*Editor’s Note* I contacted Albert Ladd and asked him if he would be willing to write up some information as he sees it as it pertains to trapping and snaring, mostly dealing with coyote and predator control.

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

*Editor’s Note* This story was submitted by trapper and Maine Guide, David Tobey of Maine. It has been edited by Tom Remington. This story goes hand in hand with yesterday’s article on reinstating of the snaring program that Maine needs to help rebuild the lost deer population. Follow this link for that story.

~~~~~

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

Photo from fOTOGLIF

*Correction/Clarification* In this article I made reference that the coyote snaring program was suspended through legislative action. I stand corrected. According to V. Paul Reynolds of Northwoods Sporting Journal, the snaring program was halted by Commissioner Roland Martin. It was, however, the Legislature also went to work and ended up with this bill.

*Editor’s Note and Update* I posted a follow up story to this from David Tobey. Please follow this link.

Maine has a wildlife management problem. Maine has a deer management problem. Maine has a game management problem. Maine either has no interest in managing game animals or they are not interested in fighting the lawsuits that have become a way of life for most animal rights groups. If Maine doesn’t address their problems they will soon be facing bigger problems.

Whitetail deer herds in parts of Northern Maine are all but gone. Much of Downeast Maine is riddled with sparse deer populations and too many coyotes as are portions of the Western Mountains Region. The Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife wants to tell us that it’s all because of two back to back severe winters and the loss of habitat due to our modern methods of tree harvesting. These two things certainly have taken their toll on Maine’s deer but it more and more looks like MDIFW is trying to hide behind this, shrugging it off as something they have no control over while refusing to address those things they can.

Doubts abound in the outdoor world as to whether MDIFW or even this current administration has any serious interest in trying to restore the deer herd in these regions. Perhaps it’s just easier to let it go, let Mother Nature take its course. Let natural management “balance our ecosystems”. But that is irresponsible, isn’t it?

The first step in resolving an issue is to first admit there is a problem. MDIFW is willing to admit there is a weather problem and a tree harvesting problem but that’s about it. This is unfortunate for all of Maine’s people. You see it is in the best interest of all the Maine people to have a healthy forest. This cannot be achieved when so many protections are laid upon one species that it is destroying others.

I get emails from Maine people asking me why I hate coyotes. I don’t. It’s futile to try to make them understand that allowing coyotes to run rampant, destroying deer herds and all other prey animals, isn’t showering much love anywhere. Predators get their name because of what they do. They prey on things they like to eat and destroy. If we allow our wildlife to come out of balance with any prey species, we have to expect trouble. I ask again. Is allowing this to happen being responsible stewards of our wildlife?

Coyotes and deer can most often coexist without too many problems. When this man-managed balance gets really out of whack, which has happened in Maine due to a combination of poor management and severe winters, something has to change. In Maine’s case, coyote numbers are high and deer populations in much of the geographical area of Maine are at record lows, perhaps at a point where they will never recover. Does it not make sense to reduce the number of coyotes and other large predators to give the deer a fighting chance?

Some say there are ample opportunities to get rid of coyotes. Maine has a year round hunting season, which includes periods of time when night hunting is allowed, and a limited trapping season. The trapping season is ineffective because there is no open trapping season on coyotes during the dead of winter when the pelts are most valuable and trappers have been stripped of their best tools to take coyotes.

During the winter months when the deer are gathered in what Mainers call deer yards, coyotes will prey on deer in those yards. In years past, trappers used snares near these deer yard areas. The method became very effective. Experienced trappers would learn the trails the coyotes would use to get into the yards and set up their snares accordingly. This reduced the amount of predation by coyotes on deer in winter, which helped the deer herds. It must be pointed out that all of this snaring of coyotes done prior to the ban did no harm to the population of coyotes because they are still at very high numbers and growing larger due to reduced harvesting. The key here is that coyotes were targeted around the yarding areas – better trapping opportunities and reduced predation on deer.

I have been emailing back and forth with David Tobey, a Maine Guide and trapper who lives in the eastern part of the state of Maine. Tobey is noted for his trapping knowledge and skills especially as they pertain to coyotes. He shared with me some of what makes snaring a much more effective trapping tool than a conventional foot-hold trap.

Snares -The best tool we have for the changing conditions across North America. Snares have come a long ways in the last few years. With new type locks, deer break-aways and compression springs, a properly set snare will humanely kill a coyote quickly. Snares can be used year round. When set in trails with the proper loop size and proper distance off the ground, it becomes very selective for the targeted animal you’re after.

