would normally produce about 1,200 fawns at birth in June, but early losses of fawns can be substantial! Dur ing a typical year, only about 800 of these fawns would still be alive In November. Some die at or very soon after birth. This type of fawn mortality is highly Influenced by winter severity. Following a severe winter, mal nourished docs may produce weak or stillborn fawns. Inade quate milk production and abandonment may also contrib ute lo early losses of fawns. In experience and curiosity may lead to injuries and losses, even among healthy fawns. During summer, predation by coyotes, bobcats, and occasion ally dogs, foxes, bears, and even ftshcr, further increases fawn mortality. Predation Is polentlally greatest during the first month of a fawn's life (June and early July). This period corre sponds to early pup-rearing for coyotes, foxes, and other preda tors.
A healthy group ol doer such as this gives no visual due lo lhe mortality that occurs annually wilhin lhe population. Photo by Henry Hilton
H e n r y H i lto n
Tlw authors- are wildlife biologists for the department. Milton serves as coordinator for the Animal Damage Control Program; Lavigne Is a specialist in deer and moose biology in the research section.
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Reprinted from Maine Fish & Wildlife Since Lhe 1950s, we have noted an increase in summer mortality or fawns in Maine. Even though the number of fawns bom in June has been fairly siable, fawns today incur a summer loss of 30-40 percent, compared lo a 20 to 30 percent loss observed during the J 950s, These differences cannot readily be explained by differences In winter severity or nutritional condition of pregnant doe. One difference In conditions existing today, compared to 30 years ago, is an increased number and dis tribution of coyotes and bears in Maine. Research in Maine has suggested that fawns maybe an Important early summer food for coyotes, Scattered observations by the public of coyotes preying on newborn fawns further sup port these findings. Bear are known to be significant preda tors of moose and caribou calves in Canada and Alaska, but iheir effect on whitetailed deer fawns is not well-documented. There is little doubt, however, that fawn survival is being reduced by ad ditional predation pressure com pared to past times. Mortality pallem s for does {six months and older) are more clearly understood because of data collected during lhe hunt ing season. Using Ibis informa tion. we can estimate tolal losses, from which is subtracted known legal harvest to estimate non-hunting mortality. Doe mortality patterns arc very' different regionally lu Maine. North country does are subjected to lower hunting pres sure, but more severe winters, than their counterparts In the southern portion of lhe state. Typical annual mortality In the north before 1983 Iduring cithersex hunting years] was 250 does for every 1.OOO does In the popu lation (Figure 1). Of those 250 deaths, legal hunting accounted for 70. but the majority f 1SOj died from other causes. Preda
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Southern Maine
tion, Illegal hunting, road kills, accidental Injury, crippling loss, disease and malnutrition, and old age were the principal 'other causes'. Predation, mostly by coyotes, appeared to be a rela tively important cause in the north country. More frequent severe wintering conditions con fronting lhose northern deer probably contributed to higher predation losses by reducing Lhe MAINE FISH AND WILDLIFE
F igu re 1. The degree to which legal hunting and olher mortalities impact upon deer populations in Maine is compared by geographical region and by harvest regulations (either Sex permitted versus (imitalions on doe harvests).
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ability of deer to escape pursuit by predators, such as coyoles. In contrast, annual doe losses In the south, prior to 1983, to talled 360 per 1,000 does in population (270 to legal harvest, and 90 to all other causes). Clearly hunting was the pre dominant mortality factor In the south (Figure 1), During winters of extreme severity, deer deaths greatly in crease throughout Lhe state. Such winter Losses may ap proach 35 percent of the herd. To compound the problem, does surviving severe winters are less likely lo produce viable fawns. Whcn excessive winlerkill and reduced fawn production are added to all other losses, it Is easy to understand why Maine's deer populations have some times plummeted to low levels following a series of severe win ters. Since 1982, doe mortality pat terns have changed dramatically (Figure 2). Overall doe losses have been reduced, principally in response to departmental control of the legal harvest of does and with the cooperation of "Old Man Winter." Although bucks-only and shortened cither-sex hunts were tested in 1983-85, doe harvest reductions are currently accomplished us ing the any-deer permit system. Limited doe harvests have suc ceeded in reducing total annual doe losses and, combined with higher fawn production, deer populations have increased. However, the magnitude of deer herd recovery has not been uni form everywhere In the State. In general, population Increases have been greatest In areas such as southern Maine, where legal hunting had formerly been the predominant mortality factor affecting doc. In contrast, population in creases in the north and other lightly hunted areas have been less dramatic, largely because
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northuntlng losses still predomi nate. In these areas, Li is more difficult to reduce total annual doe losses by coni roll Lug the size of the legal harvest. Yet. control of the legal harvest remains our best option for managing deer populations anywhere in Maine. Simply put, we can manipulate the hunting kill of does more effectively than we can control coyote predation, winter losses, road kills, or any other mortali ties. What is the department doing about (hose "other losses'? Sev eral biologically sound programs have been implemented to mini mize these losses. For example.
