The New Year is almost always a welcome event, even if we are all a year older. The slate is clean. As we look ahead, it’s a lot like a field of virgin snow. As we move on, the tracks we leave will take us to unseen ground.
Move on, yes. But don’t forget to check your backtrack. A check of what already took place can often divulge clues or insights into what lies ahead. Let’s check that backtrack for the Maine outdoors, circa 2016.
Last winter was comparatively mild, a good one for Maine’s recovering whitetail deer herd. If you were an ice fisherman, the milder winter meant a slow freeze up on lakes and ponds. Marginal ice conditions can spell trouble for ice anglers and snowsledders who don’t take the time to investigate ice conditions before venturing out. Early signs suggest that ice conditions may be nominal into the early part of the New Year.
In January, the state legislature enacted landmark legislation that eliminated the minimum age requirement for Maine youth hunters. At the time the idea seemed laudable on its face. The argument was “leave the decision to parents” when it comes to the age of young hunters. At the time, the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife opposed the measure.
In retrospect, IFW was probably justified in its opposition. Anecdotal reports indicate that there have been cases in which parental discretion has not been prudent. The Sportsman’s Alliance of Maine (SAM) will revisit this issue soon at the legislative level. Perhaps a minimum age requirement of 8 years old makes the most sense.
The most controversial outdoor story of the year was without doubt what has come to be called the Allagash Sting Operation. A number of Aroostook County poachers were apprehended and convicted in a covert warden operation. Sensational press coverage by the Portland newspapers resulted in a legislative probe and the resulting exposure and personal endangerment of undercover warden Bill Livezey. The Maine Warden Service has suspended its covert operations indefinitely. Fish and wildlife commissioner Chandler Woodcock, and a number of other warden service policymakers, believe that there is a place for undercover wardens. So the issue is not dead.
A major “trout crash” at the Downeast fish hatchery in Grand Lake Stream made the news. Departmental sources said that 20,000 brook trout fry were lost due to unusually warm hatchery feed water coming from West Grand Lake.
In the good news department, the governor signed a bill extending some protection to Maine’s dwindling and beleaguered private shooting ranges. The bill also provided a $50,000 state grant program to assist some shooting ranges to make improvements and enhance their safety operations. On the ATV front, the state continued to expand and improve its remarkable network of ATV trails. Additionally, the towns of Greenville and Howland actually passed ordinances that permit ATV operations on local town roads.
The best news of all was the narrow defeat of Question 3 on the November ballot, which would have vastly complicated Maine’s firearms transfer laws. Although the Maine Warden Service indicated that the prospective law, if it had passed, would have been virtually unenforceable, Maine’s urban voting bloc went for it hook, line and sinker. An astonishing turnout of voters in rural Maine saved the day.
On a more somber note, the year did not wind to an end without the passing of some fellow Maine sportsmen who left their mark. They will be missed, not only by their loved ones and friends, but by the sporting community as a whole.
Bill Morrison, arguably one of New England’s most well-known and recognized gunsmiths, died in April at 94. An old-school gunsmith, the Bradford man was truly an icon who lived for his work and could build a gun from scratch. The last of a breed.
Rangeley sportsman and benefactor Don Palmer passed away in July in his home at Quimby Pond. A passionate outdoorsman and fisherman, Palmer served for 16 years as president of the Rangeley fish and game club. He was an iconic activist who gave more than he took and was involved in numerous outdoor organizations. The heritage museum in Oquossoc was largely his creation. His collection of original streamer flies by Carrie Stevens was his pride and joy.
Maine also lost two dedicated sport fisheries biologists, Roger AuClair and Dave Boucher. Boucher was a regional fisheries biologist in Rangeley for 17 years and was manager of the IFW fisheries division when he died.
“Over a career that spanned 30 years, Dave made a lasting impact on the state’s trout and salmon, and numerous individuals,” said Commissioner Chandler Woodcock.
AuClair, who passed away in Rockwood at 97, was highly venerated by his professional peers. He created the regional fisheries division in Greenville and served there many years. He was a meticulous scientist who introduced some of the first restorative fishery projects to the state, especially for wild brook trout.
The author is editor of the Northwoods Sporting Journal. He is also a Maine Guide and host of a weekly radio program “Maine Outdoors” heard Sundays at 7 p.m. on The Voice of Maine News-Talk Network. He has authored three books. Online purchase information is available at www.maineoutdoorpublications.com.
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