Me Likey The Lynx

Here’s another shot of a Canada lynx taken in the proximity of where the previous photos of the lynx I have posted. You can find those shots here and here.

In this photo, please note the large feet, great for mastering the great snow depths. If you look closely, you’ll also noticed the all black tip of the tail. Some confuse a lynx and bobcat. The lynx has black tufts sticking up off the tip of his ears, large splayed feet and an all black tip of the tail. The bobcat lacks the tufts, doesn’t have the obvious large feet and although the tail tip is black, it also has white as well.

If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!

The Lynx Returns

Yesterday I posted a picture of a Canada lynx captured on a trail camera. With a little “coaxing” the lynx returned to the same site and got his picture taken again. This is somewhere in the deep wilderness of Maine.

If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!

Canada Lynx Captured On Film In Maine

The below picture is of a Canada lynx captured on a trail camera somewhere in the deep woods of Maine.

If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!

The “Bob”bsey”Cat” Twins

I am told this was captured with a trail camera behind someone’s camp in Oquossoc, Maine.

If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!

Killing Coyotes: The Views Of A Maine Trapper

*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

If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!

Maine’s Law To Ban Snaring………Sort Of

When I wrote my article the other day, “Maine Should Bring Back Snaring”, I stated in that article that Maine had banned snaring due to action by the Maine Legislature. I was somewhat called out on that and I would like to clarify this and offer a bit of commentary also, if I may. In the previous article, I said:

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

Due to the timing and dates on this bill, it appears as though the bill was approved after Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife Commissioner Roland Martin put a stop to coyote snaring. The original bill was titled, “An Act To Prohibit Coyote Snaring and Eliminate the Coyote Snaring Program” and read as follows:

Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows:

Sec. 1. 12 MRSA ?7035, sub-?3, ?B, as amended by PL 1999, c. 636, ?1,
is repealed.

Sec. 2. 12 MRSA ?7504, sub-?4, as enacted by PL 1979, c. 420, ?1, is
amended to read:

4. Coyotes. The commissioner may cause department personnel
to take coyotes at any time and in any manner that he may
prescribe, except that coyotes may not be taken by snaring.

Sec. 3. Appropriations and allocations. The following appropriations and
allocations are made.

INLAND FISHERIES AND WILDLIFE,

DEPARTMENT OF Resource Management Services -

Inland Fisheries and Wildlife

Initiative: Deappropriates funding used to pay agents for
the snaring of coyotes.

General Fund 2003-04 2004-05

All Other ($15,700) ($15,700)

SUMMARY

This bill repeals the statutory authorization for the coyote
snaring program and deappropriates funding associated with the
direct costs of the program. Under the bill, hunting coyotes
with firearms and dogs or trapping them without the use of
snare traps will still be authorized.

It was subsequently amended and the title changed as well to, “An Act To Improve the Coyote Control Program”. That amended bill was enacted on April 25, 2003 and reads as follows:

CHAPTER 73

H.P. 192 – L.D. 237

An Act To Improve the Coyote Control Program

Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows:

Sec. 1. 12 MRSA ?7035, sub-?3, ?B, as amended by PL 1999, c. 636, ?1,
is repealed.

Sec. 2. 12 MRSA ?7035, sub-?3, ?B-1 is enacted to read:

B-1.__An agent may use snares to control coyotes during
winter months under the following conditions.

(1)__Agents may use snares only for animal damage
control purposes to help meet management goals
established by the commissioner for deer, threatened or
endangered species or other wildlife species or to
benefit agricultural interests as described in
paragraph C.

(2)__Agents must be trained and certified by the
department in the use of snares.

(3)__Agents must be deployed by a department wildlife
biologist before setting snares.

So I was half correct when I said that coyote snaring was banned by the Legislature. I was half correct when I said the Legislature needed to overturn the ban. I still say they need to overturn the ban but I wasn’t aware at the time of writing my previous article that the amendment to the snare banning bill still gave the MDIFW Commissioner the authority and discretion to employ the use of snares and agents to control coyotes to protect deer. Obviously this was never done and in my opinion reeks heavily of deer management neglect and may even border on criminal.

