Bears and bows prowling the legislative halls today

Kalebs-bear-250x250 BDN photoWhile animal rights groups were down the hall supporting a bill to ban “puppy mills,” the audience at the Inland Fisheries and Wildlife Committee was dominated by bear and bow hunters. But before I get to that, let me tell you this.

If you want some insight into the legislative process, tune in to Representative Bob Duchesne’s radio show, Wild Maine, that airs on 92.9 FM on Saturday at 9 am and Sunday at 8 am. The show can also be accessed online at 929theticket.com. Bob taped a public hearing hosted by the Inland Fisheries and Wildlife Committee on issues including moose ticks, hunting with slingshots, and wearing hunter pink. The show includes testimony I gave on the tick issue.

Crossbows

DIF&W testified in favor of LD 400 that would allow hunters 70 years and older to use crossbows, an opportunity that was enacted two years ago with a sunset provision, meaning it expired this year. Andrea Erskine, DIF&W’s Deputy Commissioner, said the agency would support extending this opportunity to both residents and nonresidents. There were no opponents to the bill sponsored by Rep. Dale Crafts.

My friend Don Keneagy, an archery hunter for 40 years, testified that it got increasingly difficult to hold a compound bow as he aged. He hunted with a crossbow in 2012 and harvested the largest deer he’d ever shot in this life, during the muzzle loading season. He said he’d hunt less if he could no longer use the crossbow. He noted that crossbows have a limited range. He urged the committee to make the bill an emergency so he could use his crossbow during this year’s turkey season.

Given that there were no opponents, and DIF&W supports it, the committee moved immediately into work session and endorsed the bill unanimously, with clarification that it will apply to both residents and nonresidents.

The second crossbow bill, sponsored by Rep. Steve Wood, would remove the restriction on shooting a crossbow within 100 yards of a dwelling. Wood’s testimony blamed the restriction on bow hunters and people opposed to crossbows, and contended that crossbows do not have the range that guns have and should not be included in this restriction.

Rep. Mike Shaw noted that he sponsored the original bill that resulted in this restriction and he is not opposed to crossbows. He explained the concerns that were raised at the time this law was enacted.

Major Chris Cloutier of DIF&W noted that municipalities can restrict the use of crossbows or other weapons. In his testimony in opposition to the bill, Chris said the law would make it legal to kill animals within 100 yards of a home. He said wardens had prosecuted a group of hunters on the coast that was killing game on people’s front lawns with crossbows. He did say he would not oppose a homeowner’s opportunity to practice shooting a crossbow on his own property. He said he’d trained in shooting crossbows at LL Bean and “that changed my opinion on crossbows.” He said they are more like guns than bows.

Tom Doak of the Small Woodland Owners Association testified neither for nor against the bill, but expressed concerns about the use of crossbows so close to homes. He asked if there is a real problem with the law. And he said he would not oppose an amendment to allow practice shooting.

Youth Bear Day

Well, we have Youth Days for deer, turkeys, and waterfowl, so I guess it was inevitable that we’d get a proposal to establish a Youth Hunting Day for bear. LD 399, sponsored by Rep. Steve Wood, would do just that, giving young hunters the first chance at bear on the Saturday before the normal opening of the bear season.

Don Kleiner, representing the Maine Professional Guides Association, said they are broadly supportive of youth opportunities, but urged caution on bears on how and where it would apply. He raised a lot of questions about placement of bait, use of hounds, and other techniques and opportunities, which are now separated during the bear season.

Dave Trahan said the Sportsman’s Alliance of Maine supports the bill and that the issues can be resolved. He suggested designating the first Monday of the bear season as Youth Day. He encouraged all the hunting opportunities we can give to both resident and nonresident youth.

Andrea Erskine testified that DIF&W supports the bill, and believes it should be scheduled on the Saturday before the regular opening, not include hounds, and leave the rule in place that requires baiting to stop 30 days before the hunt begins. That means baiting would begin and end two days earlier than they do today. Andrea also encouraged the committee to put this in law, because it would take too long to go through the rule-making process to establish the Youth Bear Day this year.

