Milt Inman Photo

Milt Inman

AUGUSTA – The Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife is strongly encouraging homeowners to not feed birds until July and to take other food odor prevention steps around their properties as ways to deter bears that could become a nuisance or danger.

Bears are coming out of hibernation throughout Maine and are in search of food that is not readily available to them at this time of year. They are drawn to bird feeders, garbage cans, Dumpsters and grills – where food or the odor of food is prevalent – or to areas where people believe it’s OK to leave food for them.

For birds, however, spring offers an abundance of natural food and therefore they don’t need to be fed by people. In addition, some birds this year have been inflicted with salmonella that has grown on rotten bird seed left over in or near feeders from last year.

“The bird feeders need to be cleaned and free of seed to not only protect birds from salmonella, but to keep bears out of backyards so they don’t become reliant on people for food,” according to IF&W Wildlife Biologist Jennifer Vashon. “The best way to keep bears in the wild is to not make it easy for them to make themselves at home in your yard.”

An incident last weekend in Livermore Falls, where a mother bear and her two 80-pound yearlings needed to be trapped and moved from a neighborhood, illustrates how bears become dependent on people for food – and become a nuisance to fearful neighbors. The sow and her two cubs, who had been trapped in New Hampshire neighborhoods and moved to northern New Hampshire woods, found their way to Maine. Last year, she wandered through Livermore Falls area with her young cubs, and people hand-fed them or placed bird seed outside for them. This year, some people continued the same feeding behaviors while others became worried about the bears’ close proximity to homes.

Bears who become reliant on people for food return to the same locations to eat.

“The worst case scenario is that a bear will hurt someone,” according to Vashon. “It’s happened elsewhere and it could happen here. We’d have to destroy the bear if this happened.”

Spring is when the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife and the Maine Warden Service receives hundreds of nuisance animal complaints, and bears near homes and in neighborhoods are among the calls.

The Department strongly encourages people not to feed birds from April 1 to July 1. Birds are able for find food elsewhere. To deter bears, we suggest the following:

· Bring in your bird feeders. If you feel that you have to watch birds during the day, bring in the feeders at night BUT rake up all of the food underneath the bird feeder site so that bears are not drawn to it.

· Store garbage and garbage cans in the garage or basement until trash day, and put out the cans the mornings of pickup.

· Frequently disinfect trash containers. Odors can be reduced by rinsing meat packages before putting them in the trash. Freeze or refrigerate meat scraps, grease or other refuse with strong odor, and put them out with the trash the morning of pickup. A rag soaked with ammonia and placed in the garbage may discourage a repeat visitor.

· Nothing with a strong food odor should be composted in the back yard.

· For grills, burn off as much of the meat and grease as possible and then brush or scrape grills clean. Grills should be stored in a closed garage or shed.

· Dumpsters with heavy metal lids that latch shut should be used. Keep the lids and self-closing doors shut. If garbage is overflowing, contact the trash hauler to pick it up.

· If you have pets and feed them outdoors, bring their food dishes inside at night.

· Encourage your neighbors to take the same steps that you are to deter bears.

· When camping, put food and other items with an odor, including candy, toothpaste, suntan lotion and soap, in sealed containers. If camping near your vehicle, keep the sealed containers in it. Never store food or candy in your tent or sleeping quarters. If food or other odorous items cannot be stored, place them in a “bear bag” that is at least 12 feet above the ground and 10 feet from the nearest tree trunk. After meals, store all wanted leftovers and immediately wash dishes. Dump the dishwater away from the camp or use a sump hole to filter the water, and then burn the food scraps. Carefully burn all leftover food, wrappers and grease. Don’t bury them or throw them in a latrine.

· If a bear shows up in your backyard, stay calm. Shout at it like you would to chase an unwanted dog. Most bears are timid enough to be scared away by yelling, waving or banging pots. Check first before going outside. Black bears blend into night skies, thus providing the chance of an encounter. Use outside lights to full advantage and look outside from a safe position, such as a porch or upstairs window.

· Never Approach a Bear

Posted by Tom Remington

AUGUSTA – Towns and organizations interested in the preservation of Piping Plovers, endangered species in Maine, have partnered to ensure the shorebirds will successfully nest and raise their chicks to adulthood.