Under the conditions that exist and knowing full well that even beginning as late as 2008 at the conclusion of the first severe winter, the Commissioner had the authority to begin a program that certainly would have helped to protect deer and did nothing is inexcusable.

According to what V. Paul Reynolds wrote in his Northwoods Sporting Journal, comments and questions I am receiving make more sense.

Fish and Wildlife Commissioner Danny Martin suspended the [snaring] program over concerns that an anti-snare organization would bring a civil action against the state. At the time of his decision we were assured that the coyote control program would be restored in about a year when the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) granted Maine an Incidental Take Permit.

Discussion has centered around whether coyote snaring could be reinstated once Maine received an “Incidental Take Permit” from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. It now seems obvious that Maine didn’t even need an ITP and trappers were led to believe snaring would return with an ITP. At a minimum MDIFW could have used agents and a snare program to limit damage.

With a Legislative action that limits use of the snare for predator control, to implement a state wide snaring program again, appears to require Legislation action to repeal LD237.

While all this nonsense continues, the Maine deer herd continues to suffer. Makes little sense to me at all.

Tom Remington

If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!

MDIFW, Forest Landowners Endorse Deer Wintering Area Management Guidelines

AUGUSTA, Maine — The Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife (MDIFW), along with Maine’s two leading associations representing forest landowners, have recently endorsed a set of Deer Wintering Area (DWA) Management Guidelines aimed at assisting forest landowners to enhance the quality of deer wintering area on their properties.

To survive the winter season, deer seek habitats with a combination of cover and food that minimizes net energy loss. As snow accumulates and temperature drops, deer spend more time in older conifer-dominated forest stands associated with watercourses and valleys, often returning to winter in the same locations year after year. These traditionally used areas are called deer wintering areas. Deer management in Maine involves a complex interaction of factors in addition to DWA management, such as winter severity, predation, and hunting regulations.

The guidelines were developed as a priority recommendation of the Northern and Eastern Maine Deer Task Force, which was convened in 2007 by Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife Commissioner Roland “Danny” Martin in response to the public’s concerns about declining deer populations.

“Working together with landowners to develop these guidelines was a critical step in understanding landowner objectives, the winter habitat needs for deer and how the two can be compatible,” according to John Pratte, MDIFW Wildlife Management Section Supervisor. “Having these guidelines as common ground will facilitate the exchange of information between landowners and the Department. I am energized by the level of support from landowners and in the swiftness that some have demonstrated in adopting these.”

The Maine Forest Products Council (MFPC), which represents a majority of the large commercial timberland owners in Maine, and the Small Woodland Owners Association of Maine (SWOAM), which represents a significant number of smaller woodlot owners, worked with the MDIFW to develop the guidelines through a series of field trips and meetings. The guidelines represent sound biological practices which are aimed to enhance the quality of deer wintering habitat in Maine. Although the guidelines are not intended to be mandatory for any landowner, MDIFW, MFPC, and SWOAM are all encouraging the adoption of these guidelines into landowner management plans wherever possible.

The guidelines focus on numerous considerations regarding the management of deer wintering areas: winter shelter; travel corridors; winter browse; spring and autumn food; and harvest timing.

“The process that landowners and the Department went through to develop these guidelines was healthy and collaborative, and created a much-needed open forum for discussing these issues,” said James Cote, Maine Forest Products Council Director of Communications. “Forest landowners in Maine have a strong record of wildlife stewardship, and we believe these guidelines appropriately balance the objectives of private landowners, as well as MDIFW.”

As a result of this process, the Maine Sustainable Forestry Initiative Implementation Committee, of which the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife is a member, also has decided to take a lead role in the process, and will be working with the Department to disseminate information to forest practitioners such as loggers and landowners, and develop collaborative training opportunities in the months to come.

The guidelines can be found on all three of the organizations websites:

Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife: www.mefishwildlife.com

Maine Forest Products Council: www.maineforest.org

Small Woodland Owners Association of Maine: www.swoam.org

Sustainable Forestry Initiative: www.sfimaine.org

If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!