Coyotes tend to travel the same paths generation after generation. Once a trapper learns their routes their removal becomes easy. When snaring for the state I would create these situations which would let me catch the coyotes in an area and move on, sometimes in just a few days time. I would haul 50-gallon barrels half full of frozen meat scrapes. When finding a pack of coyotes, I would cruise the area usually finding a dead end side road to leave the barrel. By leaving the bait in the barrel, it would attract the ravens, which in turn would bring in the coyotes. Typically the coyotes would not go into the barrel, but rely on a few scraps pulled out by the birds. Their tracks and trails in the snow would show me where the coyote wanted to die. Many times when I went back I would have 3 to 5 coyotes, load my barrel and move to a new location. This was a very effective and efficient way to remove a whole family of coyotes from an area, not only giving the deer a break, we consistently saw other game population rebound with their removal

Snares are relatively inexpensive to buy and of low maintenance. They are light weight, easy to carry and quick to set up, once you know where to be. One of the big advantages the snare has over the foot-hold trap is they are not affected by weather nearly to the extent foot-hold traps are. With snares, if a coyote releases a set trap, most often he doesn’t even realize it and moves on to the next area where another snare is set. Often when foot-hold traps get sprung, without a coyote in it, he disappears and is slow, if ever, to return again. They are not dumb animals.

Dave Tobey says that one year he snared 49 coyotes in just one area near Grand Lake Stream. He said the next year tagging of bucks went from the low teens to 37 tagged at the local store and tagging station.

Indian Township in Eastern Maine still snares 20 to 50 coyotes a year, protecting the large deer yard on their land. This is the reason Eastern Maine was experiencing an increase in the deer kill the last few years, until the severe winter last year. The Indian tribe goes by their own rules and don’t buckle under to the anti’s and animal rights groups.

This is one week’s catch with snaring. Tobey says he has gone an entire winter and only taken 4 coyote over bait.

Most people don’t realize what a dangerous predator coyotes can be. The above photo shows 24 deer, mostly pregnant does, slaughtered by coyotes and left to rot. Their method? Simple really. They herd the deer up and force them out onto frozen lakes and rivers. Once deer hit the ice, they are rendered completely helpless. This photo was taken on the St. Croix river in Eastern Maine. Killing the deer and leaving them to rot is proof of coyotes sport or surplus killing deer, something considered by most a myth. Too many people believe that coyotes, like wolves, kill only the sick and weakly deer leaving us with a healthy deer herd. How’s that theory working out in Maine?

But even some of the rules in place that ban snaring and set the seasons for trapping coyote make little sense. I was told by Tobey that the reason the trapping season ends the end of December is because of fear of trapping the protected Canada lynx. The question becomes, why is coyote trapping season closed outside of Canada lynx protected habitat areas and why doesn’t Maine have a “Incidental Take Permit” that would allow trapping during these months in lynx habitat?

The other obvious question still remains. If snaring was banned in Maine supposedly because it is an inhumane way of killing an animal, what is humane about sitting idly by while coyotes destroy deer and other wildlife? Many people are probably not even aware that coyotes, when they kill a deer don’t do it very humanely. Most times the deer is eaten while it is still alive. Pregnant does will be brought down and the fetus ripped out alive and often the doe is left to die while the coyotes make a feast on a tender fetus. In short, it is not a pretty sight.

But this is only the beginning. There has to be a united effort from the Governor, the Maine Legislature, the MDIFW and the people, to commit to rebuilding and protecting the deer herds as much as there are protections for predators, like coyotes, black bears, Canada lynx and bobcats. That means more of an effort than waiting for the sun to shine. It requires a commitment to do what is necessary and in the best interest of all.

The Governor must be the leader. The current governor and the one that will be elected come November, must step forward and proclaim the importance of protecting whitetail deer in all of Maine. The Governor should seek the backing of the Legislature and together give the authority for the MDIFW to take the necessary steps to open up trapping for coyote through the winter months immediately in areas outside lynx habitat.

The ban on snaring can be overturned through the Legislature, by emergency ruling if necessary, to allow for snaring in and around known wintering yards for deer. This snaring should be allowed up and until the deer begin leaving the yarding areas.

It is a known fact that when deer move into their fawning areas, the coyotes follow killing and destroying as many of the newly born deer as they can. Snaring and killing of coyotes should be targeted at these areas. The only way the deer will survive, say nothing of rebuild, is that the fawns must survive. With fawn survival rates so low now, herds have reached unsustainable levels.