www.mefishwildlife.com
the Warden Service places high priority on enforcement of deer bunting laws to reduce Illegal hunting losses. Mortality from free-ranging dogs Is being re duced through public education efforts and enforcement of dog leash laws. Coyote predation on deer is addressed through the Animal Damage Control program In which cooperators remove deer-killing coyotes from prob lem areas identified by wardens and biologists. Devastating ef fects of winter losses to the herd are lessened, where possible, by an extensive program to protect and enhance the quality of deer wintering habitat. So, the department is ad dressing the issue of deer losses primarily by manipulating lhe legal doe harvest. Measures cur rently being taken to reduce "other" losses will complement the any-deer permit system in the department's efforts to In crease the herd. We believe this approach, while not eliminating competing deer losses (such as coyote predation), will produce substantial benefits lo the people of Maine. An abundant and healthy deer herd, if prop erly managed, will provide more harvest opportunities and greater viewing opportunities for everyone!
MAY 2011
Reprinted from Maine Fish & Wildlife magazine
DEALING WITH COVOTE PREDATION
Summer 1983
By Henry Hilton Animal Damage Control Coordinator HE COYOTE HAS BECOME an extremely volatile issue in Maine Losses of deer and domestic sheep have aroused considerable public reaction, accompanied by demands for unrestricted opportunities to hunt and trap the species. Much of this interest can be traced back to the reduced deer populations experienced in many areas, and the concern for the future of the deer herd. In addition, the 1970s was a period of resurgence for sheep farming, and the coyote is considered by many to be a factor which could limit the future growth of this indust ry Deer were abundant during the 1950s and 1900s. Record population levels occurred in many areas, levels which were never before experienced and are likely never to be experienced again The size of the herd during those times was the combined result of the abandonment of millions of acres of farmland and past timber harvesting. Conditions changed rapidly however, and the 1970s brought about a sharp contrast to those former years. Modern timber harvesting practices, defoliation of soft woods by spruce budworm, severe wintering conditions, heavy hunting pressure, and the establishment of the coyote brought about an array of factors which worked against deer in Maine. The major factors involved in the decline experienced in the various problem areas, and the importance of each, are quite different Department staff are looking for the evidence that will point to the most important factors controlling deer numbers. They know that predation is one factor among all those affecting coyote numbers, but it is only speculation to call it a major limiting factor. The decline in the deer population in eastern Maine started well before the coyote showed up in this area. Could it be that even with no coyotes, deer would still be in trouble in Maine? Until recently, it was believed that predator control for the benefit of wildlife species was not economically justified or biologically sound.
T
MAY 2011
But now it is becoming part of big game management programs in several states and provinces. What is the real extent of the predation problem in Maine? According to the information source you consult, the problem may be either insignificant, or serious enough to result in complete annihilation of deer. A concerned public often responds by complaining to the Commissioner or to their legislative representative. Responding to a call from John Albert of Lincoln, a warden found the remains of seven coyote killed sheep. But Albert lost a total of 12; the other five may have been lugged off by the coyotes, leaving no trace. Many other farmers likely sustained under documented or undocumented sheep losses. On the other hand, Warden Norman Moulton investigated a report of 40 deer killed near Seboeis Stream in Howland. After interviewing several people in the area, he finally spoke directly with the complaintant and found that no such slaughter actually occurred. It is not uncommon that one dead deer in the woods will be reported by several people, so that it appears several different dead deer were found. The problem, obviously, is one of accurate reporting; there is no question that coyotes kill deer in the Boulton area, and in other areas throughout the state. The inaccuracy of reports, whether understated or overstated, masks the control needs facing wildlife and agricultural managers. And there lies the major problem facing federal and state agencies; how and where to direct effective damage control measures. The purpose of a new department control program is not to eradicate coyotes or any other nuisance wildlife, but to reduce the damage caused by them. In its initial focus on coyote control, the program will document the extent and circumstances of predation problems, and will inform the public as to how to deal with predation and, if possible, how to prevent predation from occurring. When predation does occur, more effective control measures can then be implemented. 1
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- TAKING A Cl WHITE-TAILEE
Do deer look up? Yes. they do. Their sense o f smell and ability to detect movement is well developed. Generally, deer will spend most o f their time look ing for danger at ground level, but they do look up occasionally.
