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Conservation

Jul 2024 2

Trail cameras bring early season excitement

By Erin M | Adventures in the Woods, Conservation, Hunting in Maine, Maine Outdoors, Trail Camera Views, Wildlife Conservation | 0 Comments | 1 min read

I leave my trail cameras out all year long. Photos of coyotes, deer, porcupines and racoons show up on my phone. But in the spring, those first trail camera photos of babies, cast off yearlings and bucks bring early season excitement to all of us. There is a fun uncertainty of what animals will show up in the photos. You don't have to be a hunter to enjoy getting a sneak peak into the woods around us. I think we can all enjoy the start of new life and new adventures.

Jun 2024 13

Are you Fit to Hunt?

By Erin M | Bear Hunting, Conservation, Hunting Tips and Tricks, Women Who Hunt | 0 Comments | 2 min read

The last thing you want to think about when you are chasing animals through the woods, is if you can physically do it. There are a lot of things that I can not control on each hunt but the one thing I can control was how healthy I am. So, when I saw my name had been called for my moose permit in 2021, I called my friend Jeremy and started training. Jeremy owns and runs Fit to Hunt, an online training organization that works with people to meet their fitness goals. He has created a few training programs for me depending on what I was hunting. My moose hunt focused on increasing my upper body strength so that I could hold my 7.5lb rifle steady without needing to rest it on a truck or steady stick. On the Wednesday of my hunt, things...

Jun 2024 5

Will constitutional amendments protect hunting?

By Erin M | Conservation, Hunting in Maine, Maine Hunters, Maine Outdoors, Wildlife Conservation, Women Who Hunt | 0 Comments | 3 min read

When the International Order of Theodore Roosevelt met this spring in Arizona, they spoke about the need for constitutional amendments to help protect our hunting rights. They were focused on Florida and a few other states. I thought of New Jersey and their on again, off again bear hunt. And I thought of a conversation that I was a part of following Maine’s win in the 2014 election to save our bear hunting methods. We wondered if a constitutional amendment would make sense to ensure we didn’t have to continually fight ballot initiatives. The answer we were told was no. A no because it would be too expensive and it wouldn’t actually protect anything. A constitutional right to hunting and fishing means just that; we can participate in...

Aug 2023 22

What you want to know but are afraid to ask your guide

By Erin M | Conservation, Hunting in Maine, Hunting Tips and Tricks, Maine Moose, Maine Outdoors, Wildlife Conservation | 1 Comment | 8 min read

When I was drawn for my moose permit, I hired a guide to help. My friend John Floyd is a Registered Maine Guide and the owner of Tucker Ridge Outdoors in Webster Plantation, Maine. After talking about what I wish I had known and what he wished his clients knew, we decided to publishour conversation. Here we discuss thoughts, questions and concerns about hiring a guide. EM: A moose hunt can be an expensive hunt. There are a lot of things that can factor into the week you spend in the woods. I didn’t realize how much the entire hunt would be. Do you think a lot of hunters understand the costs? JF: Winning a Maine moose permit for most is a once in a lifetime experience, most hunters do not understand the costs and situations that arise...

Jul 2023 24

The awe of a fawn

By Erin M | Conservation, Hunting in Maine, Maine Outdoors, Whitetail Deer, Wildlife Conservation | 1 Comment | 2 min read

Last August, I had the opportunity to get a fawn that had been hit by a car. I called the warden, got a tag and it was off to the taxidermist. Maybe a little morbid, but unless you are willing to use a tag to shoot a fawn, there are few ways to aquire the young deer. This week, I brought it home to my office. The woman who did the taxiermy work did an incredible job on the fine details. The fawn's eyes, lashes, ear hair and whiskers are exact. It is amazing to look at the small body and the characteristis and then look at the buck above it and the changes and simularlities. The fawn was about two months old and his pedicals were just beginning to form. The skull is close to the same size as my coyote's skull but a bit more rounded on...

Jul 2023 9

The best wild game dinner

By Erin M | Conservation, Eating Wild Game, Hunting in Maine, Maine Black Bear, Maine Hunters, Maine Moose, Women Who Hunt | 0 Comments | 2 min read

Hunters are always asked if they eat the animals that they hunt. Bear is one of the most asked about animals. After I accomplished my grand slam, I offered to host a wild game dinner for people to try some of the meat that I had hunted. My friend, Candace agreed to be my chef. The result was some of the best wild game dishes I have ever eaten. Candace and I picked out the cuts that I had and built our menu around that. It was an incredibly hot day here in Maine, so that altered a few of our plans. Here was our menu: Apps - Cheese, crackers, pickled fiddleheads, sauteed moose heart with onions, BBQ moose heart flatbread topped with mushrooms, garlic scrapes and chive blossoms, smoked Alaskan salmon and spicy black bear queso...

