It may seem early to be discussing ticks. After all, what self-respecting parasite would be caught flitting about amid ice-covered fields and sub-zero temperatures, right? But the tick season in Maine will be here before you know it. And, ticks, and the Lyme disease that they can cause, is becoming an ever-increasing welfare concern for […]
outdoors in maine
Posted inLocal Sports, sj-web
Outdoors in Maine: Stay safe on the snowmobile trails
The needless, accidental death of a young, healthy person in the prime of their life is profoundly tragic. Over the years, we have all seen teenage drivers, who thought that they were immortal, die on our highways. Seat belts, mandatory driver education and stiffer age requirements have helped to stem the tide of youthful deaths […]
advertisement
Posted inLocal Sports, sj-web
Outdoors in Maine: Wildlife Restoration Projects: Part II
If at first you don’t succeed, try, try again. Maine has tried twice unsuccessfully, once in 1963 and again in 1986-1990, to reintroduce caribou to our North Woods. Does this adage apply? Did Maine give up too easily on its effort to establish a caribou population? Sometimes persistence can make dreams come true. As reported […]
Posted inLocal Sports
Outdoors in Maine: Maine revising game management plan
For wildlife management purposes, Maine recognizes four species: deer, bear, moose and wild turkeys. In order for state wildlife biologists and Augusta policymakers to make decisions about how best to manage our important big game animals, there must be a plan. This plan directs wildlife managers on how best to do this in a way […]
Posted inLocal Sports
Outdoors in Maine: Caution is the key to staying safe on ice
Each year about this time, the Maine Warden Service urges us to use extreme caution before venturing out onto any ice that may be covering Maine’s waterways. This is timely advice. On Jan. 7, Richard Dumont, 52, of North Attleboro, Massachusetts, died when his snowsled went through the ice on Messalonskee Lake. A few years […]
Posted inLocal Sports
Outdoors in Maine: Coyote hunt not always easy
Maine’s troubled deer population appears to be on the rebound. Two severe winters in 2008 and 2009, along with increasing predation by coyotes and bears, really took a toll. Ironically, two consecutive mild winters recently have lent to reduced deer mortality. Additionally, the deer-recovery equation has been helped along markedly by a relatively new predator: […]
Posted inLocal Sports
Outdoors in Maine: Dedication pays off with a rare easy buck
On average, the Reynolds family freezer winds up with some venison about every other year. The math has been surprisingly consistent over the past 50 years. Having been skunked in 2015, this past fall was to be the year to get out the Food Saver and the meat grinder. But it didn’t get off to […]
Posted inLocal Sports
Outdoors in Maine: ‘Threaded Journeys’ well worth the read
“Threaded Journeys” by Tom Johnson is not a conventional collection of hunting and fishing stories. In it, the author does take you on a tour de force of well-known hunting and fishing places in North America, but he spices his book thoughtfully with constructive social, political and economic advocacy. Lest this sounds like an awkward […]
Posted inLocal Sports
Outdoors in Maine: Backtracking on the year that was
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 […]
Posted inLocal Sports
Outdoors in Maine: The future of wildlife management is in good hands
Every year at about this time, at all of New England’s land grant colleges, a few members of the New England Outdoor Writer’s Association (NEOWA) visit the wildlife departments of these respective colleges with a mission: to award scholarships. These scholarships are substantial. At each college, one scholarship is awarded to an outstanding wildlife ecology […]