A white tail fawn spends up to twelve hours a day lying motionless in its bed, hiding from predators. Even when the deer matures and has the strength and agility to es cape danger by fleeing, the In stinct to "sit tight" is strong. Often, the animal chooses to stay in a well-hidden bed, letting predators pass by unawares.
WhitetAils can easily clear a seven'Toot fence from a at atiding start, (an eight-foot fence from a running start), but they m ay choose to go under or through a fence. Fences serve as natu ral routes o f travel for deer; deer trails often run parallel with them. Hair on the barbed wire may indicate favorite cross ings. White tails also follow other well-established trails within their home range. Often these trails follow the "path of least resistance", which is the most energy-efficient route-
Deer are strong swimmers and frequently cross large stream s and lakes wlttain their home range. They have been observed swim m ing between off-shore islands several miles apart. They take to the water to throw predators off their trail, and will also par tially submerge themselves In water to es cape biting Insects or sim ply cool off In ex trem ely warm weather.
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MAY 2011
Reprinted from Maine Fish & Wildlife magazine
^EHAVIOR
As the rut Intensifies and does approach estrut, buck* be gin to chase does. Sometime* a buck will trot along, nose to the ground, following a doe's scent trail for a mile or more before losing interest. At other times, buck* make short dashes in pursuit o f does at close dis tances, When a doe is in estrus, she will not run from a courting buck.
MAY 2011
MAINE FISH AND WILDLIFE
Fall 1990
Often a doe in estrus urinates in front a buck, who then sniffs or tastes the urine to determine the doe's breeding status. After doing so. a buck often perform s a lip curl, or^lehm en. The response lasts about five to ten seconds. He curls back his upper lip and inhales while holding his neck and chin upward at a forty-five degree angle— apparently deciding, meanwhile, whether the doe is worth pursuing.
P h o to * by
Leonard Lee Rue in en d L t d R u e, J r. T h a n ts to S t u m p $ itte r t, In c./D eer mod D eer H u n tin g M »g n t in ( far p e rm is sio n to rep rin t te x t used la th is article.
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During the rut. bucks com m uni cate by use o f signs and scent. Shrubs and saplings are rubbed free o f bark, and In the process, special glands on the forehead leave scent on the rubbed area. A buck also paw* and scrapes shallow depression* Into which he urinates, again to leave a strong sign o f his presence. Rubs and S c r a p e s help bucks m aintain their dominance hierarchy and com m unicate with breeding age docs.
The flashing white underside of the tail is a signal o f danger to other whit eta ils, but when a buck runs he com m only clam pa his tail down tight to his rump, apparently to attract less attention to himself.
W hltetail bucks ate m ore social than does, and two or three adult bucks will often travel together as a group, except during the rut. There Is very little need for overt aggression between bucks within this group, as subordinate members learn to avoid dom inant m em bers. Bucks will also spend time groom ing each other. Fights between equally-Large, dom inant bucks are uncommon. Generally, fights are avoided through aggres sive posturing of the dom inant male and subm is sive behavior o f the subordinate animal. When neither anim al accepts a subordinate role. Intense bouts of shoving and neck tw isting occur. The fight norm ally lasts only fifteen to thirty seconds.
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To conserve energy during the winter, deer In Maine move into sheltered areas or "yards". D eer yarding behavior La Influenced by both cold tem peratures and deep snow- A typical yard In cludes an area o f softwood which pro vides hath food and cover. During more severe winters, deer m obility m ay b e come so restricted and food so scarce that the anim al* starve to death. The Insulating qu ali ties o f a deer * coat prevents fallen snow from melting, and the covering of snow even acts as addi tional insulation. Deer that bed down in a snow storm will likely remain b e d ded. If Undisturbed, until the storm passes, even If it lasts several days. Deer can literally be buried by snow and yet be perfectly warm.
