NOTE: I’ll be in the Bangor Daily News booth at the Sportsman’s Show at the University of Maine Orono on Saturday (March 8) from 9 am to 11 am to talk about my outdoor news blog and my new book, A Life Lived Outdoors, published yesterday by Islandport Press. Hope to see you there! Shocking […]

NOTE: I’ve posted a question for you in the Sportsmen Say Survey section of my website, www.georgesmithmaine.com, on the issue of deer yard protection. The question is: Is it fair to expect private landowners to protect deer wintering areas – and give up the value of the timber in those areas – without compensation? Your […]

  It’s heartbreaking and I stared at it a long time. It’s one of the only photos ever taken of the ‘O’u, a gorgeous little yellow-headed bird found in the Hawaiian islands. As Erroll Fuller tells us in his exceptional book, Lost Animals, published by Princeton University Press, “During the 20th Century, ‘O’u populations plummeted. […]

In this moose report, you’ll learn about moose population and health, the 2013 harvest, the declining interest in the lottery, and changes made last week by the legislature to the new allocation of permits to lodges and sporting camps. Moose Health “Maine has a healthy and strong moose population and has the highest density of […]

Memorable Quotes 2011 For many years I’ve created a monthly column of interesting and provocative quotes, for The Maine Sportsman. From time to time I’m going to offer you quotes, starting with a bunch from past years, in this outdoor news blog. Some you will remember. Some will make you think. Some will make you […]

Maine grouse hunters will be rejoicing to learn that the confusing and onerous new law requiring the labeling of grouse in the unorganized territories will be a one-year wonder. Here today. Gone tomorrow. Last year, for the first time, hunters who harvested grouse in the unorganized territories and stayed there overnight had to label the […]

Governor Paul LePage tossed out a whopper yesterday. Here it is, in his own words. “Because Maine already expanded welfare a decade ago, Medicaid is now cannibalizing funding from all other state agencies. That means the state cannot adequately promote fishing and hunting programs or conduct research on our fisheries.” The truth is that Maine’s […]

I thought – given that I have friends with Lyme disease, some of whom have suffered terribly, that I would be prepared for Andrea Caesar’s A Twist of Lyme, published last year by Archway Publishing. But I was wrong. This story is gun-wrenching, raw, hard to read, relentlessly troubling. Subtitled, “Battling a Disease That ‘Doesn’t […]

Since launching the Sportsmen Say Survey on my website, www.georgesmithmaine.com, a few weeks ago, I’ve been pleased with the response and level of participation. We’re off to a great start! Survey questions are generally linked with a column I’ve posted about a specific issue, and give you a chance to voice your opinion on those issues. […]

  “You are an idiot, George,” wrote one. “You are a freaking idiot,” parodied another. “You sir are an idiot,” wrote a third. OK, we’ve established that I am an idiot. “Open a book, dickhole,” suggested a woman who thought I needed to be educated. “It’s people like you that make this country unlivable,” continued […]