People need to understand that even under federal protection of the Endangered Species Act, protecting the lynx or any other species does not allow for the destruction of one species in order to protect another. The 10j rule provides a system in which the MDIFW can petition the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to take extra steps to protect the deer herd while trying to protect the lynx. The question is, does Maine want to? Is this effort worth it to them?

The tools are at our disposal. It is time for leadership in this manner. Doing nothing is unacceptable. Scoffing at those who consider this a serious problem is not acceptable. Telling the people of Maine it’s their problem not the state’s, is no longer acceptable. Appeasing animal rights groups and anti-hunting/trapping groups is no longer acceptable. Either Maine believes in their wildlife programs or they don’t. I think it is obvious where the people of Maine stand, they now are looking for leadership and action. Who will step forward?

Tom Remington

George Smith, Executive Director for the Sportsman’s Alliance of Maine, has announced a group effort plan to help fund the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife with a portion of the general taxation. SAM is teaming up with The Nature Conservancy and the Maine Audubon seeking 1/8% of sales tax revenue to fund MDIFW.

Smith writes of how nearly one million Maine residents enjoy the benefits of the hard work done by MDIFW and yet do not pay a nickel for it. He’s correct. MDIFW is funded through license fees and federal money kicked back via the Pittman-Robertson Act. And yet, MDIFW is overburdened with non fish and game programs all funded on the backs of hunters, trappers and fishers.

Changing the funding to come from general taxation is a bad idea and I’ll explain why. First let me briefly lay out my plan for how to ease the financial burden along with the stretching thin of MDIFW personnel. Remove a majority of the non game programs that have been dumped in the lap of MDIFW and place them at the Department of Conservation or other departments where they belong. Then fund those programs with general tax dollars. This would include but not be limited to management of all non game wildlife, including plants and vegetation. Add to that endangered species protection, wildlife viewing platforms, etc. and let’s put search and rescue and snowmobile/atv law compliance into law enforcement. When the Warden Service is needed, they can bill out their services to the appropriate department.

Keeping general tax dollars out of MDIFW is essential. If Maine should opt to allow this money for funding, I guarantee, environmentalists, anti-hunting and animal rights groups will begin pounding the drum and demanding that they have representation on the MDIFW commission. Just about every state in America that has buckled to the financial pressures to find ways of funding and chose tax dollar funding, has run up against this very problem.

Here’s one state in which I’ll give you an example. New Jersey began funding it’s fish and wildlife division, which by the way was morphed into a larger Department of Environmental Protection, with tax dollars. Almost immediately animal rights and anti hunting groups demanded representation. This was a petition that was circulated there last year.

I support Assembly bill A3275 and Senate bill S2041 – legislation that will democratize, modernize and remove the corrupting influence of profit from the hunter-dominated New Jersey Fish and Game Council, the state body that has power over our wildlife.

Declaration for an Independent and Democratic Wildlife Council

We, the people of New Jersey, stand united against the NJ Fish and Game Council, for it has abused its power, has broken the law, and benefits from millions of our tax-dollars every year without giving one voice to the common man.
We seek nothing but reasonable reforms that will prepare our state for managing wildlife in the twenty-first century. We aspire to nothing more than bringing democracy to a state body that now has none.
We act for the environment, for wildlife, for the people of New Jersey and the ideal of good government, for when one special interest holds tyranny over all, only arrogance and corruption can follow.
In this cause we are unanimous and resolute: The NJ Fish and Game Council must be dramatically reformed, so that it will at last serve the interests of the many instead of the recreational hunting desires of the few.

Notice the demonizing of hunters through “profit” when their goals is to put an end to all hunting and fishing. They describe it as “modernizing” and “democratizing” wildlife management. Is this what Maine wants?

In Smith’s article he points out that $2.4 billion is raked in each season through benefits directly related to work by the MDIFW. If you want to see that amount of money shrink in a hurry, then allow the animal rights groups to get a foot in the door to limit hunting and fishing opportunities. MDIFW spends enough time now wasting valued wildlife management dollars defending senseless lawsuits brought on the state by the same groups that will be demanding representation.

I appreciate George Smith’s eagerness to find funding for MDIFW but not at the expense of the hunting, trapping and fishing heritage Maine has enjoyed for decades. I contend that we can actually grow the economic contributions to the state of Maine by shrinking MDIFW back to a fish and game department, while moving all non game programs into other departments, including Conservation and better funding those programs with the tax dollars they deserve.

The money that MDIFW generates now from license sales can then be put toward game management, which is suffering badly. With improved hunting, trapping and fishing opportunities, license sales will go up and non resident sportsmen will return to Maine to spend their valuable sports dollars.