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Deer are diet specialists, concentrating on those food* which are moat digestible and nutrition*. They consum e a variety o f herb*, young grasses, fungi, mast, agricultural crop*, young leave*. and the like. When these foods are not a variable. deer will consume w oody browse, Thi* buck finds a meal o f red maple leaves to his liking.
When looking for deer in the wild, it is useful to know that they tend to use the same home range from year to year. The sire o f the area varies seasonally, but generally ranges from 1 to 5 square miles. Buck* tend to oc cupy a larger range than doe* and fawns. In Maine, the home range Includes sum m er and winter ar eas. W hether you are a hunter, a photographer, or sim ply enjoy watching deer in the wild, an un derstanding o f their behavior may help you find them, and it will make trying more enjoyable I
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Read the definitions and the text, then fill in the blanks with the correct word from the list!
W h i t e - t a i l e d d e e r a r e _______________ , f e e d i n g o n l e a v e s , TWIGS, BUDS AND OTHER________________ , WHICH IS ALSO CALLED "_____________ D e e r p r e f e r _________________ t h a t i n c l u d e f o r e s t EDGES, WETLANDS AND OPEN MEADOWS NEAR THICK COVER.
R u n n i n g a t s p e e d s o f u p t o 40 m il e s p e r h o u r , d e e r c a n a l s o ________ AS HIGH AS 10 FEET!
In M a i n e , w h i t e - t a i l e d _____________ a r e b o r n in m i d - t o l a t e M a y . Fr o m b ir t h t o a b o u t 3 w e e k s o f a g e , t h e y h a v e n o s c e n t a t ALL - ONE WAY TO STAY SAFE FROM_____________ . In ADDITION, THEIR ____________ COATS HELP_____________FAWNS AS THEY CURL UP ON THE FOREST FLOOR.
Ev e n t u a l l y , f a w n s a r e s t r o n g e n o u g h t o t r a v e l w i t h t h e MOTHER____________ , AND START TO SAMPLE THE BROWSE THAT WILL MAKE UP ALL OF THEIR DIET WHEN THEY FINISH NURSING.
D e e r h a v e f a ir l y s m a l l ____________ , a n d a f a w n w i l l o f t e n SPEND ITS ENTIRE LIFE WITHIN A FEW MILES OF ITS BIRTH.
Fa l l is t h e t i m e o f t h e ___________ , w h e n a d u l t m a l e d e e r , CALLED____________ , HAVE GROWN A SET O F _____________. A t FIRST, THESE BONY PROJECTIONS ARE COVERED WITH A SOFT, BROWN LAYER OF ____________ , WHICH BRINGS A BLOOD SUPPLY TO THE BONE TO ENÂ ABLE THEM TO GROW. BUCKS SCRAPE OFF THIS VELVET ON SMALL SHRUBS A N D ____________ TO MARK THEIR TERRITORIES. AFTER THE RUT, BUCKS ____________ THEIR ANTLERS FOR THE WINTER; ONLY TO GROW A NEW SET THE FOLLOWING YEAR. PAGE 50
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iiiiJU M iM aaiW i a n t l e r ( s ): l a r g e , b o n y a p p e n d a g e s b r a n c h in g
ON THE HEADS OF MOST DEER SPECIES b r o w s e : t e n d e r sh o o t s o r t w ig s , f it fo r f o o d ;
GREEN FOOD b u c k (s): a m a l e d e e r
c a m o u f l a g e : t o d is g u is e , h id e o r c o n c e a l
d a ppled
:
m a r k e d w it h s m a l l s po t s o r p a t c h es
d o e: a fem a le d eer
f a w n ( s ): a b a b y o r y o u n g d e e r
Photo by Lisa Kane h a b it a t (s ): t h e p l a c e o r e n v ir o n m e n t w h e r e a p l a n t o r a n im a l n a t u r a l l y o r n o r m a l l y l iv e s and grow s
j u m p : t o s p r i n g in t h e a i r
H ERBIV O RES: ANIMALS THAT FEED ON PLANTS p r e d a t o r (s): o n e t h a t p r e y s o n , d ev o u r s o r e a t s o t h e r a n im a l s
r a n g e ( s ): t h e r e g i o n o v e r w h i c h w i l d a n i m a l s m ay roam and feed
Photo by Mark Latti rut:
A
p e r io d o f t im e w h e n b u c k s l o o k fo r
m a tes
sh ed
:
w h en a n tlers fa ll o ff ea ch y e a r
t r e e ( s ):
A
.
