The definition of hydrology is “A science dealing with the properties, distribution, and circulation of water on the surface of the land, in the soil and underlying rocks, and in the atmosphere.”

So in essence, the hydrology of our land is in reality a life form of it own such as is our own bodily blood system. The disruption of the waters distribution naturally occurring within its environment must surely result in consequences of various levels.

Therefore, one must consider the impact of the currently planned blasting of the deep bed rock on mountain tops across hundreds of miles in Maine for the installation of the thousands of huge commercial wind turbines. It can very well impact and alter the high mountain seeps and springs. Damage to these sources of clean cold water could possibly cumulatively impact even our major aquifers that we depend on for potable water. Consideration must also be given to the possibility of increased levels of naturally occurring hazardous substances being released into the waters by the disruption of the bedrock during blasting. This could result in the possible release of excessive amounts of naturally occurring minerals in the form of sulfides or sulfates, and in some locals where present, substances such as arsenic.

Another concern to be considered is the impact to our wildlife. The cold mountain seeps join each other resulting ever enlarging streams feeding into our brooks and eventually into our rivers and larger bodies of water. The disruption of these sources may result in lesser amounts of runoff and or increased silting, in turn causing increased water temperatures and maybe even result in the very loss of some of our cold water fisheries. At the least, one can envision the loss of some of these waters that are the spawning areas for our world class brook trout and other cold water fish. Hundreds of these small mountain streams are the source of naturally occurring trout which move down into the larger brooks, streams, rivers, ponds and lakes that we fish in. No matter how you look at the possible effects, the results are a loss of a natural resource that Maine currently is a champion of – Brook Trout. Most all other traditional areas of native brook trout within the Continental United States already have been loss as the result of pollutants and destruction of the water source.

The value of clean water to mankind is currently critical in many areas of the world. It must be remembered that Maine is currently one of a few places in the eastern states where one can still kneel down, cup ones hand, and drink pure clean water in thousands of locations. All one has to do is ensure that there are no beaver or dead animals in the upstream side of one’s source of this water. Most any seep or spring on a hill or mountain side is a sure place to acquire a drink of ice cold clean water. The bottled water industry in Maine is here because of our many unpolluted aquifers. As the world sources of potable waters shrink, the value of our resource will escalate.

We have in Maine a very precious resource. If you can’t visualize the true value of our clean waters, you need only to talk to those who have traveled around the world. Just ask some of our military personnel, they are most aware of the value of clean water worldwide. In many locations around the world people are killing each other and even whole communities have perished fighting over potable water sources. In the near future the value of drinkable water will be astronomical compared to other things we value. Just consider the current cost of plain bottled water at your local store when compared to an equal amount of gasoline.

The major issues and controversy about the development of large scale commercial wind power is currently centered on health issues related to low frequency sound and shadow flicker, decreased property values, loss of habitat, death of large numbers of birds and bats, and impact to threatened or endangered species. Just maybe, the largest long term detrimental impact of large scale mountain top wind development is out of sight right under our feet – CLEAN WATER.

Dave Miller
Lexington TWP, ME

Dave Miller is a Maine resident, an outdoor writer and a member of the Carrabassett Valley Trappers Association.

Does industrial wind and wildlife really mix well? I would suggest no. There has been much research into the affects of industrial wind turbines and its deadly affect on bats and birds, but little to none on mammals.

The effects on both livestock and wildlife are starting to be realized by land owners, and by hunters and trappers. The effects of wind turbines on domestic animals are thankfully starting to be recorded, such as 100 goats dying in Taiwan because they could not feed. The turbines noise kept them “instinctively on alert” for predators to the point they could not eat. The livestock of an Ontario cattle rancher having many still born and what few calves were born were attacked by their mothers who kicked and bit them, others refused to nurse their young as a result of the affects of newly installed industrial size wind turbines. These are but two recorded and reported examples. Domesticated animals cannot escape the noise and shadow flicker of wind turbines because of their restricted (fenced in) range resulting in these types of incidents.

The higher forms of wildlife such as deer, bear, moose, and many furbearers take the option of leaving the immediate area of industrial wind complexes. But by this action, they are forced into habitat that is already occupied resulting in conflicts such as over browsing and an increased rate of predation. These activities have been recorded in various locations where industrial turbine complexes have become operational. The loss of habitat due to road, transmission line, and turbine site construction also results in the loss of thousands of acres of habitat. The affects of the turbines on the lower forms of wildlife such as rodents, snakes, and even insects is an unknown to date. They all have their place in the chain of life and any single loss will affect other wildlife and also the overall environment.

The hydrology of the mountains may also be impacted by the deep bed rock blasting that is required to make the foundations for the 400+ foot tall wind turbines. This may affect our drinking water supplies and the surface waters that hold various species of life including our beloved cold water brook trout and landlocked salmon fisheries.