Maine voters should seriously get all the answers and completely understand what an amendment to the Constitution would do to their hunting and fishing heritage. The quick fix to a money problem might look appealing but in the long run it may not be in the best economic interest for Maine to do this.

Tom Remington

In Maine’s debate about what to do about predator control, some towns and local sporting clubs have started up coyote hunting contests in hopes of helping to save a deer or two. In places the deer herd is beyond serious trouble, it’s become unsustainable and will be extirpated. The contests have stirred up protests from the usual groups. The Bangor Daily News today in an editorial said, “But a more sophisticated understanding of the role coyotes play in the ecosystem is overdue.”

Just what does that mean? Watch and listen and find out.

GRAY – The Maine Wildlife Park in Gray, owned and operated by the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife, played host to more than 102,200 visitors this year, up 9 percent from 2008, despite the rainy summer.

The Maine Wildlife Park seeks to provide education and information about Maine’s native wildlife, as well as the programs and projects being undertaken by IF&W to manage and conserve wildlife as an essential resource of the state.

The increase in visitors translated into a 24 percent increase in revenue, attributable to a small admission fee increase in 2009 and sales from the park’s Nature Store.

Per Legislative mandate, all revenues generated by the Maine Wildlife Park are dedicated specifically and only to the Maine Wildlife Park, from which all annual operating expenses are withdrawn.

By conducting periodic surveys of Maine Wildlife Park visitors throughout the season, we have found that as many as 45 percent of our peak season (mid to late summer) visitors are from out of state, and visitors from around the globe constitute close to 5 percent of overall attendance. Visitors repeatedly stated that they heard about the Maine Wildlife Park from friends and family, and the Maine Wildlife Park’s website consistently is in the top 5-10 pages viewed on IF&W’s website.

Several special events this season had record-breaking attendance; including the annual “Honor the Animals” Native American Pow Wow with close to 5,000 visitors for the 2-day event; our popular ‘HalloweenFest’ with 1,200 visitors, most in costume, for the 3-hour evening event; and more than 1,000 people for the 2nd Annual Rick Charette concert. The busiest non-event day on record with close to 1,500 people on the Friday of April school vacation!

It appears that the Maine Wildlife Park has become a destination and/or a ‘staycation’ for both residents and out-of-state visitorsl. Although people enjoy all of our resident wildlife, clearly the most popular species is the moose. As the wildlife park continues to make annual improvements in the exhibits for wildlife, as well as for visitors, we look forward to seeing new and returning visitors in 2010.

For more information about the Maine Wildlife Park, please visit our website at: www.mainewildlifepark.com or become a fan on Facebook! Just search “Maine Wildlife Park.”

August 18, 2009 – Skinny Moose Media launched its weekly newsletter ‘The Skinny’ on Tuesday as a new medium to inform the public in regards to industry news, new products, and special deals. With a handful of informed bloggers, Skinny Moose Media will be turning to their writers for help. “Our writers are always posting about the latest news and the newsletter will not only keep people informed but will assist in promoting our individual bloggers in the Network,” Steve Remington, President of the media company, said.

The newsletter has a strong concentration in the outdoor and recreational industry, especially hunting, fishing, shooting, and conservative politics but the Network is expanding their Internet presence every day. Signing up is simple. Browse to skinnymoose.com and fill in your name and email address in the form.

There are so many cliches that are used when someone unexpectedly passes on. Nearly all of them are fitting for my good friend Rocky Freda. Rocky and his wife Lisa, were dedicated advocates for outdoor sportsmen all over the state of Maine and beyond. Rocky died suddenly last week and the news that came to me that morning left me in shock, speechless and deeply saddened.

I had spent two months this summer at our camp in Maine, only a few miles from Rocky’s home and business. I had spent a day with him and Lisa working on their web site, always having a good laugh. What great people.

The day before my wife and I headed back to Florida, I dropped in to Rocky’s to pick up a video he wanted added to his web site. When I arrived, Rocky was finishing up loading a van and trailer full of canoes and kayaks and was headed for the river. He yelled as he drove away, “I left that video with Lisa in the office!” Those will be the last words I remember and of course the big smile on his face.

As I sat here at my home in Florida, I struggled to find any focus. My mind drifted, overcome with sadness, concern for Lisa and the rest of the family. We can never prepare for these things and when they happen we can only seek the comfort of friends, family and God.