w o o d y p e r e n n i a l p l a n t h a v in g a
SINGLE USUALLY LONG MAIN STEM GENERALLY WITH FEW OR NO BRANCHES ON ITS LOWER PART
v e g e t a t io n
(as
:
pl a n t l if e o r to ta l pl a n t c o v er
of an a r ea
)
V ELV ET: THE SOFT VASCULAR SKIN THAT COVERS Photo by Richard Bernier MAY 2011
a n d n o u r is h e s d e v e l o p in g a n t l e r s
MAINE FISH AND WILDLIFE
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W W W .M A IN E G A M E W A R D E N .C O M
MAINE WARDEN SERVICE FIELD NOTES By M ajor Gregory Sanborn , Deputy C hief Game Warden
Mai
A sign warns people that no hunting, trapping or firearms are allowe< Game Preserve. That didn't stop one person last November, though, v and almost hit a warden, too. PAGE 54
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TO CATCH A
Three recent cases illustrate conservation law enforcement is a major part of Maine's deer management plan a me wardens, the police officers * for the outdoors, often get caught up with minute details of their job. They have to, as the successful outcome to a search-and-rescue mission or court case may hinge on one of those tiny details. However, by sweating the small stuff, the big picture sometimes gets a little over looked. Such was the case during a recent staff discus sion on the shape of Maine's deer herd. During a high-spirited exchange on what can be done to reverse a downward trend, a veteran department biologist leaned over and stated to me, "law enforcement is an extension of resource man agement" - a fact often over looked by game wardens themselves. Big picture: the MDIF&W commissioner may promulgate any number of rules or the Maine Legislature may pass an even greater number of laws, but if the sportsmen do not voluntarily comply with them, management of deer is prob lematic. Although the majority of sportsmen do vol untarily follow the law, a small percentage of poachers can cause deer management issues. This is why there is a Maine Warden Service. In this issue's Field Notes, three such cases of poaching during the 2010 fall hunting season will be highlighted, one from each of the three Maine Warden Service divisions. Warden Service Photo
the Limington shot at a deer
SOUTHWESTERN DIVISION The evening of Thursday, Nov. 18 found
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Warden Peter Herring of Gorham patrolling the Limington Game Preserve. During the previous week, Warden Herring had received numerous complaints that hunters were going onto the pre serve after legal shooting time and firing at deer coming out to feed under the cover of darkness. Well after the close of legal hunting time, that ended that day at 4:34 p.m., Warden Herring observed the headlights of a vehicle approaching his location. Warden Herring identified the vehicle as a small pick-up truck and made note that it was moving very slowly along the dirt road. The dirt road was completely within the well-posted game preserve and several residential dwellings were scattered about this rural country road. As Warden Herring kept close eye on the ap proaching vehicle, a shadow appeared between him and the vehicle, outlined in the vehicle's headlights. The vehicle abruptly stopped. At the same instant that Warden Herring identified the shadowy figure as a deer, a bright muzzle flash and thunderous report of a high-powered rifle broke the stillness of the night. Warden Herring instinctively took cover. After a brief moment to gather his senses and to check himself for bullet holes, Warden Herring started his patrol vehicle, activated his blue lights and apprehended the suspected night hunter. Unfortunately for the deer and lawful hunt ers, the night hunter's aim was true and another adult doe deer was poached. In addition to hunt ing at night, the poacher was hunting in a game preserve and discharging a firearm within 100 yards of two occupied residential dwellings. The court case is still pending in York County. PAGE 55
CENTRAL DIVISION Ask any of our active district game wardens and they will most likely tell you that they look forward to -- and prepare very hard for -- the annual open firearms season on deer. That being said, by Thanksgiving time, wardens can not wait for the season to end. Countless interrupted or missed meals with the family, radical work schedules that often cause sleep depravation and always the fact that every hunter checked is armed with a high-powered rifle keeps Maine Game Wardens thinking "officer safety" on every encounter. Such was the case for Warden Glen Annis of Dover. The 2010 deer season had come and gone and family life was becoming a little more predictable. A busy 2010 deer season had left a substantial pile of court case report writing for his immediate attention. Hours of pecking away at a laptop computer completing case reports are certainly not as romantic as chasing down a fleeing night hunters! However, a phone call he received