Maine Guide Recalls Coyotes’ Destruction Of Deer. Calls For Action

*Updated with more Photos Below*

*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

If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!

Maine Should Bring Back Snaring

*Correction/Clarification* In this article I made reference that the coyote snaring program was suspended through legislative action. I stand somewhat 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

If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!

Maine’s “Incidental Take Permit” For Canada Lynx – Information/Clarification

Just over a week ago I posted a press release here at the Black Bear Blog that announced the delivery to Maine’s Governor John Baldacci (D-Maine) by State Rep. Peter Edgecomb (R-Caribou) a petition seeking action by the state to do something about saving the state’s deer herd and controlling predators. One of the actions seeking immediate attention was the implementation of an “effective” predator control program.

The petition calls on the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife (IFW) to institute, without delay, an effective predator management program including, but not limited to, filing an incidental take permit in order to reactivate the winter coyote snaring program. The “incidental take permit” (ITP) refers to the snaring of lynx. Lynx, which are listed as “threatened” in Maine under the Endangered Species Act, cover much of the area in northern Maine where there is great concern for deer.

An Incidental Take Permit is required by law if activities taking place within an area where endangered or threatened species exist might cause harm to those species. In Maine’s case an Incidental Take Permit should be required for lawful trapping in areas where the Canada lynx are found. One of the requirements of obtaining such a permit is to show proof that the conservation activity taking place in which Maine would be seeking a permit for, outweighs any potential harm that might result to the Canada lynx.

Snaring, a method of trapping that was proven extremely effective in taking coyotes around winter deer yards, was banned in Maine believing that this kind of trapping would cause harm to the lynx. That debate continues.

The petition handed to Governor Baldacci is asking that the state rescind the ban on snaring, essentially in an emergency effort to allow for better coyote control to help in eliminating further destruction of the deer herd, especially in Northern Maine.

Confusion arose when in the same press release as referenced above, an official for MDIFW stated an Incidental Take Permit had been applied for.

An IFW official said the department applied for an ITP from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) in August 2008 while it was still fighting lawsuits from animal rights groups seeking to block the permit. The FWS has not acted on the ITP application to date; but Ken Elowe, the director of IFW’s Bureau of Resource Management, says action may be imminent. “I have had recent communications with FWS stating that they are nearing the point of (required) advertising in the Federal Register for 60 days of public comment before they can act on the application,” he reported. “IFW continues to work on this, with the help of Maine Trappers Association, to get a solution for Maine’s people.”

Some were led to believe that this Incidental Take Permit, if granted the state of Maine, would cover the incidental taking of Canada lynx should Maine rescind the snaring ban. Some even were led to believe that the permit would reinstate snaring. This is not at all the case.

It is my understanding that the permit that MDIFW has applied for would cover the present “legal” means of trapping that are permitted by law in designated lynx habitat. Methods permitted by Maine law does NOT include snaring. It would therefore be my assumption that should MDIFW be so bold as to defy the ban on snaring or repeal the present ban, this action would nullify the present permitting process. I would also assume that MDIFW could then reapply for an Incidental Take Permit on lynx that pertained to the legal method of snaring as well as all other methods within lynx habitat.

However, the ban on coyote snaring came through the Maine Legislature, as much to ward off animal rights lawsuits than anything to do with protecting or managing wildlife, and would require Legislative approval to change that law. This is something that could be done. What would also become necessary, in my opinion, is to seek a resolution within the Maine Legislature that would fully support a move to reinstate the snaring program and whatever legal actions the MDIFW deemed necessary to thwart further devastation to the deer herd. This would indicate a willingness to support and defend all actions to protect the Maine deer herd.

Recently the State of Idaho proposed a similar resolution that would notify the governor that he had the full support of the Legislature should he deem it an emergency situation to kill wolves in order to protect the state’s elk, deer and moose population, which happening there now.