Fragile and rare high alpine vegetation will be destroyed by mountain top wind development. In places such as Maine, moose will be driven off the high mountains sides where many go to have the cold temperatures of winter freeze off their tick infestations that can if bad enough weaken them to the point that they may parish. The pine martin, one of the most valuable of our fur bearers thrives on mountains with heavy spruce growth. Our depleted northern deer herds will be further stressed and damaged due to the fact that the low frequency noise and construction will force them from current habitat. The use of herbicides to prevent re-vegetation may cause long term harm to wildlife, aqueduct species, and maybe our own drinking water. The possibility of forest fires will be greatly increased due to lighting strikes to the turbines and overheated gearbox lubricants igniting. This is in areas mostly far removed from any firefighting equipment and men.

The affects of industrial wind on wildlife (other than bats and birds) is not being actively researched by various federal and state fish and game departments due to several reasons, such as a lack of funding and most commonly due to political pressure where state administrations do not want anything negative being brought to light. This is because they support wind power development along with its tax incentives, stimulus monies, political gains, and of course their own long term pocket wealth over that of the welfare of wildlife. The loss of revenues generated by wildlife such as licensing fees and employment related to hunting, fishing and trapping industries which generates millions annually for the states affected by industrial wind is not in their greedy equations.

It must be noted that the scientific and medical communities are realizing the effects of low frequency noise and the strobe affect of the blades in sun light that cause mental and medical problems in humans. Even this is being contested and down played by the big wind companies with their multitude of lawyers and our greedy politicians who gain to lose face and wealth by opposing big wind. They are doing all they can to discredit those who oppose big wind. Along with that, they come into communities where they want to place commercial wind turbine complexes and buy off the local governments and tax payers with bribes of reduced electrical fees, offers to pay for lawyers to represent the local communities during negotiations, and cash settlements with private individuals who have to sign agreements not to publicly oppose them for the duration. Here in Maine we are staged to lose over 350 miles of mountain tops along with many thousands of acres of habitat. Most of the land is privately owned and the land owners cannot be blamed because of upfront monies, reduced tax burdens, and long term leases. This is all done with stimulus funding which are our federal tax monies or that borrowed by our current federal administration from foreign countries which will hurt generations of Americans for many decades. The sad part is that wind power generation is not even cost effective, nor does it reduce carbon emissions because more coal and oil fired generation plants must be built to back up wind power generation which is a variable dependent on wind. These are the basic reasons I feel that commercial wind generation is not beneficial to wild life, along with consideration of its impact to the human race.

I ask that you form your own opinion on this matter, but please educate yourself on the pro’s and con’s of this subject before forming that opinion. There are many websites that will educate one. All you need to do is search or Google industrial wind or wind turbines.

Dave Miller, Lexington TWP, ME

Dave Miller is a Maine resident, an outdoor writer and a member of the Carrabassett Valley Trappers Association.

Les wanted to know if I was interested in building on an addition to one of his ski lodges. We walked around the building and peered under a deck where the addition would go, both of us raising several questions about the existing structure. Soon, with Les in his work clothes (dress slacks and dress shirt) and I in mine (grubs), we were both crawling on our bellies through the dust, gravel, weeds, debris and just about everything else one might have the pleasure of finding under a heavily traveled ski lodge deck. I did make a couple of comments about our adventure but I’ll refrain from posting them here.

I’ve told that story more than one time but as I was thinking more about it this morning after getting off the phone with Les, that action actually is a pretty good characterization of him. Here’s a man who could have sat in the comfort of his clean office but instead did not hesitate to roll up his sleeves and get dirty.

I’ve known Les for perhaps 30-plus years and during that time he has given unselfishly to his community. Time and space will not permit the endless list of how he has impacted the people in his home town and surrounding area.

Les Otten is a businessman who understands many things, among them tourism, promotion, marketing, investment, providing a viable product and operating within a budget. Whoever resides in the Blaine House will face daunting tasks and challenges. I believe he is up for the challenge and can put together the right people to make it all happen.

One huge undertaking will be the financial shortfall of the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife, a depleted whitetail deer herd, an overgrown population of coyotes and other predators, and environmental groups eager to make a living serving up lawsuits to stop hunting, trapping and fishing. The hunting, fishing, trapping and general outdoor recreation brings millions of dollars into Maine each year. The next governor has got to find a way to tidy up fish and game and make sure that those running it are in sync with the mission.

True to character, Otten will “roll up his sleeves and get dirty” on this issue.

All of the United States is at a crossroad. Things are changing and many of us don’t care for the direction it is going. If there’s one weapon we have as free Americans it is the right to vote. That’s where we can begin to push back.

Outdoor sportsmen can be independent people. We love to be outside, in the forests, on the water, enjoying the peace and quiet and the beauty God gave us. But to protect that, we have to give a bit more than we take sometimes. I’m asking every sportsman in Maine to make it a point to vote on June 8, 2010. Vote for the candidate(s) that you believe best represent your ideals. Finding the right people is extremely important at every level of government. Don’t wait to see who comes out on top. Be the one who puts your candidate at the top.