on the morning of Sunday, Dec. 19 im mediately got his attention. A concerned citizen reported that a trophy whitetail buck had been poached, out of season, in the town of Charleston. The citizen was irate and although had no specific facts relating to the crime, felt the information was accurate and "wouldn't put it past" the suspect to do such a dastardly deed. Warden Annis, a veteran warden and son of the 1991 Warden of the Year, Don Annis, has good "game wardening" skills in his blood. Us ing these skills, Warden Annis determined that there was an active "deer bait" near the suspect's home with many deer tracks in the fresh snow. Warden Annis summonsed the aid of Warden Jeremy Kemp of Sangerville and they went to the suspect's home to confront him with the allega tion. There is truth in the old saying "timing is everything." Upon arrival, the wardens knocked on the door and the suspect invited them in. In the kitchen, the wardens noticed a frying pan on the stove with an onion starting caramelize nicely. Next to the fry pan was a bag of bright red meat, obvious to the veteran wardens as fresh venison. Although the suspect initially denied any knowledge of the incident, when asked about the "deer meat" next to the fry pan, he bowed his head and confessed to the crime. The poacher admitted that not only had he shot the deer out of season, he "jacked" it with a light while the PAGE 56
deer was feeding on his bait pile. The wardens left the suspected poacher with several summonses to court, and in turn, the wardens left with the suspect's hunting rifle, pounds of packaged meat and a trophy set of antlers to be held as evidence of the crime and forfeited upon conviction. Lt. Kevin Adam, who heads up the warden service's Central Division, was pleased that the suspect was held accountable for his actions but disappointed that it occurred in the first place. "This deer had been seen, and hunted, by several sportsmen in the Charleston area. It was obviously a very smart buck to outwit the throng hunters for another season. Unfortunately, illegal and unethical hunting tactics took a trophy away - a trophy whose antlers have scored over 150 points 'green.' The case is pending in Piscataquis County court.
NORTHEASTERN DIVISION During the 2010 deer hunting season, Maine Game Wardens were directed to work seven pre-determined nights with the sole focus on apprehending people who are, or attempting to night hunt (jack) deer. On these pre-determined nights, every game warden in the state is out working. The early morning hours of Monday, Nov. 22 one such detail was being conducted. Wardens Dave Milligan of Ashland and Andrew Smart of Clayton Lake had teamed up to conduct surveil lance on an area that had been frequented by a few of the deer that remain in Northern Aroos took County. Warden Service Pilot Daryl Gordon of Eagle Lake and Warden Gary Sibley of Fort Kent were airborne keeping a watchful eye for jack lights being used. In the very early hours of the morning, a pick up approached the location of the well-concealed wardens and illuminated the cut. The poacher saw what he believed was a deer standing in the cut and immediately open fired on it. The muzzle blast of the 7mm Remington Magnum was deafening in the clear, cold November night. Almost immediately the poacher accelerated and sped off on roads that had developed extensive black ice during the night. The wardens activated their blue lights and sirens and gave chase. The poacher's truck had studded snow tires on it and he had a distinct advantage over the wardens, who were in pursuit with a vehicle that had "well used" tires. www.mefishwildlife.com
(Top) Maine Warden S operation last Noveml buck that was taken c
As the poacher continu pursuing game wardens, den Sibley announced ov had the chase in sight an the suspect and direct m and not to take chances < This airborne "chase" c on the dirt roads heading Maine woods, as the poa a woods contractor and v day job. The poacher wa: the aircraft over head am out run the law. Several < radio broadcast and heac apprehension. Before the poacher c o l the wardens converged c and broke the bad news MAY 2011
Maine Warden Service Photos
Service Pilot Daryl Gordon, seen standing next to his plane, was the "eye in the sky" during a major anti-poaching 3er in northeastern Maine. Gordon died in a plane crash in March. (Below) A warden holds a deer head from a trophy losed season in Charleston. ed to pull away from the Pilot Gordon and Warer the radio that they d that they would follow srdens in for the arrest on the slippery roads, ontinued for 42 miles I deep into the north cher made his living as vas headed in for his s completely unaware of d thought that he had game wardens heard the led in to assist on the ild start a day's work, in his cutting operation to him. The night hunter MAY 2011