The Endangered Species Act does not provide for the destruction of one species in order to save another. Maine now has to decide if it values its whitetail deer herd enough to fight for its survival. At the same time, Maine residents need to know that the Incidental Take Permit applied for by MDIFW will not address the coyote snaring issue nor does it have anything to do with efforts to save a rapidly dwindling deer herd.

Tom Remington

If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!

Maine Residents Are Told To Learn To Live With Coyotes

As citizens gathered in Otisfield, Maine, a small, quiet Western Maine community, authorities handled concerns from the town’s residents about as well as one might expect these days. They were told coyotes don’t bother people, that rabbit populations were low and that it was mating season. Combine that with the ever present blame that it’s the people’s fault for….for…..for…..well, living, and what did the people learn?

Here’s some short quips on what people were told:

“they can learn to coexist with the varmints.”
“Eradication of coyotes in Maine is impossible”
“keep the animal wild and to support the protection of coyotes”
“not feed coyotes”
“coyotes going after large animals was very unusual”
“there is little game wardens can do”
“I don’t believe there’s anything else we can do. It’s up to you folk,”
“safe to go out into the woods, despite the coyote population.”
“You don’t have to worry about coyotes chasing you out of the woods for a meal. It’s just not going to happen.”

Oh, my! Residents deserve to be told something better than that. The coyotes that are prevalent in Maine are larger than what most people picture in their minds when they think of coyotes. The cartoon Roadrunner comes to mind. The reason for that is that it has been readily established that Maine coyotes have wolf genes in them. The wolf gene doesn’t just add size to the animal. It creates in them a different killing instinct and thus Maine’s coyotes are readily taking on larger animals, i.e. deer, horses and cows.

Telling people to “keep the animal wild” is really kind of a silly notion that by not feeding, having pets outside, growing livestock, putting up bird feeders and doing what most Mainers do in the course of their lives will somehow keep a coyote “wild”. I’m not even sure what that means. A coyote is driven by instinct and the forces of nature. If a coyote gets hungry it goes and searches for food. Not unlike the couch potato watching a football game, when he heads to the kitchen looking for food, if he can’t find it, he may have to jump in his car and head for the nearest convenience store.

Talk about passing the buck! “There is little game wardens can do”? Seriously? Seems as though I was reading recently a story of how a couple wardens in far Northern Maine were shooting about every coyote they saw and were told to stop by their superiors. This is an anecdotal reference as I cannot confirm the story but stating there is nothing wardens can do is a cop out. Did someone not get the message to the Maine Warden Service that Maine has a serious deer management problem and coyotes are part of that problem?

As hunters and trappers began complaining to the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife about coyotes, the response was quite similar. They were told if they didn’t like the coyotes go kill them. As didn’t happen in this meeting in Otisfield, it would have been nice had a spokesperson for MDIFW or the Maine Warden Service simply stated that they were fully aware of the problem and was working on remedies BUT in the meantime we would like your help. That would go a long ways instead of hiding behind half truths.

It is time to change up the repeated mantra that it is rare that coyotes attack large animals. It is not rare and residents should be told that it is increasing. Poorly managed wildlife creates situations where too many predators can destroy an ecosystem in short order. If an area becomes overrun with coyotes and they’ve cleaned up the turkeys, grouse, rabbits, mice, moles, birds, chipmunks, squirrels, deer, etc., it’s time they headed for the nearest convenience store, which might just be your back yard. Telling people it is rare is misinforming and does nothing to educate the people so they will know what needs to be done to protect themselves and their property.

And as always we hear the same claim that it is completely safe to go into the woods. I wonder if Taylor Mitchell’s family would agree with, “You don’t have to worry about coyotes chasing you out of the woods for a meal. It’s just not going to happen.” Taylor Mitchell was a very young girl and promising musician who was attacked and killed by coyotes while hiking in Nova Scotia this past fall.

