Here’s what Maine’s moose hunt is really worth

2015 hunt at campSo here’s what the Maine moose hunt is really worth: between $12,952 and $14,501. The Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife auctions off ten moose hunting permits every year.

Over $133,000 was raised in the 2016 auction, with all of the money going to youth conservation education scholarships. More than 600 Maine boys and girls get partial scholarships to several of the state’s conservation camps.

The legislature created the auction which began in 1995, and applicants must submit bids through a written bid process. Winning bids are selected in February. The information above was presented in a press release earlier this week, designed to create interest in the 2017 bidding process.

Bids for the 2017 auction must be received at the Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife, 284 State Street, Augusta, Maine 04333, no later than 5:00 p.m. (Eastern Time) on February 15, 2017. A non-refundable bid fee of $25.00 in U.S. funds must accompany each bid.

A downloadable copy of the bid packet is available online by visiting:

http://www.maine.gov/ifw/licenses_permits/lotteries/moose/pdfs/2017mooseauctioninformation_bidform.pdf

“While the auction winners have the opportunity to partake in the hunt of a lifetime, their winning bids also ensure Maine children have the chance to learn outdoor skills that will give them a lifetime of appreciation of the Maine outdoors,” said Chandler Woodcock, Commissioner, Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife.

Conservation camp programs are designed to teach Maine boys and girls the importance of conservation, a respect for the environment and a working knowledge of a variety of outdoor skills. Subjects taught at camp include wildlife identification, fishing, boating safety, archery, firearms handling, hunter safety, forest conservation, map and compass work and much more.

Here’s the list of 2016 auction winners along with their winning bids.

$14,501           Tracy Hauck

$13,801           Howard Ludington

$13,611           John D. Lovetere

$13,500           Marc Hampers

$13,253           Adam Millburn

$13,234.56      Roger Gregg

$13,100           Shane Brady

$13,013           Timothy Glasscock

$13,010           Bendrix Bailey

$12,952           Carl Baker

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.