confessed to the crime and was summonsed ac cordingly. On Jan. 5, Cameron Burby, 23, of Ashland was convicted in Aroostook County court of night hunting, failing to stop for a law enforcement officer and shooting from a motor vehicle. He was sentenced to eight days in jail, over $1,200 in fines, and had to forfeit his 7mm Remington Magnum to the state. To conclude this issue's Field Notes, as the department's biologists make recommendations to stabilize and increase Maine's deer herd, the sometimes overlooked extension of management - law enforcement - will continue to prioritize the enforcement of laws and rules governing the taking of deer in order to reach the department's goals on deer management. MAINE FISH AND WILDLIFE
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By Bill Nemitz Columnist, Portland Press Herald Reprinted with Permission, Maine Today Media, from February 27, 2011 Edition bnemitz@pressherald.com It's clear from the group photo that they con sider themselves master hunters - four guys, all from Maine, crouched in the snow with one, two, three, four, five gutted deer hanging behind them and, for good measure, a dead doe lying at their feet. But down in Pennsylvania, where the photo was taken, nobody's impressed. "The reaction has been one of disgust and sup port," said Jerry Feaser, spokesman for the Penn sylvania Game Commission, in an interview last week. "Disgust at the actions of these individuals and support for our agency cracking down on it and for the partnership between Maine and Pennsylvania officials." Hunters? These guys? Not even close. Rather, as Feaser put it last week, they're the alleged perpetrators of "one of the largest wildlife crime sprees ever detected in Commonwealth (of Pennsylvania) history." We're talking up to 32 deer, many gunned down in the dead of night from vehicles equipped with hypnotizing spotlights. We're talking 250 felony and misdemeanor charges leveled Wednesday against the four Mainers in the photo, along with multiple charges against a 17-year-old from Greene. We're talking the strong possibility of prison time in a state that recently decided to get tough on those who long have considered Pennsylvania, according to Feaser, a "poacher's paradise." "It used to be if you came to Pennsylvania, you could have killed every deer, bear, elk and turkey and not faced one day in jail," Feaser said. PAGE 58
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Five men face hundreds of poaching-n That changed in 2009, when the state's Gen eral Assembly decided to crack down on wildlife poaching not only with beefed-up fines, but also with newly defined felony violations punishable by up to three years behind bars. In other words, as Feaser observed, the Main ers charged last week "picked the wrong time to start poaching in Pennsylvania." It all started last summer when the Maine Warden Service began getting tips through Maine Operation Game Thief (http://www.maineogt. org) about a deer-poaching ring operating out of the central Maine town of Turner. "It was a compilation of information local wardens received about this group," said Capt. Dan Scott of the Maine Warden Service. "It drew attention to them and we started looking at them a little closer." Turns out there was plenty to see. In addition to poaching eight deer here in Maine, investigators say, the group slaughtered four times that number during "party hunting" trips last October and December to a remote campground in northeast Pennsylvania's Bradford County. Last month, five search warrants executed in Maine by teams of investigators from both states netted deer meat in the hundreds of pounds, www.mefishwildlife.com
antlers, a mounted hawk lights, firearms, bows an< and "other hunting-relate Also found was that gr< one of the Pennsylvania t Over there on the far k of Turner. He's charged v\ here in Maine and 59 vio -- including 11 felony co l taking of big game. Next to him is Everett i of Turner. He faces six ch in Pennsylvania, including counts. Then there's Lenny's sc 31, of Turner. He racked and 117 in Pennsylvania, nies. Finally, we have Lucien mouth, who faces 22 cha including five felonies. (Also charged with 11 \ Jason Clifford, 27, of Turr For those who can stor behind this photo-op-turr play out in the coming m here and in Pennsylvania Harder to discern will t MAY 2011
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elated charges in Maine, Pennsylvania , mounted owls, spotj arrows, a computer :d equipment." 3up photo, taken during :rips. 2ft is Carlton Enos, 19, /ith 11 hunting violations lations in Pennsylvania ints of unlawful killing or H. "Lenny" Leonard, 59, arges in Maine and 52 3 14 big-game felony )n, Everett T. Leonard, up four charges in Maine 22 of which are feloClavet, 44, of Monrges in Pennsylvania, /iolations in Maine is ler.) nach it, the gory details led-state's-evidence will onths in courtrooms ie what was going on MAY 2011