Tom Remington

It was my understanding and perhaps I was wrong, that it was decided that if the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife was going to continue having a live drawing event for the Moose Lottery, they would have to get help from private enterprise.

It took some doing but eventually it was agreed to allow The Kittery Trading Post to host the event. I contacted the people at KTP and at MDIFW and tossed out the idea of my company, Skinny Moose Media, providing a live Internet feed of streaming video and audio. My intentions were to enhance the event and not steal any potential audience away from the event. For myself and my business the benefits of exposure couldn’t hurt, although the commitment was considerable money out of my pocket, time and travel.

The KTP event went extremely well considering it was our first attempt at a live, remote video broadcast. At one time we had well over 600 viewers watching and listening to the drawing. If memory serves me correctly, total viewership topped 6,000. An odd thing happened however, about halfway through the podcast. Viewership crashed.

The trip to Fort Kent was even more expensive but I was determined to make the trip because I knew from past experience that the City of Fort Kent and all its citizen’s would put on a quality event. And that they did.

The Fort Kent event went well and once again we had over 350 viewers on at one point until less than halfway through the event, visitors vanished. What happened?

What I didn’t know was that the MDIFW was posting the results of the random draw at about the same time the announcement of moose permit winners was being made. As soon as viewers found this information out, their interest in my broadcast disappeared but just as bad, attendance at the event in the gym at the University of Maine was also cut in half. People vacated the show and went home to find the results rather than stick around.

It is certainly my fault for not knowing the posting of the names was occurring when it did, but I went to some expense and sacrifice to provide this service. But no need to cry over spilled milk.

This year’s event, as I said, will be at L.L. Bean. I contacted MDIFW to ask them if they would consider holding off posting the names of the winners until the end of the show, or at least later. The answer was “no”!

It seems a shame that private business was called upon to save the show and no effort is being exerted on the part of MDIFW to make sure people have a reason to attend the show rather than wait until 6:30 the night of the show and go online and see if they won or not. This reasoning makes little sense to me. I’m pretty small potatoes compared to other businesses and enterprises that lay out considerable expenses, time and effort to put on a show.

It is just a foolish for me to make the trip and lay out the expense of providing a good service, only to get dumped as soon as the show starts because viewers can go to the MDIFW website and get the one thing they are interested in finding out.

So, if you’re thinking about attending the show at L.L. Bean, believing you’ll find out quicker whether you won, just wait until 6:30 on June 17th. That’s when winners will be posted. Or, you could contact MDIFW and ask them exactly what time the computerized random draw will take place. As soon as that has occurred, call them back and ask them for the information. According to the reasons I was given of why they couldn’t hold back on posting the results is because law prohibits them from withholding public information. No point of waiting until 6:30 is there?

I considered attending the show and perhaps just conducting interviews, shooting some video and taking pictures but it now seems it is not worth the effort. I may perhaps show up and meet and talk with friends, depending on my schedule that evening.

I apologize to some viewers who I know were probably looking forward to an evening online and others who had inquired about advertising sponsorship again this year. Perhaps if we can get MDIFW to change their minds, next year might work. This is an election year and Maine will be picking a new governor. Maybe the new governor will appoint a different Commissioner to IFW who will understand that it’s the thousands of applicants for a moose permit that pay their wages.

We don’t need any Stimulus Money, just a little cooperation and understanding of how free enterprise works.

Tom Remington

Dear Friends,

As many of you know, I have been working to protect our local mountains from the massive Industrial Wind Turbine Development Project that is being proposed by Highland Wind LLC. If approved, this project will destroy nine miles of ridge top, while clear cutting over 500 acres, and building over 20 miles of road, to erect and maintain 48 four hundred foot tall turbines. All of this will happen within sight of The Bigelow Preserve, a place so special that the people of the State of Maine voted to protect it from development forever.

After much study, I have yet to find a single redeeming quality in this Industrial Wind Project. It will not clean our air, it will not reduce our use of fossil fuels, it will not reduce our electric bills, and it will not benefit our environment or our citizens in any way. What it will do is fill in wet lands, destroy critical habitat, and drive both animals and people from their homes. It is also likely to destroy many small businesses that depend on tourism.

In return for all this, a few men will get very rich, mostly from the government subsidies that will pay for the majority of the project, and a few politicians will get to look “green” in front of the news cameras.

The Friends Of The Highland Mountains www.highlandmts.org is currently working on a T.V. commercial to educate the people of Maine about this and similar projects. We are working hard to save our mountains and our way of life, but we can’t do it alone. That’s why I’m writing to you for help.

I am personally trying to raise the money to put our commercial on the air. It won’t be cheap. Five thousand dollars [$5,000.00] is my current target to get the ball rolling. The commercial is already in production, but if we don’t raise the money to air it, the people of Maine will never hear the truth about these projects.