My mind traveled back to a day many years ago. My wife and I were managing the River View Resort on Rt. 2 in Bethel. Rocky came knocking at my door and introduced himself. He was real, warm, enthusiastic and a thinker. I doubt his mind ever stopped working, not only constructing for himself a better life, a better business, but it had to also fit into the grand scheme of things that included all of us. Rocky understood how things worked and that included everyone in his community.

“Only the good die young”, “Has anybody here seen my old friend Rocky? Can you tell me where he’s gone?”

I’ll miss you my good friend! You’ve left a void in my life.

Rocco R. Freda – 1949 – 2009

NORWAY —Rocco R. “Rocky” Freda, 60, husband of Lisa (Whitcomb) Freda, of Sunday River Road, Bethel, died unexpectedly Friday, Aug. 14, in Norway.

He was born in Leominster, Mass., on Jan. 27, 1949, the son of Rocco and Alberta (Leet) Freda, and graduated from Leominster High School, Leominster, Mass., in 1967.

Rocky came to Maine in the mid 70s to work for Agway, running a fertilizer plant in Auburn, and later trained as a dairy nutritionist and crop specialist working at Agway until 1994. He later guided caribou hunts in Canada for Lac Lucault for two years, then opened Sun Valley Sports & Guide Service in 1995 which he was running until his death.

Rocky was a master Maine Guide, a former member of the Bethel Planning Board, president of the Bethel Area Chamber of Commerce in 2005 and on the board of directors for seven years, current president of Trout Unlimited and also the Upper Andro Anglers Alliance. Lisa and Rocky received the Governor’s Conference on Tourism Award for Excellence in Tourism for commitment to innovation.

Rocky is survived by his wife of 15 years, Lisa (Whitcomb) Freda, of Bethel; his mother, of Norway; one son, Corey Freda and his wife, Jill, and their three children, Justin, Chelsea and Caleb, all of Leeds; as well as two nieces and five nephews.

Rocky was predeceased by his father; and one brother, Stephen.

Tom Remington

While many people simply complain about lack of access to the Upper Androscoggin River in Maine, at least one organization has been busy for nearly two years pulling all the right strings and coordinating an effort to get a drift boat/boat access at Moran’s Landing at Newry Corner – the confluence of the Androscoggin and Bear Rivers.

Wende Gray, of Gray Marketing and a spokesperson for the Upper Andro Anglers Alliance (UAAA) calls it “the ultimate in collaboration”.

Mostly organizations just talk about collaboration, have meetings and feel good about “working together” to produce nothing but Thursday the rubber will actually hit the road or gravel the shore.

According to Gray, the Mahoosuc Land Trust owns the landing and handled acquiring the necessary permits. The Androscoggin Watershed Council (AVCOG) has been helping to coordinate the effort and line up a construction company. Chadbourne Tree Farms donated the gravel and Cross Construction provided trucking to get the gravel to the site, while Steve Swazey donated a loader. Members of the UAAA have been providing volunteer work.

Gray said that with the new boat launch, the river will become “a truly multiple-use river” and it didn’t require a “multi-thousand dollar grant” to get it done.

Photo by Tom Remington

Once the location was determined for the ramp from the parking area to the river, Rocky Freda of Sun Valley Sports and a member of the UAAA, cleared the trees and brush. Excavation equipment then began roughing out the ramp and spreading gravel.

Photo by Tom Remington

After a few hours, the road to the ramp took shape.

Photo by Tom Remington

Concrete slabs were placed at the river’s edge to provide the actual ramp itself.

Tom Remington

During my recent vacation trip around the state of Maine, Milt Inman and I had the pleasure of accompanying our friend Gordon on his lobster boat that he moors in Seal Harbor on Mount Desert Island.

Photo by Tom Remingon
This is Gordon’s lobster boat – “Jacquelyn”

Photo by Tom Remington
First you need to grab a small pitch fork and move the bait from the tub to a holding bin.

Photo by Tom Remington
I nice tub of ripe smelling herring seems to be the bait of choice today.

Photo by Tom Remington
Pulling traps is done mechanically these days and not so much by hand.

Photo by Tom Remington
Once the trap is up, hopefully you’ll find some legal-sized lobsters. Once the trap is cleaned out, it is baited again and dropped back into the sea.

Photo by Tom Remington
Lobster traps can claim more than just lobster. You might find various shelled creatures, including crabs. In this one instance a sea sculpin was found flopping around in the trap.