inside these "sportsmen's" heads as they alleg edly mowed down their helpless prey at night and then showed off their kill, in broad daylight, for all the world to see. "I think it's mostly just greed," said Scott of the Maine Warden Service. "And I think it obviously does something for their self-esteem." For Matt Dunlap, executive director of the Sportsman's Alliance of Maine, the word "socio path" comes to mind whenever he hears about those who, laws and licenses be damned, "just like to kill stuff and watch it drop." "I don't get that," Dunlap said. "I just don't get it." Dunlap, you see, is an avid hunter -- and a good one at that. In fact, in the past three years alone, he's bagged three deer, two bear and a moose. And lest there be any raised eyebrows, he added, "the only thing I've ever poached is an egg." Talk to Dunlap about what makes a good hunt er and you'll hear words like "sacred" and "our ancestors" and "respect" for the animal before, during and after the hunt. What you won't hear is "greed." Down in the basement of Dunlap's Old Town home sits a freezer still packed with butchered meat from his successful forays. Truth be told, MAINE FISH AND WILDLIFE
it's more than he and his family could ever con sume. ("Who wants to eat venison stew every night?" he asked with a chuckle.) Now some folks, particularly those among us who don't hunt, might open that freezer and jump to the knee-jerk conclusion that Dunlap doesn't know when to quit. But they'd be wrong. And here's why: For years, a local game warden has had access to a key to Dunlap's basement. Whenever some one approaches the warden to see if he's come across any roadkill still fresh enough to eat - and yes, it does happen - the warden tells them to sit tight. "Then he comes to my basement and gets some meat," Dunlap said. "It's all done legally -the (meat packages) all have registration num bers and there's a sheet that he signs it out on." Dunlap figures he's shared his bounty, until now anonymously, with more than 50 families throughout northern Maine. And the more you hear him talk about it, the more you realize that preserving the meat and giving it away is as much a part of his hunt as scouting the woods and pulling the trigger. It's too soon to know what motivated Maine's most infamous hunting party to head out from their Pennsylvania camp and kill ... and k ill... and then kill some more. Court dates are still be ing scheduled and none of those charged could be reached (when this colunm was written) for comment. But if you're looking for remorse, don't hold your breath. (In February), in a brief interview with the Lewiston Sun Journal, Everett "Lenny" Leonard said the case is "baloney" and has been "blown out of proportion." Baloney it clearly is not. And if anything's been "blown out of propor tion," it's the deer in that photo. PAGE 59
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POACHER In February, the Lewiston Sun-Journal ran three articles on poaching in Maine, focusing on the arrests of several individuals on hundreds of violations in Maine and Pennsylvania. To view the stories, please select the headlines below.
ON THE HUNT: Poaching epidemic in Pennsylvania happening in Maine, too.
2003 poaching case one of Maine's most prominent Maine takes aim to join reciprocity compact
Photos by Daryn Slover Lewiston Sun-Journal Photographer Reprinted with permission.
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Maine Warden Dave Chabot follows a deer path through t izing that numerous deer paths led to one particular hous reach the food source. Chabot informed the homeowners
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he woods in Leeds. Chabot noticed the well-worn path after several deer were hit by cars on Route 106. After reale, Chabot determined that the homeowners were feeding the deer and that the animals were crossing Route 106 to of the situation and they said they would stop feeding the deer.
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(Top left) Maine Ward 106 to reach the food Chabot checks to see i near the Turner boat I droscoggin River has ; by checking records fr to become a warden d
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en Dave Chabot finds the location where Leeds homeowners were feeding deer, causing the animals to cross Route source. Chabot informed the homeowners of the situation and they said they would stop feeding the deer. (Above) if two men ice-fishing on the Androscoggin River have their fishing licenses. The men were fishing for northern pike aunch on Center Bridge Road. They had licenses. (Bottom left) Chabot checks to see if a man ice-fishing on the An3 current fishing license. The man had lost his license and Chabot was able to verify that the man had a valid license om his truck at the Turner boat launch on Center Bridge Road. Ruby, Chabot's 10-month-old black Lab, is in training og.
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