Gov. Janet Mills directed Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife Commissioner Judy Camuso to open all inland waters for fishing and to waive the requirement that anglers need a recreational fishing license to fish the inland waters of Maine. The order, which is effective immediately, will run through April 30 and is intended to encourage Maine people to enjoy the outdoors as we confront the challenges associated with COVID-19.

Maine is home to some truly challenging hiking trails. Mud, steep slopes, slippery stream crossings, exposed tree roots, ridiculously rocky terrain. Maine has it all, and often hikers must contend with all these things at once. But here’s the thing: It’s worth it.

News that this year's Kenduskeag Stream Canoe race won't be staged came as no surprise, and in fact, most of the races scheduled for the next six weeks have also been scrapped as efforts to enforce social distancing to slow the spread of the COVID-19 ramp up.

Registered Maine guides are among those in industries in which face-to-face service is an essential part. But as spring and early summer fishing seasons near, some guides have already begun seeing a dropoff in reservations due to the COVID-19 virus.

Preseason training camp for the Maine Shrine Lobster Bowl all-star football game will return to Foxcroft Academy in Dover-Foxcroft for the next five years under a new agreement reached recently between the school and the game’s board of directors.

The Maine Principals’ Association football committee took a step Monday toward branching out beyond the traditional criterion of school enrollment to classify high school teams around the state in that sport. The panel voted unanimously to approve the addition of 16 schools to the state’s two, eight-player divisions this fall.

Most outdoors people that I know would rather take an alder branch in the eye or get thumb-snagged on a rusty hook than spend 10 minutes at a political rally. But sometimes political reality gets close to home, especially for recreational hunters whose heritage is linked inextricably to their right to possess and use firearms in the field.

With an effort to support social distancing and reduce potential exposure to COVID-19 within the Piscataquis community, the Piscataquis Regional YMCA announced that the facility will close on Monday, March 16 through Friday, March 27.

The Maine Principals’ Association Board of Directors and Interscholastic Management Committee voted on March 13 to delay the start of the 2020 spring sports practices until April 27. The original date was March 23, which marked when baseball and softball coaches were able to begin working only with their pitchers and catchers for a week.

The Piscataquis Regional YMCA is pleased to announce the appointment of Mandy Adams as its new executive director/CEO, effective March 11. Adams was selected by the Y’s CEO search committee, following a 3-month search.

The basketball season is not over yet for a talented group of sixth-graders from Dover-Foxcroft. Fresh from a 14-0 season as the SeDoMoCha Middle School ‘B’ team, the group now is  competing at the AAU level as the first-year Dover-Foxcroft Eagles.

By the way, mark your calendar. The moose lottery application process for the upcoming fall moose hunt is officially open. Online applications only.

Toby Nelson, who took over the reins of the Foxcroft Academy boys basketball team on an interim basis midway through the 2019-20 season and guided the Ponies to a Class B North playoff berth, was named to the head coaching post on a full-time basis Wednesday.

The program can still reverse field and stay at the 11-player game, but Dexter Regional High School is looking to be among a number of Maine high school football teams -- including much of the Little Ten Conference (LTC)/Class  D North -- shifting to 8-man football when the 2020 season kicks off in August. The SAD 46 school board supported the transition with a formal motion during a March 4 meeting at the Ridge View Community School. A timeline would be determined by the superintendent and principal.

The annual Penobscot Valley Conference Coaches vs. Cancer basketball game will be held Tuesday, March 10, at Guiski Gymnasium on the campus of Dexter Regional High School.

Jim Young reached out to share his story and a photo of the impressive brookie he caught while fishing Moosehead Lake recently. The monster squaretail weighed 6 pounds, 13 ounces and was 25 inches long. The fish was also 18 inches around at its widest point.

Three Dexter Regional High School wrestlers earned berths in this weekend’s New England championship at Methuen (Massachusetts) High School by finishing in the top three of their respective weight classes at the New England Qualifier on Feb. 29 at Noble High School. The competition brings together the top four performers from the Class A and B championships to see who will represent the Pine Tree State on March 7-8.

The Clarks agreed to a $10,000 sale price with Friends of Community Fitness covering the $2,300 closing costs, allowing Friends of Community Fitness to officially become building owners as of Nov. 22. The now permanent home was recognized with a “Keys to the Building Celebration” on the morning of Saturday, Feb. 29 with Piscataquis Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Denise Buzzelli presenting a symbolic oversized key.