Tremont deer hunt

By V. Paul Reynolds

At the Tremont annual town meeting on May 11, voters will have an historic opportunity to open their town to regulated deer hunting. If passed, this local hunting ordinance will reverse Mount Desert Island’s 100-year history of no deer hunting anywhere on MDI!

Last year at this time a Downeast lawmaker sponsored a bill that would have opened all of MDI to regulated deer hunting. That bill, unfortunately, never made it out of the legislative committee.

These deer hunting initiatives on the island have been sparked by excessive deer numbers per square mile that have resulted in increased incidences of deer/car crashes and concern among townspeople about Lyme disease. Even ardent anti-hunters can have a change of heart when their personal lives and property are impacted by deer over populations.

If passed the Tremont hunting proposal will allow hunting by archery and shotguns only. Hunters will be allowed to hunt only from tree stands or other fixed positions and only antlerless deer can be harvested. This is the proposed Tremont deer-hunting proviso that caught my eye: the hunt will be for residents only!

My reaction at first blush to this brand of provincial  exclusivity  was this, “What? How can they do this? The state can only regulate hunting inasmuch as wildlife belongs to the people of Maine and is held in trust for all citizens, not a local municipality. Egads, man!”

After all, this seems like a wild precedent that if extended could spread to other towns that want to have their own little deer hunting fiefdoms. Not so, says Maine’s IF&W Wildlife Director Nathan Webb. Boiled down, everything that Tremont does with respect to their new deer hunting ordinance must be authorized by the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and  Wildlife.

Webb explains it this way, “If Tremont does end up supporting the establishment of a deer hunt, the Department would then need to go through our regular rule making process in order to legally open the town to hunting. This would include a public comment period and a public hearing, allowing anyone to provide input on the hunt framework. The rule would need to be supported by our advisory council before it could be adopted.

I want to stress that the town is not able to open a deer hunt on their own, and they are not able to establish an ordinance that would open deer hunting. Only the Department has the authority to establish deer hunting seasons.”

Apparently, then, because of the Tremont “timed out” 3-year hunt proposal, the experimental nature of it allows the state to authorize the town to enact a residents only deer hunt even though it will take place in November.

In the long run, the Tremont proposal — if it passes muster at the annual town meeting — is a positive historic reversal that is long overdue on MDI. Hunting is a time tested method of controlling excessive wildlife populations. And with careful regulations and enforcement, these urban hunts can be done safely and represent a welcome expansion of Maine’s recreational hunting opportunities.

We’ll keep an eye on the Tremont town meeting on May 11 and hope for an informed Tremont electorate.

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, Outdoor Books.