So, I’m asking you to help in any way you can. Even five dollars will go a long way. I know money is tight and times are tough, but some things are too valuable to allow to be destroyed. If we allow tough economic times to keep us from doing what’s right, how will we ever live with ourselves, or explain to our children and grandchildren that we allowed a few powerful men to destroy irreplaceable mountain habitat for no reason other than greed?

I’m asking you, from the bottom of my heart, to please send a donation and help us preserve this unique and important corner of Maine. If you are involved with a corporate group, Scout Troop, or other service organization, please consider asking them to get involved as well. If we all work together, we can keep Maine’s wild places wild.

Checks can be made out to Friends Of Highland Mountains, and sent to me at the address below. Please write “for TV commercial” in the memo line. For those wishing to make a tax deductible contribution, please contact me for more information.

If we all work together, we can educate the people of Maine, and protect our mountains. Thank you in advance for your support.

Dave

David P. Corrigan
Registered Maine Master Guide
Fletcher Mountain Outfitters
82 Little Houston Brook Road
Concord Twp., Maine 04920
maineguide@live.com

Okay, before you go into a tizzy and start screaming “blasphemy” or some other nonsense, give me a chance to explain the title. Believe me, it’s warranted. Many people in this country have fought long and hard to remove God from the docket, but I’m here to tell you, he’s alive and well, and rooted deep inside the hearts of a lot of American sportsmen.

Did you know that in Genesis, Chapter 9, God commissioned man with the job of wildlife management? He did. Did you know that Nimrod and Esau were very skilled hunters who hit the woods and fields with bows and arrows harvesting wild game for food? They were. Did you know that deer, antelope and other wild game were the chosen foods, even before man started eating domesticated meat? Read Deuteronomy Chapter 12. Did you know in Proverbs 12:27 it says that a lazy man neglects to roast his game, but the substance, (the meat taken through hunting), of the diligent man is considered precious? Well, it is. How about in Acts Chapter 10 where God himself commanded the apostle Peter to “rise, kill and eat” when he was hungry…and the passage spoke specifically about animals?

Yup…it’s all in there. The list of scriptures goes on and on my friend. And don’t even start about fishing. Jesus and several of the apostles were fishermen; some of whom even cast “lines” for fish, as well as nets. It was Jesus himself in John Chapter 21 who broiled some fish over a campfire for breakfast, and you outdoors-folk will also be glad to know that an occasional beer or glass of wine is not anti-biblical, no matter what you thought you heard. That’s right, I said it and I can back it all up.

So what’s with the title of this article? Why would it say that God has…’Gone Huntin’”? It’s because I’m bringing him into any and every hunting camp that will personally invite us both in, that’s why.

Not Just Inside Four walls

I’m a hunter, born and bred, and I’ve fished since the age of seven. I’ve got more outdoor stories inside me than you can shake a stick at, and yes, I was raised like most country boys, with a good Mama and a strong Christian background.

However, sad as it may seem, many outdoorsmen today, myself included, have little time for the standard church ceremonies. And I’m not saying it’s right or wrong, and I’m certainly not blaming anyone. Most of my friends are what I affectionately call “modern rednecks”, and that’s a good thing. The guys and gals I know, who love to share hunting and fishing stories over an open fire-pit in the summertime, are also God-fearing, red-blooded Americans, and very proud of it! They work extremely hard…often six days a week or more, they love their families, and any time off they may get, is spent out in the woods and fields or on the water, with family and friends in tow.

Unfortunately, many of us only get the traditional Sunday off as a day of rest, and though we firmly love God…and our pastors…we find it difficult at best to squeeze in a mid-day or evening service that could potentially be spent in camp or on the lake. Obviously, I need to stress that anytime we, as individuals, can make the time to go to church, we should. Our families need the support and so do the countless pastors who strive hard to keep us spiritually fed and “on track”. However, there are a myriad of sportsmen across the country who simply feel they don’t have time on Sunday, and who instead, go “out there”, all the while just trying to enjoy themselves after a hard week, yet still feeling a sense of guilt about it. And that’s where I come in…

Spiritual ‘Road Trips’

About two years ago, I was struggling as a concrete contractor, (self-employed), and found myself working long, hard hours, often six and seven days a week, just to keep the jobs moving. I found that there was little time for church anymore, and with my spiritual upbringing, I was guilt-ridden, especially if I tried to squeeze in a few days for spring turkey hunting or fall deer hunting. In time, I messed up my back and found I couldn’t do the strenuous work anymore so I quit…and immediately found myself unemployed and practically starving. The up side was that my situation drove me back to the books and most importantly, my Bible, and after many months of contemplating where my life was headed, I made the decision to bring both my faith and my outdoor passions, together. The only thing I didn’t want to do was change who I was and become some stuffy old Bible-thumper, knocking on people’s doors and shoving “God” down everyone’s throats. One day it came to me that I didn’t have to change, and ‘Mountain-Man Outdoor Ministries’ was born.

