Hunters fund deer yard protection
By V. Paul Reynolds
When the Maine 130th State Legislature enacted a law to set up a fund to underwrite the cost of purchasing deer wintering areas by the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife, not a lot was said about exactly where the money would come from. The law is called An Act to Preserve Deer Habitat. It is Public Law 409. According to MDIF&W, this deer management fund allocates $1.2 million a year for deer yard acquisitions.
Currently, MDIF&W owns and manages about 10,000 acres of deer wintering areas in Maine.
Where does the money come from? Some of it is provided by the Land for Maine Future’s Fund and from Pittman-Robertson, which is money generated by national excise taxes on hunting equipment. However, the brunt of these funds to acquire and manage deer wintering areas is generated, not by the state taxpayer, but by deer hunters themselves!
That’s right. In fact, MDIF&W recently in a press release said “thank you” to all deer hunters who support the deer management fund by simply purchasing antlerless deer hunting permits each year.
The Department writes, “Looking back at the 2024 hunting seasons, we’re thankful for deer hunters and their important role as wildlife conservationists. Since 2022, $12 from each antlerless deer hunting permit is deposited into the Maine Deer Management Fund, with the $2 agent fee covering administrative costs. These funds have helped acquire and manage over 10,000 acres of critical deer wintering habitat in Maine! “
Here are some of the recent deer-yard acquisitions by MDIF&W that were purchased for protection in perpetuity thanks to deer hunters who pay our $12 for any deer permit:
Rangeley WMA — 708 acres, funded with Pittman Robertson and deer management funds
Caribou Stream WMA — 1,105 acres, funded with PR, Land for Maine’s Future and deer management funds
Lexington Deer Wintering Area — 1,490 acres, funded with Pittman Robertson), Land for Maine’s Future, and deer management funds
Macwahoc Stream WMA — 6,326 acres, funded with PR, LMF, and deer management funds
These protected deer yards also protect more than just deer, too. As the Department points out, “These lands provide habitat for a variety of species including a wide diversity of birds and waterfowl, wildlife including bobcat, fisher, marten and others; and several of these new WMAs also have waters that include brook trout, landlocked salmon and other species.”
The Sportsman’s Alliance of Maine played a key, pivotal role in the creation and passage of the law that establishes deer yard acquisitions and protection. When lobbying for the new law, SAM noted in its testimony that at one time deer wintering areas comprised about 10 percent of Maine forestland. Today that figure hovers between 3 and 4 percent!
In its press release thanking hunters, MDIF&W observed that hunters foremost are the wildlife conservationists. This is an accurate refrain and one underscored often by SAM as well. Regrettably this is a point either ignored or seldom acknowledged by our state’s anti-hunting element.
The author is editor of the Northwoods Sporting Journal. He is also a Maine Guide and host of a weekly radio program “Maine Outdoors” heard Sundays at 7 p.m. on The Voice of Maine News-Talk Network. He has authored three books. Online purchase information is available at www.sportingjournal.com.