Jul 2024 2

Trail cameras bring early season excitement

By Erin M | Adventures in the Woods, Conservation, Hunting in Maine, Maine Outdoors, Trail Camera Views, Wildlife Conservation | 0 Comments | 1 min read

I leave my trail cameras out all year long. Photos of coyotes, deer, porcupines and racoons show up on my phone. But in the spring, those first trail camera photos of babies, cast off yearlings and bucks bring early season excitement to all of us. There is a fun uncertainty of what animals will show up in the photos. You don't have to be a hunter to enjoy getting a sneak peak into the woods around us. I think we can all enjoy the start of new life and new adventures.

Jun 2024 13

Are you Fit to Hunt?

By Erin M | Bear Hunting, Conservation, Hunting Tips and Tricks, Women Who Hunt | 0 Comments | 2 min read

The last thing you want to think about when you are chasing animals through the woods, is if you can physically do it. There are a lot of things that I can not control on each hunt but the one thing I can control was how healthy I am. So, when I saw my name had been called for my moose permit in 2021, I called my friend Jeremy and started training. Jeremy owns and runs Fit to Hunt, an online training organization that works with people to meet their fitness goals. He has created a few training programs for me depending on what I was hunting. My moose hunt focused on increasing my upper body strength so that I could hold my 7.5lb rifle steady without needing to rest it on a truck or steady stick. On the Wednesday of my hunt, things...

Jun 2024 5

Will constitutional amendments protect hunting?

By Erin M | Conservation, Hunting in Maine, Maine Hunters, Maine Outdoors, Wildlife Conservation, Women Who Hunt | 0 Comments | 3 min read

When the International Order of Theodore Roosevelt met this spring in Arizona, they spoke about the need for constitutional amendments to help protect our hunting rights. They were focused on Florida and a few other states. I thought of New Jersey and their on again, off again bear hunt. And I thought of a conversation that I was a part of following Maine’s win in the 2014 election to save our bear hunting methods. We wondered if a constitutional amendment would make sense to ensure we didn’t have to continually fight ballot initiatives. The answer we were told was no. A no because it would be too expensive and it wouldn’t actually protect anything. A constitutional right to hunting and fishing means just that; we can participate in...

Aug 2023 22

What you want to know but are afraid to ask your guide

By Erin M | Conservation, Hunting in Maine, Hunting Tips and Tricks, Maine Moose, Maine Outdoors, Wildlife Conservation | 1 Comment | 8 min read

When I was drawn for my moose permit, I hired a guide to help. My friend John Floyd is a Registered Maine Guide and the owner of Tucker Ridge Outdoors in Webster Plantation, Maine. After talking about what I wish I had known and what he wished his clients knew, we decided to publishour conversation. Here we discuss thoughts, questions and concerns about hiring a guide. EM: A moose hunt can be an expensive hunt. There are a lot of things that can factor into the week you spend in the woods. I didn’t realize how much the entire hunt would be. Do you think a lot of hunters understand the costs? JF: Winning a Maine moose permit for most is a once in a lifetime experience, most hunters do not understand the costs and situations that arise...

Jul 2023 24

The awe of a fawn

By Erin M | Conservation, Hunting in Maine, Maine Outdoors, Whitetail Deer, Wildlife Conservation | 1 Comment | 2 min read

Last August, I had the opportunity to get a fawn that had been hit by a car. I called the warden, got a tag and it was off to the taxidermist. Maybe a little morbid, but unless you are willing to use a tag to shoot a fawn, there are few ways to aquire the young deer. This week, I brought it home to my office. The woman who did the taxiermy work did an incredible job on the fine details. The fawn's eyes, lashes, ear hair and whiskers are exact. It is amazing to look at the small body and the characteristis and then look at the buck above it and the changes and simularlities. The fawn was about two months old and his pedicals were just beginning to form. The skull is close to the same size as my coyote's skull but a bit more rounded on...

Jul 2023 9

The best wild game dinner

By Erin M | Conservation, Eating Wild Game, Hunting in Maine, Maine Black Bear, Maine Hunters, Maine Moose, Women Who Hunt | 0 Comments | 2 min read

Hunters are always asked if they eat the animals that they hunt. Bear is one of the most asked about animals. After I accomplished my grand slam, I offered to host a wild game dinner for people to try some of the meat that I had hunted. My friend, Candace agreed to be my chef. The result was some of the best wild game dishes I have ever eaten. Candace and I picked out the cuts that I had and built our menu around that. It was an incredibly hot day here in Maine, so that altered a few of our plans. Here was our menu: Apps - Cheese, crackers, pickled fiddleheads, sauteed moose heart with onions, BBQ moose heart flatbread topped with mushrooms, garlic scrapes and chive blossoms, smoked Alaskan salmon and spicy black bear queso...