I won’t bore you with details but suffice it to say I’m a redneck, a hunter, a fisherman, and an outdoorsman, and I just happen to like sharing my faith when I can. What better way to do that than to just “be me”, and preach the Word, redneck attitude and all, through which I have also been appropriately referred to as “The Redneck Preacher”. Funny how God works sometimes, isn’t it? We are developing outreaches and programs designed to help kids, and are very interested in working to help set-up special hunts and trips for special people, (any age, disabled or incapacitated beyond their means), who are unable to enjoy hunting on their own anymore.

I’d like to think that the many friends and contacts I’ve made in the professional outdoor industry would be willing to help me in this venture by donating trips, hunts, and much needed gear. If you or anyone you know, wishes to become an active partner in this ministry, please contact me. I am available for interviews, discussions, and studies, and would love to be invited into your hunting camp this season! There’s no better way for me to share my faith than to visit hunting camps across America, share some campfires with redneck sportsmen just like me, hunt and fish with them, and, in effect, bring God straight into the heart of the American Hunting Camp.

I just wonder how many invitations I’ll actually get! You think Waddell and The Nuge could stand the extra excitement in camp? A Redneck Preacher with a Bible in one hand, a rifle or shotgun in the other, and a turkey call hanging out the side of my mouth. Hmmmm….I dunno… Let’s praise God, pass the ammo, and find out. And did I warn you I’d be bringing a camera and cameraman along for the ride? I didn’t? Uh oh…

(Blaine Cardilli is a freelance outdoor writer, industry prostaffer, and seminar speaker on hunting; He also enjoys teaching christian studies to rednecks & sportsmen, and has been referred to as The Redneck Preacher. He can be reached on Facebook at www.facebook.com/theredneckpreacher)

Regardless that I have taken the time to clarify what I’m not trying to do, I will be demonized because I’m suggesting a different method of funding a Maine law enforcement agency, that has grown beyond “game wardens”, to a point where enforcing game laws is not the main function of this agency, or so it appears to me. Because I oppose how the department is funded, I will be accused of having a bone to pick with the Maine Warden Service or some other ridiculous notion. Let’s get beyond that.

I reader sent me a link to an article that appeared this morning in the Kennebec Journal. The piece was about efforts undertaken by two members of the Maine Warden Service to police illegal dumping by morons on private property. Illegal dumping can be an issue in some areas and especially with strict guidelines for refuse disposal and fees attached with it. But again, this is not the issue here for me. The issue is, why are my hunting and fishing license fees being used to pay the salaries of two or more agents of the Maine Warden Service to police private property in hopes of catching the idiots who are dumping garbage there?

The article has one of the Wardens explaining it this way.

“What concerns me is, as this keeps shaping up, owners of the land will post the property so there will be loss of access for people to use it for recreation,”

That’s a commendable concern but it still doesn’t answer my question. The same sentiment could probably be found in nearly every community throughout Maine. I should also point out at this time that the article continues informing readers about the efforts underway, many through volunteers, to clean up old dump sites and better monitor areas that seem prone to illegal dumping. These efforts should be commended.

The Maine Warden Service is part of the Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife. There once was a day when the wardens took care of poachers, checked sportsmen for licenses and enforced the fish and game laws. A visit to the website of the Warden Service and we quickly see this is not the case any longer.

Col. Wilkinson writes that things have changed in the 128 years the Maine Warden Service has been operational. He also says that “demands from the public” have increased the Service’s responsibilities. Who could disagree? The problem is, the general public, and through the State Legislature, have dumped all these demands on the Service without providing the funding to do the job. As a result, they have sucked the money out of fish and wildlife funds, license fees, etc., and wildlife management has suffered while Game Wardens are out chasing down people ignorant and uncaring enough to get rid of their garbage on private land.

In the “Mission” of the Maine Warden Service we begin to get a picture of just how the responsibilities have grown from enforcement of “fish and game” to the “protection and conservation of Maine’s natural resources” and “public safety”. Here’s a list of many of those responsibilities.

1. Search and Rescue (More than 350 search and rescue missions each year.)
2. Fish and Wildlife law enforcement
3. Recreational Vehicle law enforcement
4. Policing the Whitewater rafting industry
5. Investigation and enforcement of environmental laws

This is a broad overview and upon examination of the written purpose and function of the Service, their responsibilities are so broad they could pretty much include everything.

But probably most or all of these functions require somebody’s oversight and perhaps the Maine Warden Service is the best group to do it. But search and rescue, recreational vehicle law enforcement, patrolling dump sites, investigation of environmental law infractions and policing the whitewater rafting industry should not be paid for through fees collected by hunters, fishermen and trappers. Losing those fees are directly responsible for the loss of quality fish and game management. At a time when Maine is facing a serious whitetail deer management crisis (yes, it is a crisis) it kicks you in the guts when you read that two game wardens are spending their time monitoring a dump site. As important as it is to stop the dumping and to bring those responsible to justice, this law enforcement activity has to be paid for through general taxation.