The towns of Wells, Ogunquit, Old Orchard Beach and Scarborough have joined the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Maine Audubon, Rachel Carson National Wildlife Refuge, USDA Wildlife Services’ Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, The Nature Conservancy, Bates College, Cabela’s, Maine Bureau of Parks and Lands, and supportive beachfront landowners to form a community-based team that is dedicated to the protection of Piping Plovers in Maine.

The Piping Plover is a small, sand-colored shorebird that nests on beaches from Newfoundland to South Carolina. Although once common on sandy beaches in southern Maine, it now is considered imperiled throughout much of its range and is listed on the state’s Endangered Species List, and is a Threatened Species on the national level.

In 2008, only 22 pairs of Piping Plovers nested in Maine – the lowest number in 17 years. Piping Plover numbers steadily increased during the 1990s, reaching 66 pairs in 2002. Habitat loss due to development and storms, such as the 2007 Patriot’s Day nor-easter, coupled with human disturbance, wild animal predation such as by foxes, and the increased presence of dogs on beaches are the primary factors for a decline in nesting pairs.

“The recent, precipitous decline of Piping Plovers in Maine is alarming, and it requires intervention by people and communities who strongly desire to share their beaches with these fragile shorebirds,” according to IF&W Wildlife Biologist Lindsay Tudor. “We’re at the point now, at the start of nesting season, that if action isn’t taken to protect Piping Plovers, they may soon disappear from Maine.”

Piping Plovers are in the process of returning to Maine beaches in the hopes of establishing a nesting territory, finding a mate, and successfully raising their chicks.

“With the help of this conservation team, and the management and protection activities they are committed to, along with the cooperation of beachfront landowners and beachgoers, perhaps the plovers will have a chance to mount a comeback,” Tudor said.

Anyone in these coastal towns can become a Piping Plover protector. Here’s how to be a responsible beachgoer on Piping Plover nesting beaches:

· Respect fenced and/or posted areas for Piping Plovers and other wildlife. Do not move or tamper with the fences.

· Keep dogs or any other domestic animal that is brought to the beach away from Piping Plover nesting areas and keep the animals on a leash at all times.

· Remove your trash from the beach and take it home for disposal.

· When walking or playing on beaches, check the area carefully for any signs of these well-camouflaged little birds and their nests. Should you be lucky enough to see one, STAY AWAY FROM IT! Enjoy looking at it through binoculars. Report your finding to the landowner or beach manager.

· Contact Maine Audubon (www.maineaudubon.org) or your town office to be a volunteer Piping Plover monitor. They will appreciate your help!

· Help IF&W’s efforts to protect Maine’s endangered and threatened species by purchasing a Conservation Loon Plate (www.myloonplate.com) and/or by contributing to the Chickadee Checkoff. Your financial support is greatly appreciated – and is critical to the future of Piping Plovers and other rare species in Maine.

Posted by Tom Remington

Milt Inman Photo

Milt Inman

AUGUSTA, Maine – Maine’s spring Wild Turkey hunting season opens Saturday (May 2) with a Youth Only Day to encourage young people to learn about the sport, and for adults it opens on Monday (May 4).

Hunters must have a valid Spring Wild Turkey Permit and a valid Maine resident hunting license, or a valid nonresident or alien big game hunting license in order to hunt turkey. A valid archery license also permits hunting of wild turkey with bow and arrow in Maine.

Hunters can purchase their permit to harvest online using MOSES at www.mefishwildlife.com, at any of the more than 280 MOSES or licensing agents statewide, or at IF&W headquarters in Augusta.

Maine’s wild turkey season is from May 4 to June 6, 2009.

· Spring Legal Hours: One-half hour before sunrise until noon (12 p.m.) local time.

· Spring Areas Open to Hunting: Wildlife Management Districts 7, 10-18, and 20-26.

· Spring Bag Limit: One bearded wild turkey per permit holder per season.

· Spring Legal Method for Taking: Only shotgun gauges 10 through 20 using shot sizes 4 through 6, or bow and arrow may be used.

· Calling devices: Electronic calling devices are legal.

