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Sep 2013 26

A letter to my non-hunting friends about bear hunting

By | Uncategorized | 1 Comment | 4 min read

Hello to all of my non-hunting friends! I am writing this letter to you because I want to encourage you to become educated on one very important topic that you will be seeing and hearing more about.  It is the issue of bear hunting in Maine.  In the upcoming months, there will be a lot of political spin on the bear issue in Maine.  I want you to feel as though you are getting a real picture of what the issue is before you cast that ballot next November.  Am I biased?  Yes.  I do not bear hunt but I know enough about it to have a very strong opinion about this issue.  I am hoping that as my friend, you will grant me a few minutes to hear me out on the issue. First, when you are hunting, there is no...

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Jun 2013 24

What a dead moose can tell you

By | Uncategorized | 0 Comments | 6 min read

Three years ago, Dad and I headed into the woods to get a moose. I took a week off from work and we were rocked and ready. Zone 17. In hindsight, I can see why Rick wanted to trade permits for that zone. Throughout the week, we saw one dead moose and a spot where one was gutted. That was it. It was the second time Dad had been drawn and the first time he didn't come home with some meat. At the start of the 2012 moose season, it was projected that 75,000 moose were roaming the woods. In my interview with Commissioner Woodcock, he spoke about the changes that were taking place this season that would allow more people to get their permit who had not. This past fall, my brother in law (BIL) who is a biologist for the State of Maine was...

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Jun 2013 10

Hunter’s patience pays off with increase in permits

By | Uncategorized | 4 Comments | 4 min read

A few weeks ago, I sat down with the Commissioner of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife, Chandler Woodcock to talk about the increase in moose and doe permits across the State and what it means for sportswomen (and men) this upcoming hunting season.  Q: The number of moose permits has been released for 2013 and they have increased since last year (from 3,725 to 4155).  What's changed? A: Our biologist, Lee Kantar has been working tirelessly to get an accurate moose count.  He has gone up in a helicopter and used some new technology to get accurate numbers of moose around Maine.  The majority of the increases will be seen north of Bangor and we looked at each WMD individually to make sure we are carefully monitoring the...

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Feb 2013 15

Youth Hunting where you are

By | Uncategorized | 2 Comments | 1 min read

I have written (and rewritten) a blog about 2 proposed bills being sent to the 126th Maine Legislature about proposed changes in our current youth deer hunt. Here is the original blog with the bills, LD79 and LD101 explained. Currently, in Maine, youth hunters are between 10-15 and become adult hunters at 16. They are allowed to begin their season a week before Maine residence, who can start the last Saturday in October and must be with an adult. According to the Executive Director of the Sportman's Alliance of Maine, there are 16,000 youth deer hunters and their success rate is about 10%. The real issue that is being debated is, with the Maine deer herd in such rough shape, is it worth risking the health and growth of the herd to give...

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Jan 2013 14

After a positive 2012, IFW looks for an even better 2013

By | Uncategorized | 1 Comment | 5 min read

Last week I sat down with Commissioner Woodcock to talk about the highlights of the 2012 hunting seasons and where he saw the Department going in 2013: Last year, the moose hunting system was reworked. Do you think it helped with the numbers this year? YES! 34% of the top tier were picked this year. Of course, we add people to that top tier every year but we are predicting that in the next five years, everyone in that top group who has been waiting for more than 30 years to get drawn, will in fact get drawn. We even had a few people, probably 1% get picked on their first try this year. Overall, we are very happy with the results this year and looking forward to a successful hunt next season. Do you see any other changes being...

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Nov 2012 30

Coming up…

By | Uncategorized | 3 Comments | 1 min read

I miss hunting season already! Is that weird? This is the first Friday I have been at work since mid October. And while it is freezing out right now, Dad and I do have a heater for the Sky Condo. The good thing is, once we get snow, we will start tracking the deer around the SC to see where they are yarding up for the winter and see if we can get some pics on the cameras of our targets for next year. Coming up in the blog world: * My post about shooting this year's deer * A GREAT interview with Bryan White about getting his first ever buck this season * (Hopefully) an interview with Inland Fisheries and Wildlife's Commissioner Mr. Woodcock about the past hunting season, where the numbers are and if he is happy with the progress of the...

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Sep 2012 18

Becoming an Outdoors Woman: Fishing the right way

By | Uncategorized | 6 Comments | 4 min read

We could not have asked for a better weekend for the BOW Skills Weekend. It was crisp, mostly sunny and the excitement was palpable. 106 women, 36 different sessions taught be awesome instructors and most of the Friend of Maine BOW board members were there. It was a time to test our skills, try new things and learn to push ourselves to do things we might have thought we could not do. For me, I wanted to try Don Kleiner’s session: Intro to Freshwater Fishing. After my trip to Jackman, I needed all the help and advice I could get. Big, big kudos to Don! If you can ever take a class he is teaching, do it. He encourages questions, clearly knows what he is talking about and has an infectious laugh. The 6 of us in his session were put at...

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Sep 2012 16

Becoming an Outdoor Woman

By | Uncategorized | 0 Comments | 1 min read

I joined the Becoming an Outdoor Woman in Maineboard in April because I love the outdoors and write a blog about hunting. I joined because my friend Rabid sent me the application. I attended board meetings and started understanding what is it we do as Friends of Maine Bow. But it wasn't until this weekend that I got it. We help to empower women to be confident and know that they can do anything they put their minds to. From hatchet throwing to freshwater fishing to muzzle loading and beyond, there was no skill these women could not do. We laughed, we cried and we shared stories that linked our experiences closer than I think many of us realized. Over the next week, I will be posting stories about the classes I sat in on, the women I...

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Jul 2012 10

With more money comes more possibilities; how IFW will spend the additional $100k

By | Uncategorized | 2 Comments | 5 min read

When Maine's Governor LePage signed new legislation that gave Inland Fisheries and Wildlife an additional $100,000 for their predator control program, I wanted to follow up with Mr. Woodcock on how this money will truly impact the program and the State. How do you see this additional money helping IFW this year? We had a plan to target critical deer yards around the State (These are in areas D, E, F, G, C). This additional money will help us by providing another funding source. There are 10 locations covering about 1000 acres that are our top priority. With this additional funding, we are able to increase our efforts without worrying about stretching the budget too thin. We can expand the number of people who can participate and...

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