This was a rare occurrence for sure but why can’t we get beyond that? Why can’t we follow that up with an explanation about what things have to exist in our environment that would cause coyotes to attack people? To not do this is ignorant and irresponsible. I have linked to this resource countless times. It’s an article written by Dr. Valerius Geist, a man who has first hand knowledge and experience with wolves and coyotes. He shares with us some very easy to understand steps that help us recognized things around us that will help us avoid becoming an attack victim. Please read it. It is written about wolves but just as much pertains to coyotes and especially Maine’s coyotes as they are a wolf/coyote hybrid.

As you read Dr. Geist’s piece, bear in mind what is happening in Maine. A couple of severe winters, combined with an overgrown coyote population, an increased black bear population, a reduction in rabbits and other small prey and Maine has a classic situation of a lot of hungry coyotes. Geist tells us the first step in recognizing coyotes that might become a problem.

1) Within the pack’s territory prey is becoming scarce not only due to increased predation on native prey animals, but also by the prey evacuating home ranges en mass, leading to a virtual absence of prey. Or wolves increasingly visit garbage dumps at night. We observed the former on Vancouver Island in summer and fall 1999.

Deer left the meadow systems occupied by wolves and entered boldly into suburbs and farms, causing – for the first time – much damage to gardens. At night they slept close to barns and houses, which they had not done in the previous four years.

The wintering grounds of trumpeter swans, Canada geese and flocks of several species of ducks were vacated. The virtual absence of wildlife in the landscape was striking.

I can tell you from personal experience that this fall while deer hunting in Maine I marveled at the absence of any wildlife. This included rabbits, grouse, birds, squirrels and chipmunks. Rarely did I spot a chickadee.

Once this food source is gone, the coyotes will approach humans and their houses, barns, pastures, etc. looking for food. This is what’s happening in Maine now and passing the buck as to whose responsibility it is to better manage our predators isn’t going to get anything accomplished.

A retired game warden who attended the meeting stated that exterminating coyotes was an impossibility. Isn’t it amazing that it wasn’t a impossibility the first time it happened? It wasn’t an impossibility when people eradicated wolves from the west many years ago. When that happened it was blamed on man; all the hunters and trappers; those evil men who only want to kill animals.

I would tend to agree with this gentleman that it is not likely to happen under the restrictions and protections that exist for the coyote. Maine likes to brag about what a liberal hunting season they have on coyotes but fail to pass on that all the useful tools to better manage coyotes have been stripped away. We all know that trappers became very good at utilizing snares to reduce coyotes in and around winter deer yards. Not only are trappers prohibited from trapping into the dead of winter but snaring has been banned because of false claims that the snares were killing protected species, i.e. Canada lynx.

Maine has a wildlife management problem exacerbated by a couple of severe winters. The responsible thing to do would be to admit that the harsh winters brought to the forefront all the weaknesses that exist in the state’s wildlife management programs and begin a process of rectifying them instead of telling the people it’s their problem, while failing to admit that there are conditions when hungry coyotes can be a danger to humans.

It is time to make some changes in the laws that protect the coyote in order to not only save Maine deer herd but to protect people and their property. Simply telling people they’re safe and it’s their problem is reason to wonder why we need the Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife or the Warden Service.

Tom Remington

If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!

Maine Should Oppose Funding Fish And Wildlife With General Taxation

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 are 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

If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!

Maine Coyotes Have Some Decent Size

I was sent this photograph with a short explanation that it weighed 61 lbs. and was taken in New Limerick, Maine on December 26, 2009.

If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!

Maine Preliminary 2009 Deer Harvest Numbers Released

*Editor’s Note* Below is a press release sent to me by MDIFW. It took 2 months to tally an “initial” harvest number of 18,045 deer, a 14% decrease from the abysmal year of 2008 of 21,061. 2007 saw 28,884 deer taken; 2006 was 29,918; 2005 a harvest of 28,148; 2004 at 30,926. A twenty year history prior to 2006 saw an average of 28,700 deer taken each season.

This brief report does not tell us information about harvest according to WMDs. The press release blames severe winters and poor hunting conditions for the decline,in harvest numbers, in addition to a reduction of “Any-Deer Permits”.

AUGUSTA, Maine – Preliminary deer harvest numbers show a decrease of 14% from the 2008 harvest with an initial tally of 18,045 deer taken by hunters.

