Maine's Moose problem

Do we have too many moose? too few?

are hunters killing the correct number to ensure a healthy social and biological carrying capasity?

A young moose in spring (c) And A Strong Cup of Coffee

These questions are asked every year around the time that hunters have to apply for a permit and when the drawing actually happens. Maine's moose are iconic and hunters have gone decades applying for a permit without being drawn. I am currently on year 18 of not being drawn. But the allure of walking through the crisp, fall air and seeing that bull moose step out into a clearing, keeps people applying year after year after year.

A proposal by Maine's moose biologist, Lee Kanter is seeking to test a small population of moose to see if by lowering the population of moose, the winter tick problem will decrease. On the surface it makes sense; less anaimals means less disease. Something has to change if we want to keep the herd healthy and growing. Winter ticks have been a huge concern for years and now may be a perfect time to see if something can be done to make a difference.

Hopefully it will work!

Comments

Where are the women?

This week, my interview with Steve at The Maine Outdoorsman went live. Steve said yesterday 200 people hit his site viewing over 500 pages. That is a lot of people reading about little ole me and hunting. Why? When I think of women who are in the general public's eye and hunt, I can think of 2 - Country singer Miranda Lambert and Sarah Palin. Why only two? Why is the female hunter such a fascinating thing? (I should probably note that I do not have cable so any and all female hunters on the hunting stations are lost to me. I'll keep it to the general public because that's what I am familiar with.) People/media were fascinated by the fact that they could get footage of Palin and her gun, shooting (and gutting) animals but I feel like the nostalgia would be lost if they had the same footage of McCain. Lambert and her hubby Blake Shelton tweet photos of their kills, and comment on what/where they are hunting. I only know this because I follow both. That's it....

So much to celebrate - let's give away stuff!

As you know from my last post, this month I am celebrating the one year anniversary of this blog, 10 years of hunting with my Dad and a milestone birthday. In honor of all three, I want to give away some great Maine stuff to all of you! Rules: 1. Leave a comment 2. On Oct 28 (my big bday), Dad will pick a number and the corresponding post will win. What will you win? A big basket of great Maine and outdoor things! Such as: fly fishing flies, blueberry something, Maine maple syrup, apple butter (to be made by me on Tuesday), something related to deer hunting and a couple of great books signed by local authors. (Pictures will be posted when I am back at a computer). So thank you for your support and for helping my celebrate such a great month!!

So much for respectable stand placement

Dad has hunted on the land that houses the Sky Condo for the better part of his life. About six years ago, we built the SC and started hunting there full time. At that time, there were no other hunters near by. A few years ago, a hunter bought a bordering piece of property, re-did the old camp that was there and brought his buddies along. We haven't had a lot of incidents with them (trespassing last year, putting pink ribbon on my tree seat and lying to us when we asked them what they shot - a search through the list at the tagging station said an 8-point buck). Two years ago, Dad bought a piece of land that is separated from the Sky Condo property by a powerline and a driveway that is privately owned by our hunting neighbor. The land was bought in May and once October came, our neighbor put a treestand up along the edge of the powerline, facing our new piece of property and right next to our traveling path. We were cautious from that point ...

and a strong cup of coffee

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