The New Year is almost always a welcomed event.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. This is especially sweet for outdoor people who have an affinity for exploration, for finding what is just beyond the hill, or on the other side of the cedar swamp.

Move on, yes. But don’t forget to check your backtrack! Animals do it for survival. For the rest of us contemplative bipods, who struggle for understanding and perspective, 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 2012. No doubt attributable to one of the mildest winters on record, Maine experienced a hunting season that was close to exceptional, if it were not for low deer numbers. Good news even from the North Woods. North Maine Woods spokesman Al Cowperthwaite reports: “Partridge numbers were way up over previous years and we had a record number of bird hunters visit during October. From tallies kept at checkpoints, it looks like deer hunters took out about three times as many deer this fall as in 2011. The Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife issued more moose hunting permits for October and November and most permit holders were successful in tagging out.”

It was also an excellent bear season, reportedly one of the best in four years — fewer licensed hunters this year but, according to state biologists, “the success rate was extremely high.” Maine’s spring bear hunt, conducted by the Penobscot and Passmaquoddy nations, was also very successful with more than 90 bears tagged in that hunt.

Although the statewide Maine deer hunt was a mixed bag – good in some areas, not so good in others — there are signs of a deer recovery taking place. Some remarkable bucks were tagged. For the first time in many years, I and my two sons all filled our freezers. Our seven-man deer camp, the Skulkers of Seboeis, marred a perfect five-year span of an empty game pole by hoisting one crotch horn buck between the birches. However, in the overall deer harvest, particularly in Washington County, many tagging stations reported fewer deer tagged this year than last.

If there is, indeed, a discernible spike in deer numbers, we can thank the temperate, snowless winter. Not  good for snowsledders, but great for deer survival! As Maine’s deer biologist Lee Kantar points out repeatedly, the best deer management strategies in the world can’t compete with a prolonged Maine winter marked by extended cold snaps and deep snow. Deer hunters keep your fingers crossed.

The additional good news on the whitetail situation is punctuated by two words: coyote control. Finally, after 10 years of empty pledges and bureaucratic dithering, the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife (MDIF&W) has taken bold action. A well-planned and adequately funded coyote control program has been executed. Paid by the state, trained trappers have been culling problem coyotes from low-deer areas and will continue to do so this winter in targeted deer wintering areas. The state program has been augmented by an increased number of recreational hunters and trappers who are also reducing coyote numbers.

How was the fishing in 2012?

From all reports, anglers from all areas of the state, from competitive bass fishermen to salmon trollers and brook trout acolytes, found plenty of action at their favorite fish haunts. The most cynical anglers among us can’t help but be impressed year after year by this state’s remarkably rich and diverse sport fishery. From Kittery to Fort Kent, Jackman to Vanceboro, we have the expansive watersheds and the fish. Credit must be given to the wardens, fisheries managers and biologists for safeguarding Maine’s natural treasure and working hard to make it better.

The year 2012 was not a good one in Maine, if you were man’s best friend. Dog owners will attest, and veterinarians will confirm, that fleas as well as ticks made themselves known in record numbers.

As always, it was a year of mixed news in the realm of outdoor politics. America elected a president who is no friend of the Second Amendment. The Penobscot Nation is taking the state to civil court and will argue that it has full enforcement jurisdiction of fish and wildlife activities on the Penobscot River watershed. This attempt to resolve a longstanding dispute will no doubt drag on in the courts. Although the jury is still out, there is seemingly good news in the fact that environmentalist Roxanne Quimby has abandoned her high-visibility quest to transform her vast Maine wild-land holdings into a National Park.

Stay tuned.

The author is editor of the Northwoods Sporting Journal. He isalso a Maine Guide, co-host of a weekly radio program “Maine Outdoors” heard Sundays at 7 p.m. on The Voice of Maine News-Talk Network (WVOM-FM 103.9, WQVM-FM  101.3) and former information officer for the Maine Dept. of Fish and Wildlife. His e-mail address is [email protected] and his new book is “A Maine Deer Hunter’s Logbook.”