Photo by Tom Remington
Really, you do find an occasional lobster – hopefully a lot more than that. This lobster was a pretty good sized one but with tiny claws. Lobsters do tend to lose their claws and nature is kind to allow them to grow back. In this case they just hadn’t had the opportunity to get back to full size again.

Unfortunately, the fog refused to lift. Although Gordon is a very proficient and experienced seaman, he is uncomfortable about being on the water in the fog as he doesn’t have a lot of trust in other boaters. We checked perhabs 25 to 30 of his 70 traps and headed back to port.

Tom Remington

I would suppose that it is time to cut to the chase on this issue of Maine’s deer management problems. There are some cold and hard facts that have to be acted upon. Maine can no longer keep doing what it’s doing. It’s just not working very well is it? We can’t sit back and wait for the weather to break.

In Part IIIof, “Does Maine Have a Deer Management Problem?”, I promised that I would return to Part IV with a list of things that we, as hunters, can do to help replenish our deer herds in places where they need the attention. I apologize for taking so long on this but I have written and rewritten this article far too many times, each time closing out my browser and walking away because I knew I was going to incite too many people to anger. Part of what has encouraged me to rewrite it one more time, came from a reader who told me people were waiting for some help. I appreciate the support and the encouragement.

Briefly, Part I we looked into reports that there were far fewer trophy bucks being registered in the State of Maine. Part II, we tried to determine if the deer herd was healthy and in Part III I put together some data in order to verify that MDIFW’s assessment that the reduction in trophy deer registrations mirrored the reduction in harvest numbers. I also began looking at what the causes are that affect deer populations.

According to information supplied to us hunters, the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife tells us that they have population density management goals. These density goals are determined in a number of ways but in layman’s terms it has to do with the number of deer a piece of land can support. But that’s not the only thing.

In Part III, Lee Kantar, MDIFW’s head deer and moose biologist, had this to say when offering information about how management objectives affect deer densities and populations.

“In addition deer mgt objectives (set by the public) changed in 1999 from growing deer to maintaining levels at 15-20 per square mile in order to reduce negative impacts of deer including risk of lyme disease, car-vehicle collisions, and overbrowsing of ornamentals, etc…”

Absent from that assessment was management based on sustainable deer harvest. There once was a day when it was the job of fish and game to manage game animals for sustainable harvest. That means they managed deer, bear, moose, fox, marten, mink, all animals considered to be game, in numbers that allowed for the citizens of the state of Maine to harvest these animals for personal use, i.e. food, furs, etc. That has since been yanked away from us as is proof in that one statement.

The Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife cannot “manage” the game animals for sustainable harvest when that is not their goal. It has more become their goal to cow-tow to the animal rights and anti hunting groups because they are more afraid of them than those of us who pay the bills that keep them employed. For Maine to salvage a hunting and trapping future, this has to stop.

According to Kantar’s statement, deer management objectives are set by the public, not the hunters, not those who have paid hundreds of thousands of dollars over several decades, but the public. This is Joe who lives on East Overstreet who just planted some pretty new shrubs and he don’t want the deer eating them up. This comes from the insurance companies who complain about having to pay out claims on people who drive like idiots, zooming past deer and moose crossing signs.

Do you see the problem with all this? Those putting all the demands on MDIFW, and getting what they want I might add, are those who don’t play a bloody nickel.

We hear all this big talk from MDIFW, from the governor’s office and others about how hunting, trapping and fishing are big business in Maine. They boast about the millions of dollars annually these “sports and recreations” bring into the state and they sure have an odd way of showing that appreciation.

The State of Maine, which is not Augusta, it’s not Danny Martin, it’s not Gov. Baldacci. It’s you and me. We have to make a decision. Either we want Maine to use our investment money to provide hunting and trapping opportunities or we keep digging in and providing the livelihood for those who want to take your’s away.

I get press releases from the MDIFW on a regular basis. Over the course of a year, the overwhelming majority of those releases have nothing to do with money and effort being put into deer harvest issues. And we wonder why there are no deer left in Northern Maine.

With all due respect to all those who have served on another one of Gov. Baldacci’s “working groups”, what have these groups accomplished, Mr. Governor? Are we better off today having had a group of people sit down and determine there aren’t any deer left in places we knew there weren’t any deer before they met? A mandated predator control group essentially told us we have predators. Learn to live with them. Please give me that authority.

Hunters, trappers and fishermen, it’s time to step up to the plate and either demand that your investment money be put into managing deer and other game for sustainable harvest or stop paying their way. I think if someone who knows, if there is anyone, exactly how many pennies for every dollar you spend for your license got spent on deer management, you’d laugh and then cry. You and I pay for a license that we think will permit us to bag a deer. What we are really doing is giving MDIFW our money so that they can spend it on countless non-game activities. Is that what you want?