Wounded Bears

Rep. Russell Black presented LD 320 on behalf of Maine guides in his district. It would allow guides to retrieve wounded bears with dogs after legal hunting hours. This was once allowed but DIF&W determined it did not have authority to allow this and stopped the practice, according to Rep. Black.

Don Kleiner of the MPGA testified in favor of the bill. “We all want hunting to be conducted as humanely and efficiently as possible. I hunt with trained dogs. The purpose is to help me locate game and to find a bird when it is down. We want to treat game animals with at least that level of respect.” He asked that this be separated from the law allowing dogs to be licensed to track wounded game, with the required permit, because most guides do not want to be on that list and to offer that service to the public. They simply want the opportunity to use their dogs to retrieve wounded game shot by their customers.

Dale Tobey, chair of the MPGA Board, also testified in favor of the bill. He guides bear hunters and has always used dogs to help retrieve harvested bears. Most of them are dead when they are found. He was surprised last year to discover he’d been breaking the law because he doesn’t have the $85 dog tracking permit.

There were no opponents to the bill. Major Cloutier testified for DIF&W in the “neither for nor against” the bill. He explained the dog tracking license and said the agency has issued about 25 licenses. The bill would allow guides, without a license, to use one leashed dog to track wounded game. They can get that permission now from individual wardens on a case by case basis. He said the existing law has been in place for 15 years and urged the committee to consider new requirements be added to the bill if the committee decided to support it.

Cloutier said the proposal “could allow guides who are not in possession of the (dog tracking permit) to operate outside of the Department’s rules which have been in place for the last fifteen years.” Cloutier suggested, if the committee wants to support this bill, that additional language be included: the guide must follow the Commissioner’s rules governing the (dog tracking), the guide may only use a leashed dog for tracking a wounded bear if the hunt was conducted over bait, and the guide must provide notification to a game warden prior to commencing the track.

All of these bills will be worked by the IFW Committee on March 17.

Reconsideration

Two bills voted on previously were reconsidered today. One, LD 134, directs DIF&W to expand research on the impact of winter ticks on deer. The bill was reconsidered to give two committee members who missed the vote to vote, and for other members to reconsider their votes.

Rep. Stan Short said he had a tough time over-riding the decisions of DIF&W’s professional staff, particularly after we argued successfully that the bear biologist’s opinions be recognized and respected in the recent bear referendum.

Commissioner Chandler Woodcock stepped up to the podium to explain the department’s concerns. “We’re already involved in studying the impact of ticks on moose.” He said the bill was a duplication of effort. While I advocated for much more research on moose mortality, using some of the $1.7 million the agency raised last year in the moose lottery, that is very unlikely. So we will again, for the foreseeable future, see no increase in moose hunting permits, because of all that we don’t know about moose mortality.

Also reconsidered was LD 158. Senator Davis complained about the Katahdin Lake project that was purchased and given to Baxter State Park, with hunting banned on the 8000 acres. “I don’t think that was right and I still don’t,” said Davis. He actually had quite a list of grievances of opportunities he thinks have been taken away from or denied to local people in his area.

Senator Danny Martin moved the question again, in support of allowing one brook trout a day to be kept during the fall fishing season on Webster Stream. The motion was adopted unanimously.

 

George Smith

About George Smith

George stepped down at the end of 2010 after 18 years as the executive director of the Sportsman’s Alliance of Maine to write full time. He writes a weekly editorial page column in the Kennebec Journal and Waterville Morning Sentinel, a weekly travel column in those same newspapers (with his wife Linda), monthly columns in The Maine Sportsman magazine, two outdoor news blogs (one on his website, georgesmithmaine.com, and one on the website of the Bangor Daily News), and special columns for many publications and newsletters. Islandport Press published a book of George's favorite columns, "A Life Lived Outdoors" in 2014. In 2014, George also won a Maine Press Association award for writing the state's bet sports blog. In 2016, Down East Books published George's book, Maine Sporting Camps, and Islandport Press published George and his wife Linda's travel book, Take It From ME, about their favorite Maine inns and restaurants.