For those who have read me before, you know where I stand on how to fund the Maine Department of Fish and Wildlife. If you would like to read more specifics, start at this link and also follow the related links at the bottom of the page.

There are some advocating that things should remain being run the way they are only that funding be shared between license and registration fees and a percentage of tax dollars. Gov. Baldacci has tried unsuccessfully to create a super department cramming fish and game, conservation and other departments all into one. I oppose both these formulas and advocate a complete restructuring of the Inland Fisheries and Wildlife, moving all non game programs into the Department of Conservation and/or Law Enforcement and pay for dump site monitoring, for example, through general tax money. Fish and game would be pared back to what should be their function and that’s managing the state’s fish and game. Perhaps, just perhaps, Maine wouldn’t be faced with an extirpation of whitetail deer in the northern half of the state.

Tom Remington

The people at the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife are claiming they are broke and are in need of funding, as much as doubling the current funding, according to Dr. Ken Elowe, Director of Resource Management for MDIFW.

You’ll get no argument from me that MDIFW is underfunded. What you will get are questions as to why and suggestions about the best way to deal with it. Let’s first address why the MDIFW is underfunded.

In the new issue of Maine Fish and Wildlife, MDIFW Commissioner Roland D. Martin, states that all the programs and responsibilities his department has to care for, brings back to the state of Maine some $2.4 billion annually. Maybe that amount could be more.

Dr. Elowe, in his article on who should fund MDIFW, also states that responsibilities to the department have grown out beyond fish and wildlife issues.

Over time, the Department’s mission has broadened significantly: It now manages whitewater rafting, registration of watercraft, snowmobiles, ATVs, hunter, trapper and recreational vehicle safety, conservation education, environmental permitting and other matters.

And that’s just scraping the surface. To this we should add search and rescue, law enforcement of recreational vehicles and all non game programs.

The major reason the MDIFW is underfunded is because it has been tasked to perform duties well beyond management of fish and wildlife. All of this has been done with essentially no additional funding. Presently the overwhelming majority of funding to MDIFW comes from license fees paid by hunters, fishers, trappers, and snowmobilers/ATVers.

I know of nobody who thinks MDIFW is properly funded. The problem now becomes what to do about it.

George Smith, Executive Director for the Sportsman’s Alliance of Maine, is promoting funding to come from general taxation. He is proposing that a percentage of the tax revenue be designated to the MDIFW. In all honesty I haven’t heard anybody else make a specific proposal that doesn’t involve using tax money to fund the current composition of the MDIFW and it’s ever expanding non game services.

While this proposal may seem functional on the surface, I have to wonder if most sportsmen, the one’s who will still be the major fund providers for the Department, understand that with such a move opens the door for non hunting, non fishing interests to demand more and more input into the decisions and direction the MDIFW should take. The majority of states that have followed this path have faced this problem and a problem it has become, with organizations like the Humane Society of the United States and PETA directly seeking or sponsoring their own representatives to fill seats on fish and game commissions. What could possibly be wrong with that?

I support increased funding for all the issues that Dr. Elowe lays out in his article. However, I don’t support them to be part of and funded by MDIFW. For regular readers, you know that I support a move that will put all non game programs into the Department of Conservation. Dr. Elowe says MDIFW doesn’t have enough biologists to cover everything. Fine, DOC, funded by taxpayer dollars, can hire their own wildlife biologists to take care of non game wildlife species. DOC can take care of environmental licensing, conservation education, etc. Law enforcement of snowmobiles and ATVs should be handled by state and local law enforcement as well as search and rescue.

This move would be unprecedented as the tendencies these days are to mash departments together believing money can be saved and programs run more efficiently. History has already shown us that that is not the case. As a matter of fact, the bigger the department the further away from the average sportsmen a sense of ownership becomes, resulting in a significant loss of interest. In other words, when sportsmen lose their voice, participation drops. The larger the department the more bureaucratic it becomes swelling the budget, resulting in depletion of programs. In other words, more of the same.

Conservationist or perhaps better labeled, environmentalists, have no business dictating to a fish and game department how to manage game for hunting, fishing and trapping opportunities. Funding fish and game with tax dollars will accomplish that with very negative results.

It’s easy for Commissioner Martin or Dr. Elowe to exclaim how their programs contribute $2.4 billion dollars annually to the Maine economy. Think how much bigger that amount would be if the programs were split up so that each one saw the attention it deserves and that would provide better opportunities. With a smaller MDIFW, they could get back to managing just fish and wildlife for the purpose of providing opportunities for hunters, trappers and fishermen, then I believe these resources could improve with the end result a better revenue stream for MDIFW.

With a better funded and more targeted Department of Conservation, similar results could be seen and achieving the wishes shared by Dr. Elowe. This can be done and the results impressive, in my opinion. Who has the chutzpah to try it?