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Jul 2024 2

Trail cameras bring early season excitement

By Erin M | Adventures in the Woods, Conservation, Hunting in Maine, Maine Outdoors, Trail Camera Views, Wildlife Conservation | 0 Comments | 1 min read

I leave my trail cameras out all year long. Photos of coyotes, deer, porcupines and racoons show up on my phone. But in the spring, those first trail camera photos of babies, cast off yearlings and bucks bring early season excitement to all of us. There is a fun uncertainty of what animals will show up in the photos. You don't have to be a hunter to enjoy getting a sneak peak into the woods around us. I think we can all enjoy the start of new life and new adventures.

Jun 2024 13

Are you Fit to Hunt?

By Erin M | Bear Hunting, Conservation, Hunting Tips and Tricks, Women Who Hunt | 0 Comments | 2 min read

The last thing you want to think about when you are chasing animals through the woods, is if you can physically do it. There are a lot of things that I can not control on each hunt but the one thing I can control was how healthy I am. So, when I saw my name had been called for my moose permit in 2021, I called my friend Jeremy and started training. Jeremy owns and runs Fit to Hunt, an online training organization that works with people to meet their fitness goals. He has created a few training programs for me depending on what I was hunting. My moose hunt focused on increasing my upper body strength so that I could hold my 7.5lb rifle steady without needing to rest it on a truck or steady stick. On the Wednesday of my hunt, things...

Jun 2024 5

Will constitutional amendments protect hunting?

By Erin M | Conservation, Hunting in Maine, Maine Hunters, Maine Outdoors, Wildlife Conservation, Women Who Hunt | 0 Comments | 3 min read

When the International Order of Theodore Roosevelt met this spring in Arizona, they spoke about the need for constitutional amendments to help protect our hunting rights. They were focused on Florida and a few other states. I thought of New Jersey and their on again, off again bear hunt. And I thought of a conversation that I was a part of following Maine’s win in the 2014 election to save our bear hunting methods. We wondered if a constitutional amendment would make sense to ensure we didn’t have to continually fight ballot initiatives. The answer we were told was no. A no because it would be too expensive and it wouldn’t actually protect anything. A constitutional right to hunting and fishing means just that; we can participate in...

Aug 2023 22

What you want to know but are afraid to ask your guide

By Erin M | Conservation, Hunting in Maine, Hunting Tips and Tricks, Maine Moose, Maine Outdoors, Wildlife Conservation | 1 Comment | 8 min read

When I was drawn for my moose permit, I hired a guide to help. My friend John Floyd is a Registered Maine Guide and the owner of Tucker Ridge Outdoors in Webster Plantation, Maine. After talking about what I wish I had known and what he wished his clients knew, we decided to publishour conversation. Here we discuss thoughts, questions and concerns about hiring a guide. EM: A moose hunt can be an expensive hunt. There are a lot of things that can factor into the week you spend in the woods. I didn’t realize how much the entire hunt would be. Do you think a lot of hunters understand the costs? JF: Winning a Maine moose permit for most is a once in a lifetime experience, most hunters do not understand the costs and situations that arise...

Jul 2023 24

The awe of a fawn

By Erin M | Conservation, Hunting in Maine, Maine Outdoors, Whitetail Deer, Wildlife Conservation | 1 Comment | 2 min read

Last August, I had the opportunity to get a fawn that had been hit by a car. I called the warden, got a tag and it was off to the taxidermist. Maybe a little morbid, but unless you are willing to use a tag to shoot a fawn, there are few ways to aquire the young deer. This week, I brought it home to my office. The woman who did the taxiermy work did an incredible job on the fine details. The fawn's eyes, lashes, ear hair and whiskers are exact. It is amazing to look at the small body and the characteristis and then look at the buck above it and the changes and simularlities. The fawn was about two months old and his pedicals were just beginning to form. The skull is close to the same size as my coyote's skull but a bit more rounded on...

Jul 2023 9

The best wild game dinner

By Erin M | Conservation, Eating Wild Game, Hunting in Maine, Maine Black Bear, Maine Hunters, Maine Moose, Women Who Hunt | 0 Comments | 2 min read

Hunters are always asked if they eat the animals that they hunt. Bear is one of the most asked about animals. After I accomplished my grand slam, I offered to host a wild game dinner for people to try some of the meat that I had hunted. My friend, Candace agreed to be my chef. The result was some of the best wild game dishes I have ever eaten. Candace and I picked out the cuts that I had and built our menu around that. It was an incredibly hot day here in Maine, so that altered a few of our plans. Here was our menu: Apps - Cheese, crackers, pickled fiddleheads, sauteed moose heart with onions, BBQ moose heart flatbread topped with mushrooms, garlic scrapes and chive blossoms, smoked Alaskan salmon and spicy black bear queso...