Youth Day: Once again this year, junior hunters who are interested in wild turkey hunting will have their own day this Saturday, May 2, before the regular season starts. The rules are:

· Age: Youth hunters who are 10 years of age or older and under 16 years of age;

· Permit and License Needed: Eligible youth hunters must possess a junior hunting license and a Spring Wild Turkey Permit;

· Adult Supervision is Required and Rules: The qualified adult must be a person 18 or older who has been approved by the youth’s parent or guardian and must hold a valid Maine hunting license or have completed a hunter safety course. The accompanying adult cannot possess a firearm or bow and arrow during Youth Hunting Day.

· Bag Limit: Junior hunters may bag one bearded wild turkey with a firearm or a bow and arrow.

Posted by Tom Remington

Milt Inman Photo

Milt Inman

Posted by Tom Remington

AUGUSTA – The Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife (IF&W) is strongly encouraging anglers to protect Maine’s fish by changing from soft plastic lures to biodegradable ones.

Maine fisheries biologists are reporting increasing numbers of angled trout and salmon with indigestible soft plastic lures in their stomachs, according to John Boland, IF&W Fisheries Division Director. A discarded soft plastic lure consumed innocently by a brook trout from the bottom of a freshwater shoal likely remains in that fish’s stomach for the rest of its life and may cause health issues such as ulcers and weight loss.

Soft plastic lures are most commonly used by bass anglers, often in waters shared with trout and salmon. IF&W is cooperating in studies on the effects of soft plastic lure ingestion by trout and salmon, including one recent experiment at Unity College, which was conducted by IF&W Pathologist Dr. Russ Danner, Unity College Professor Jim Chacko, PhD., and IF&W Fisheries Biologist Francis Brautigam, and in another study currently underway at Southern Maine Community College.

The study conducted at Unity College found that 65 percent of brook trout voluntarily consumed soft plastic lures if they simply were dropped into water.

“We found that fish retained the lures in their stomachs for 13 weeks without regurgitating them,” according to Dr. Danner. “They also began to act anorexic and lost weight within 90 days of eating a soft plastic lure.”

Without regard to the chemical toxicity of ingested soft plastics, the fact that these lures are occupying space in a trout’s stomach limits the amount of space available for natural food. There is a lot of veterinary medical evidence that foreign bodies in the digestive tract cause ulcers, weight loss, and anorexia.

“We strongly encourage anglers to voluntarily purchase biodegradable and food-based lures rather than soft plastic ones,” Dr. Danner said. “Also, we are asking anglers not to discard plastic lures into any waters, and also to attempt to retrieve any soft plastic lures that have become unhooked”.

For millennia, trout and salmon have foraged the waters of Maine for nutritious natural forage such as small fishes, insects and other invertebrates. In the last 20 years, food mimics made of soft plastic has begun to compete with these nutritious natural forage items. The effects of soft plastic lure pollution on freshwater ecosystems are not well understood yet, but it is unlikely that eating soft plastic lures will be found to be a good thing.

“The wide assortment of soft plastic fishing lures is staggering,” Dr. Danner said. “Soft plastic lures come in every color, a myriad of sizes, and resembling every swimming, crawling, and flying creature a fish could imagine eating. Large fish searching the waters of Maine are bound to come upon brightly colored soft plastic lures lost or discarded by anglers and consume these imitators of natural food items.”

There are estimates that as much as 20 million pounds of soft plastic are being lost in freshwater lakes and streams annually in the U.S. The average life expectancy for these soft plastic lures is more than 200 years.

“We need all anglers to do their part to protect Maine’s valuable fisheries from this serious threat,” Dr. Danner said. “Natural lure alternatives are available at many retailers and online, and should become the choice of people who love to fish Maine’s waters”.

If you wish to learn more about the experiment conducted at Unity College a report on the project was published in the Northern American Journal of Fisheries Management. It is available at http://afs.allenpress.com/perlserv/?request=get-abstract&doi=10.1577%2FM08-085.1.

Posted by Tom Remington

Milt Inman Photo

Milt Inman

Milt Inman Photo

Milt Inman

Milt Inman Photo

Milt Inman

Down in the valley, in Intervale, New Hampshire, things remain brown still waiting for “green up”. In the background, the snows of Mt. Washington show up clearly.

Milt Inman Photo

Milt Inman