The groups involved in examining how MDIFW should be funded are supposedly contacting other states that fund their departments with general taxation. I hope these groups understand that just because everybody else does it, doesn’t mean it’s the best. I’m confident that if they look at the issue with open minds, they will realize what I did several years ago.

Let’s properly fund the programs that need to be funded in Maine and not just throw money at it. Two lean, mean departments, each properly structured with sufficient funding could reverse a management trend that is seeing lousy results.

Tom Remington

Predator or coyote control for reducing the population has a number of tools or methods that can be utilized – Traps, snares, hounds, shooting over bait, denning and “poison”.

Poison we know would never be allowed, but coyotes are such a problem in Saskatchewan that a bounty has been applied and with the use of trained officials poison will be used.

Denning is where you set up with a gun in a known coyote birthing area and give a pup-in-distress call. The adults come running to protect the pups. Works great in Wyoming where there are no trees, but not worth much in Maine.

Here in Maine, we can trap the early coyote season from the middle of October through the general trapping season that runs from November 1st to December 31. After that the only tools left are hounds, and shooting.

The shooting takes a lot of time and dedication. The ones having the most luck are the ones who set up in deer yards. Obviously the coyotes congregate here for the fresh supply of warm fresh meals – the ones (deer) that are too weak to make it through the deep snow and cold of winter.

Hounds do best in deep snow where they often take the coyote before the hunter even catches up to his hounds. Or, with the use of tracking collars, the hunters on snow sleds will intercept the hounds and set fresh ones on the coyote’s trail. Conditions have to be right. A crusty snow chews up the dogs feet real quickly. Plus, the more hunters the better. Often the coyote gets away because the hunt had too few participants.

Snares are cheap, easy to make, and real effective with all the modern methods tried and used thanks to their legal use in the western states and Canada. Even since the end of Maine’s snaring program 5/6 years ago there have been additions to the snare that claim to make them kill even quicker and more humane.

Snares are at work 24/7. Very little effects them unless it’s a deep snow with freezing rain. Traps need to be checked every 24 hours. Snares can be left unchecked for days because the coyote will be dispatched in quick order.

It takes experience to set a snare right. Entanglement with small trees is relative to cable length or position for a quick dispatch. Size and height of the loop matters as well. Snare should be 10-12 inches from the bottom of the loop to the bottom of where the coyotes paw will be. Half that distance and he can get his leg or legs through and you have a flank-caught coyote.

One coyote taken and a new well placed snare fills the opening. Albert Ladd Photo

Biologist claim you have to eliminate 60-70% of the coyote population annually before the population will decrease. Deer and bobcat I believe are in the 30% range. I think the estimated population of coyote in Maine is 14,000. So, that’s close to 10 thousand you’d have to take out each and every year.

Around 2,000 coyotes are reported trapped during the trapping season. Coyotes are of little value at present with the poor economy and many people are just trapping to help out the deer. Many trapped and shot are going un-reported. One local trapper here has caught 19 this year and none will be documented. One group of coyote hunters have taken 12 from bait this winter AND I DOUBT ANY WILL BE RECORDED.

In the West they’ve found that taking coyotes where they are doing the most damage is the best form of control. If we control them in the winter deer yards, then we’re doing like what’s done out there – controlling where they are doing the killing.

During one fall and winter another trapper, Bill, and I took a total of 120 coyote using traps and snares. The majority were snared in and around deer yards. It was the first year in the Rapid River area. Coyotes moved there like it was a magnet. The next year Bill, snaring with a fellow trapper named Greg, took 18 coyote from a 1/4 mile stretch of woods next to Pond In The River. The following year, after houndsmen complained of the snares, biologist who hated the snaring program, sided with the hound hunters and blocked us from this yard and every other deer yard but one from Newry to Stratton. Bill quit the program and I was left with just one small yard in Roxbury. The program was soon ended after a threat of a lawsuit.

The snare is made of aircraft cable. Has a lock that won’t release once tightened on the neck, a 50-lb choke spring to keep and add pressure on the neck for a quicker kill, and a 110-lb release or “break-away” that’s designed to release neck caught deer. Albert Ladd Photos

Albert Ladd Photo

By Albert Ladd

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The morning started like many others. I was sitting, peering out the window hoping for a coyote to come to the bait. This cabin my grandfather bought in 1928 for the purpose of deer hunting, a cabin that has slept six generations of deer hunters in my family, along with countless numbers of others that rate the times spent here as being an important part of their lives. The cabin is in a County that boasted for years the highest deer kills in the state. An area where all hunting camps in the region have memories and pictures of full game poles. In a county where for years famous bounty hunters and trappers, such as Wilbur Day and George Magoon, kept the bear numbers very low. Then there were the famous bounty hunters for bobcats such as Ash Peasly and Lloyd Clark who along with many others kept the cats as scarce as hens’ teeth. This all contributed to the healthy deer herd.