“To put this into perspective, we must consider that the 2008 and 2009 winters represent the most severe back-to-back winters since 1971-72,” according to IF&W Deer Biologist Lee Kantar.

Long winters with deep snows have a tremendous impact on the overwinter survival of deer. Both expected regional declines in deer abundance and adverse hunting conditions — two weeks of poor hunting conditions during the firearms season — played a role in the fall 2009 harvest decline. Decreases in the deer harvest from 2008 also were expected given the 16% decrease in any-deer permits for Maine’s hunters (reducing overall success rates). The reductions in any-deer permits for 2009 were necessary to allow the deer herd to begin to recover.

Relative to adjacent provincial and state jurisdictions, the decline in Maine’s deer harvest was less in comparison to our Canadian neighbors in Quebec and New Brunswick whose deer harvests declined greater than 30% during the same time period, but was greater than the decline in New Hampshire’s deer harvest (decrease of approximately 5%).

For 2009, Department biologists projected a statewide harvest of approximately 19,289 deer. The annual deer harvest projections by department biologists in the late spring result from an analysis of mortality and reproductive rates, harvest trends, and any deer permit allocations to meet Wildlife Management District (WMD) goals and objectives. Thus our initial number for statewide harvest was 6% less than projected.

Over the next few weeks, department biologists will complete a more detailed analysis of the 2009 harvest and will release the final deer harvest number and further details about how the harvest looked by season, WMD, sex and age.

If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!

Rep. Edgecomb Presents Governor with Petitions to Save Northern Whitetail Deer Herd

AUGUSTA – State Rep. Peter Edgecomb (R-Caribou) yesterday presented Gov. John Baldacci with petitions calling for a predator management program to save Maine’s dwindling northern whitetail deer herd from being decimated by coyotes.

More than 4,000 Mainers signed the petitions, mostly residents of Aroostook County, including guides, trappers and hunting camp operators. State Rep. Bernard Ayotte (R-Caswell) collected the signatures but was unable to attend the meeting at the governor’s office.

The petition calls on the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife (IFW) to institute, without delay, an effective predator management program including, but not limited to, filing an incidental take permit in order to reactivate the winter coyote snaring program. The “incidental take permit” (ITP) refers to the snaring of lynx. Lynx, which are listed as “threatened” in Maine under the Endangered Species Act, cover much of the area in northern Maine where there is great concern for deer.

The governor said he will make sure the IFW commissioner receives the petitions.

An IFW official said the department applied for an ITP from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) in August 2008 while it was still fighting lawsuits from animal rights groups seeking to block the permit. The FWS has not acted on the ITP application to date; but Ken Elowe, the director of IFW’s Bureau of Resource Management, says action may be imminent. “I have had recent communications with FWS stating that they are nearing the point of (required) advertising in the Federal Register for 60 days of public comment before they can act on the application,” he reported. “IFW continues to work on this, with the help of Maine Trappers Association, to get a solution for Maine’s people.”

IFW set up a task force in 2007 to study the problem of a declining deer herd. The final report said, in part: “Deer populations in northern and eastern Maine are very low; in many areas, the deer population is less than five deer per square mile. This is compared with deer densities of between 15 and 20 deer per square mile in central and southern Maine. Such population densities…are greatly below the desires and expectations of resident and non-resident deer hunters, guides and outfitters, business owners located in rural Maine, and those who enjoy watching deer. The public is frustrated by low deer numbers, and it is demanding an upturn in the population.”

The petitions to the governor were accompanied by the letter from Jerry McLaughlin, president of the Aroostook County Conservation Association, in New Sweden. He wrote: “It is terribly apparent that past policies have failed miserably, resulting in a devastated whitetail deer herd throughout much of northern Maine. The social and economic impact that has occurred as a result of these flawed policies should not be acceptable nor overlooked. Our outdoor heritage is at stake, and millions of dollars in revenue have been lost. We do not have time for more task forces and study groups that take years on end with no results.”

If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!

Next Page »