Let’s go back to where I made the statement that Maine needed to begin acting like the economic advantages coming to the state from hunting was a viable industry. Talk is cheap. As long as the next governor and the governor after that, etc., can spout off about the millions of dollars hunting brings to the state, while ignoring the facts that hunting license sales are down, deer populations are dropping, more and more hunters are distraught and fed up with fish and game, nothing will get done. You can’t correct a problem if you’re not willing to admit there is one. Another side of that argument is you have to have something you believe is worth fighting for.

The first thing our governor, along with every employee at MDIFW, every state senator and every representative need to do is publicly aver that the state supports and will promote hunting and trapping as not only a respected and traditional means of sport but also a viable and a sustainable and renewable resource. That’s the easy part. The difficult part is to stand up to that belief and act like you mean it. If that were a possibility, then taking care of the deer shortage problem might come easier than we think.

For those of you familiar with me and my writings, you know I despise the interference of government but this is different. It is the government of the state of Maine that has laid claim to all the wild animals within its borders. They are the entity that claims responsibility for managing those animals, creating hunting and trapping seasons and the laws that regulate our hunting and fishing. We have few options.

They are also the entity the animal rights activists and anti-hunting groups seek out to sue. When the lawsuits begin and our government is willing to concede to their wishes, what future is there for us. With each concession hunting dies another death. The only variable here is at what rate of speed will the concessions come that eventually kills it altogether? Either the Maine government believes in hunting and will support it or they won’t. Would they act the same way if this involved stopping the tourism business or pulp and paper industry?

If we should dare suppose that our government believed in and supported hunting and was willing to do all the necessary things to better manage its deer population, then we could proceed. We should never want our government to bully landowners. We have to have the deepest respect for all landowners, even those we want to hate because they close off their land to us. In time they will come around once they see the benefits wildlife management brings them.

Let’s address the things we can change. We first must readily admit that we have a predator problem. For reasons unbeknown to me, Maine still seems reluctant to admit we have too many coyotes and in places too many bear, the two largest predators of deer.

While the deer population in Northern Maine suffers, doesn’t it make sense to increase the bear harvest in order to help reduce predation by bears on deer? If there are not enough bear to sustain a population then there shouldn’t be a predation problem for deer. While Northern Maine suffers economically because of the downturn in deer hunting, it would be a small economic kick to extend or find creative ways to provide more hunting opportunities for bear. When the deer population recovers, then if necessary back off on the number of bears taken.

This may also hold true with moose. Although moose may not be directly connected to a downturn in deer populations in Northern Maine, changing goals to reflect a management of moose densities on the low end in order to 1.) provide more hunting opportunities, and 2.) once again help out the fine businesses in that part of the state who are going to suffer with a dismal deer hunting season, could help out.

The key to all of this is for the state to have the determination that it will do whatever it deems necessary to protect the hunting industry. They have to. Having said that, then we can address the coyote problem.

The first thing we need to do is make sure that every Maine resident understands that the coyote is a varmint, that there are thousands of them, that there are far too many and that they are destroying populations of other wildlife. They need to help out and kill as many as they can.

Hunters need to take up the chase as well. There is nothing any worse than listening to a hunter bitch and complain about those damned coyotes and he or she has done absolutely nothing to get rid of them. Oh, the animal rights groups will cry and they’ll start telling everybody we’re going to eradicate the Maine woods of coyotes – those beautiful, harmless creatures of God. That’s what they do. It’s time we do what we do and tell them where to get off.

MDIFW and the state need to make every provision for killing coyote. Year round hunting, trapping, baiting, calling, use of dogs and if necessary aerial gunning. Yes, I said aerial gunning. It’s done in other states and the states are the one’s who believe in the necessity of controlling predators as part of wildlife management. They have to in order to protect existing game animals. Aerial gunning is expensive but can be very effective depending on terrain, etc. Hunters would love to see their money being spent on programs that directly benefit them.

Winters in Maine can be harsh. We’ve always had harsh winters and deer have struggled but survived. Yes, some things have changed and some of those things we can’t do much about. What we can do is come up with other ways to counter those uncontrollables.

In places where the winters are the worst and deer populations are at their lowest, perhaps it is time to begin a winter emergency feeding programs. Yes, we will here all the reasons why we shouldn’t be feeding deer but let me ask you this. How’s that Northern Maine deer management program you got in place right now working out for you? I thought so.