At this time the IF&W [Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife] was made up of folks with practical experience who made their decisions based on common sense and input from the guides, trappers and woodsmen that lived their lives in and around the woods and on the waters of Maine. There isn’t a day that goes by that I don’t think of the past and how well things worked, and ask myself why can’t folks like those in the past surface and once again make it happen for the sake of the deer?

As I scanned the shore past the bait, barely seeing with the aid of binoculars in the predawn darkness, I saw a coyote come around the point headed for the bait. After sliding open the window and positioning the 22-250, I saw that the first coyote had behind, her mate. It took about twenty minutes for the the coyotes to make their way to the bait. The fifteen or so ravens now there acted as a fear eliminator. As the first coyote, the bigger, got within a few feet of the bait the birds flushed making the coyote freeze in its tracks.

With the gun in a vise, I gently squeezed the trigger dropping the coyote. To my surprise the other “yote” ran about fifty feet, turned around and waited for its mate to leave with him. Unlucky for him the next 55-grain bullet flattened him too.

Of course I was beside myself scoring a double on the wily coyotes, but was happier then a dog with two tails when I discovered the first one was a 43-pound female with half-inch long black teets, along with worn teeth. This told me she was an old breeder. Her and the 40-pound mate of her’s would not be raising 5-7 young this spring in the same deer fawning grounds they have in the past. As a passionate deer hunter, I had done my part to help the whitetail this morning.

After hanging the coyotes, I got the sled ready for a forty-mile loop to the west, checking beaver traps. This trip is the same course I’ve taken for 35 years either trapping beaver or snaring coyotes. Even though the ride gets old the signs and things you see are always interesting.

The first several miles never showed a coyote track in the fresh inch of snow, but now I was nearing Gassabias Lake where I’d found a deer kill the trip before. The “yote” tracks were becoming more numerous. This got my dander up because for years I was able to snare this area to protect a very large intact deer yard on this lake. I still remembered back in the early 80′s being deployed to this area by warden Pratt from Enfield. The first day there I found eight coyote-killed deer. I remembered how helpless I felt because I only had 10 snares with me to set because I already had twenty of my thirty snare limit out in other areas.

My thoughts changed as I turned off the logging road onto the old carry trail, the same carry trail that Manly Hardy used 150 years ago as he traveled the area. In the snow covered trail ahead of me showed the running tracks of a 170-pound buck. I knew this wasn’t good. After a few feet, two coyote tracks showed up following the deer. I knew the outcome. I’ve seen it a hundred times before.

Photo by Dave Tobey

I sped up following the chase hoping I could intervene and save the deer to live at least another day. The deer ran to the lake, crossed a cove and onto the east shore, bare of snow maybe where he could get better footing to fight off his attackers.

They drove him back onto the shore ice. I saw for the first time where they took him down. There was blood and hair; not a lot. I turned off the sled and walked the track knowing well what I was going to find. The buck had made his way to a granite boulder, big as a truck. The giant boulder had gathered enough sun to melt the shore ice out ten feet to where the water ran a depth of 12”-16”. Here the buck took his last and best stand.

The deer was laying in the water. He stood up as I neared. At first I thought maybe I got here in time but then I saw why the deer wasn’t leaving. The buck had used the vertical rock as protection for his back while he put the hooves to the coyotes while standing in water. The two coyotes though were relentless.

After almost tearing his scalp and hide from his face, they weakened the buck enough that he just laid down in the water while the two yearling 20-pound coyotes ate about ten pounds of meat from his hind quarters.

As I watched the deer lay back down never to get up again, I thought what a way to go. Lay in ice water and watch and feel two coyotes rip, tear, and eat one-third of your hind quarters. At first I was mad at myself. If only I was here sooner. If only I had trapped this area last fall I could have caught these two pup coyotes, that biologist think aren’t important enough to kill and believe pose no threat to a deer.

Then my anger turned to the IF&W. If Commissioner Martin, Governor Baldacci and others hadn’t ended the snaring program, I could have prevented this. I realized this area where I was standing is in the shadows of the Bangor office when the sun sets every day. How many times have I called there inviting biologist to accompany me on my trap line? And to just think, the large mammal group leader and state’s deer biologist are trapped in cubicles, not thirty miles away.

Folks, our government will never be the ones to save the whitetail deer in Maine. The sportsmen can fix this problem though; by supporting a private bounty system for coyotes; by donating and fund raising for conservation easements on Deer Wintering areas; and supporting the bill I will introduce next year to take the coyote off the list of fur bearers and allow year round trapping of coyotes.

David Tobey
Registered Maine Guide

P.S. Hope the following photos aren’t to offending or gross for the viewer, but this is happening every day and night in Maine.

Scalp almost torn from his head as he used his hooves to defend himself – David Tobey Photo

Imagine alive and standing after loosing this much flesh. Wish those that took my snares were there!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! – David Tobey Photo

Notice blood soaked water and hair – David Tobey Photo

Copy, Print, and post in every corner store in Maine. This is whitetail management at its best!!!!!!!!!!!!! – David Tobey Photo