As we discussed in yesterdays Post on how Deer are managed as a "cash crop" by State Agencies, here is the State of Maine reinforcing this fact.........citing the Coyote as the evil "boogieman" and the enemy of deer(not supported by all of the literature we review daily)...............We thank U. of Maine Professor Dan Harrison for having the courage to speak up about the fact the deer are at the Northern edge of their range in Maine.............severe Winters knock down herds.........maturing forests reduce the amount of regenerating foodstuffs deer like to eat........There were never as many deer in Maine historically as there are now.............Enough trying to "stoke" the population further!

Maine deer resurgence eyed

UM professor criticizes LePage plan to boost population as lofty goal

Gov. Paul LePage and Chandler Woodcock, commissioner of the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife, have begun an initiative to replenish Maine's deer population.LePage has stated his firm belief that deer hunting is an integral part of Maine's heritage and economy, citing state revenue amounts to $280 million annually from licensing, tourism and related costs.

According to a March 18 article in the Bangor Daily News, Maine has seen a decline in the deer population over the past two decades.The DIFW website states a multitude of reasons that have contributed to the decline in deer population including a severe winter, predation and a diminishing number of wintering areas.To combat these factors, the DIFW has outlined a comprehensive five-point plan involving government officials and private landowners.
When it comes to the future of hunting in Maine, two branches of the proposed policy aim to increase the deer herd by instituting new policies. The first would heighten penalties for illegal hunting and the second would involve trying to better control the coyote population, a major predatory threat to deer.
The state's landowners will also play an integral part in the push to repopulate the herd by assisting officials in identifying havens where Maine's deer spend the winter. An education effort to explain the importance of a healthy herd to landowners is also discussed in the plan The last piece of the deer repopulation puzzle involves a broad community education initiative to explain the program's goals and periodically showcase what progress has been made.
Greg Watts, the operations manager of Indian Hill Trading Post in Greenville, said he is "happy to see that they are focusing on this issue. It is not only an environmental problem, but also an economic one."Prior to 2009, Indian Hill's tagging station had a 10-year average of 142 deer. In 2009, Watt saw that average cut in half and has seen it dip as low as 54 deer this past season. After a particularly snowy winter this year, Watts is not optimistic about the numbers for the coming season. "When it snows as much as it has, the deer have trouble moving which makes it both hard for them to find food and escape predators. This means less deer," he said.
Daniel Harrison, a professor of wildlife ecology at the University of Maine, believes the state may be setting unrealistic goals for the deer population."I fear that we are trying to create an anomaly that was not sustainable," Harrison said. According to Harrison, the bounty of deer that Mainers have enjoyed for the last century was more of an outlier than status quo."All of the moons that were aligned are now not aligned," he said. The moons Harrison referred to are a combination of both environmental and societal factors that contributed to a historically large deer herd. He said in the early part of the 19th century, there were very few deer in Maine and almost none in the northern reaches of the state. Ecosystems developed as forests grew, creating a surplus of food and increased wintering grounds.
Additionally, the populations of major predatory species — wolves and black bears — greatly declined. Open seasons for both species, as well as a bear bounty offered in some municipalities, helped keep their numbers down.
In the 1970s, the tide began to turn against deer populations. Hit with a spruce worm epidemic, foresting companies were forced to harvest prematurely, minimizing deer wintering grounds. Additionally, moves to protect bear populations helped increase the number of predators. Harrison contends that what was once an inviting and plentiful habitat for deer is becoming an increasingly competitive environment.
"Don't get me wrong. I have a camp in Northern Maine and enjoy hunting, but things have changed," he said.