This isn’t a new idea. Idaho has an emergency winter feeding program for their elk, mule deer and whitetail. They’ve devised a system that when certain weather conditions are met, emergency feeding kicks in. This began several years ago when hunters agreed to paying and extra buck or two in a license fee that went into an emergency feeding program account. With that money feed is bought each year as needed and is stored in designated places throughout the state – sometimes people would volunteer a barn, etc.

When weather got to as certain condition, volunteers would begin feeding. Of course this is not going to save all the deer but at the rate we’re going saving a handful might be just enough while we hope and pray for a couple or three relatively mild winters to help matters.

In the Idaho program, once a predetermined monetary level was achieved in the account, a percentage of the added license fee was also used for habitat restoration. This is good because we all understand that without proper habitat, all the other efforts are futile.

This money is off limits to anyone and everyone except to be used for emergency feeding and habitat restoration. It would be imperative that this program not be administered strictly by MDIFW. It will never work. There must be good representation from several entities, including the MDIFW. With the expertise of MDIFW the right strategic feeding places could be determined to best compliment the deer herd. Wouldn’t it be better to control and regulate the deer feeding than complain that people might not be doing it right?

Those of us who fork over the money for a hunting license are the ones who wield the most power. We just don’t know it nor are we organized enough to do anything about it. The truth is we can’t keep on keeping on. Something has to change and if we wait for our government, which seems to be the trend these days, not only will we have a long wait but they’ll surely screw it all up.

The ultimate ace up our sleeve, that I hope never has to happen, is that if MDIFW and the state’s government refuses to look after our interests, then we organize and stop paying license fees. It would take only one season to put them out of business. It’s time they began listening to the hunters and not the general public, which also includes the small handful of very loud animal rights people. They’ve had their way long enough. Time for us to take it back.

I’ve provided some suggestions and ideas of what we can do. There are others and I know there are far more intelligent and creative minds out there than mine who can devise ways to resolve this problem. I might add that fighting with MDIFW isn’t going to work either. We need not fight with them only to gently remind them of why they have their jobs and who controls the purse strings. yes, we all know of individuals at MDIFW who espouse more to non-game programs and I’d wager a guess some might even be anti-hunting, but there are some good people there who are as frustrated as we are. We need to get their attention…….seriously!

It’s kind of like the mule the old farmer had. Before he could get him to do any work, he had to nail him between the eyes with a baseball bat in order to get his attention. Time to pick up a baseball bat and get ready.

Tom Remington

As part of National River Cleanup, members of the Upper Andro Anglers Alliance and students from the Telstar Challenge Course at Telstar High School in Bethel, Maine will clean up a section of the Androscoggin River from West Bethel to Bethel on Wednesday, May 20. Students, ages 16-18, will float down the river in rafts armed with garbage bags and towing garbage scow rafts to collect debris along the riverbanks. The clean-up flotilla will launch at 9 am from Newt’s Landing in West Bethel and take out at Davis Park in Bethel. Community members are welcome to help clean-up other stretches of the river. The town of Bethel will provide trash collection at Newt’s Landing and Davis Park and deliver to the town’s solid waste facility.

Magic Falls Rafting Company of West Forks, Maine will provide rafts and garbage scows. American Rivers and NRC sponsor Tom’s of Maine are supplying trash bags. Immediately following the clean-up, Pleasant River Campground in West Bethel is hosting a barbecue for the participants.

Rivers and watersheds have been used as dumps for old appliances, shopping carts and other refuse. Litter, such as foam cups, plastic bottles and food wrappers float into waterways, build up along the shoreline and stay there for years. With landfill space at a premium, recycling efforts stymied by a lack of plant capacity and toxic waste expensive to control, a grassroots effort can help maintain a constituency for preserving and protecting waterways. In 2008, 600 tons of trash and debris was collected and 7,453 miles of rivers cleaned across the nation. Last year the Upper Andro yielded over a ton of debris including bed springs, tires and tire rims and a discarded outboard motor.

The Upper Andro Anglers Alliance is co-ordinating the local clean up. Says UAAA director Scott Stone “There’s been a decades long effort to improve the water quality and fishery. Now we need to improve the shore land zone and access to this wonderful river.”

National River Cleanup was founded in 1992 by America Outdoors, the largest association of America’s outfitters and guides, to assist local groups in keeping waterways clean. In 2007 American Rivers assumed administration of the river clean up. American Rivers, founded in 1973, is the nation’s leading river advocacy organization. NRC Information is published on line at www.nationalrivercleanup.org.