Moose Droppings

Yesterday Maine held it’s annual Moose Lottery and it looked like an exciting event. I want to thank Tom & Steve and everyone else involved to make the live podcast from Kittery Trading Post possible. Although I couldn’t be there it was great to watch the fun and the excitement when the 3000+ names were read. Some of the lucky folks were in the audience and that was great. In case you still don’t know if you got drawn here is a link to the winning folks Good Luck to all that got drawn and I hope you have an enjoyable hunt this fall.

Well the big day is almost here, Thursday to be exact, when Maine draws the names for the 2008 moose tags. This is my first year back in after being drawn in 2005 so I’m hopeful I’ll be drawn again but realistically my chances are slim.

Living in Maine for a number of years I remember in the early days listening to the live draw on the local radio station straining to hear my name or someone else that I knew. Living here in North Carolina that exciting radio broadcast has not been an option so in 2005 I received a phone call from my brother telling me that I’d been drawn.

Well this year Skinny Moose will broadcast the draw from Kittery Trading Post so everyone can hear the drawing. Good Luck To everyone I’ll have my lucky hat on. I’d love to have some moose steaks to grill this coming winter.

Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife has announced a significant change for next year’s lottery with the elimination of paper applications.

Notice: Beginning in 2009, moose permit applications will only be accepted online. Paper applications will no longer be printed or mailed. The online application process will be available starting in early January of 2009.

There is no doubt that many wildlife agencies are moving towards utilizing the internet. For example this turkey season I tagged both my turkeys on line with NCWRC.

I can’t help but wonder if all the residents who hunt have access to the net and feel comfortable enough with conducting such a transaction on line. I got to admit that I was surprised that the 2000 census shows that Maine is slightly above the national average with 43 % of the homes having internet access.
I’m aware that many people do not feel comfortable doing credit card transactions over the net so it will be interesting to see how well this goes. I completed my moose application for this year’s draw on line so it will not make a difference for me because I’m pretty comfortable in doing such transactions over the web. What do others think? I wonder if they should of went to an on line as well as applying at license retailers for the first few years instead of making such a big leap.

Story and Photo by Dan McLaughlin AKA Moose

The new Cabela’s store in Maine is about to open in the backyard of the New England giant in outdoor supplies LL Bean. Growing up in New England stopping at LL Bean was always a treat to see the taxidermy mounts, the live trout, and of course all the equipment they have for sale. Having visited numerous Cabela’s across the country I’m certain LL Bean is in for a run to compete with them. The big question that remains to be answered is these Maine big enough for these two retail giants? The competition should be fierce and helpful to all.

I like both retailers and do the vast majority of my shopping via the internet. I swear by my LL Bean Hunting Boots and have warn them tromping around a wide variety of habitat and terrain in the wilds of America. Cabela’s is my main suppler when it comes to hunting equipment because of their vast variety of equipment. I guess this will make my trips back home a bit longer having another place to stop.

The impact of these giant’s reaches well beyond the borders of the state of Maine so I think initially there will be little impact on each other. I think the retailer that may really hurt in this deal will be Kittery Trading Post. A much smaller retailer that has just recently stepped into the world of the internet in addition to their physical store. They will need to look for their niche if they plan to remain viable. I think they have with the wide selection of both new and used firearms that neither Cabela’s nor LL Bean seem to focus on.

Maine is an outdoors man paradise but how favorable it will be for equipment supply stores will be interesting to watch over the next couple of years.

Opening Info Page with Specials & Appearances

Story by Dan McLaughlin AKA Moose

As a benefit of blogging I’ve been given a subscription to the Northwoods Sporting Journal a New England outdoor magazine. Having grown up in New England I have a lot of ties with the area and like to keep up with what is going on up there. I even on occasion chase moose or bear across the northern woods and I do enjoy the tug of a brook trout on the line.

I’m excited about the coming year and the news and stories that will come in monthly. Just a quick glance of the current magazine there is local stories like places to go clamming in NH, ice fishing reports and stories that reach to a much larger audience and not necessarily just New England folks. There is a great story on how to read a compass, using blinds to turkey hunt and one very funny story about the trouble a Maine Warden got into on the side of a road.
It seems that a trucker hit a doe with fawns killing the doe and the fawns ran off. After much searching the warden and the trucker could not find the fawns so they pulled the doe away from the road in hopes the fawns would return to the doe. The warden planned to increase patrols in that area to see if he could catch the young fawns. Latter that day he was passing by when he saw a car pulled off the road and two ladies running into the bushes. Knowing that they must have spotted the fawns he swung around and tried to catch up with them before they scared the fawns away. Well he ran into the bushes calling to them and found them answering natures call and they were not to happy. His telling of the story is much better and much funnier then my readers digest version.

Why I have never subscribed to Northwoods before I have to say it’s because I never remember. I buy Northwoods almost every time I visit the state so now I have no excuse. If you enjoy a quality outdoor magazine you should check them out and who knows maybe you’ll hear the call of the North Woods to come hunt a bear, a moose, or maybe even a trophy buck of a lifetime.

Col. Thomas Santaguida of the Maine Warden Service resigned Friday after being charged by Maine Department of Marine Resources for being in possession of 9 undersize lobsters the day before. Santaguida owns a commercial fishing boat and has 35 years experience in the lobstering business said that inattention lead to him keeping the undersize lobsters and it was not intentional act.

Although the Maine Warden Service has no jurisdiction over enforcing saltwater fishing laws the similarities between the jobs would make it difficult for him to enforce the laws he is responsible for. Maine Warden Service aggressively enforce the laws including limits and size restrictions. I don’t know enough about lobstering to know how easy it is to make such a mistake but if it’s a simple mistake then why fall on your sword? If a cop is on vacation and gets a ticket for speeding should he lose his job? I don’t necessarily think so. Embarrassing for sure and maybe that is why he resigned, I got to believe there is more to this story then what is being reported.

You can just about bet that on any trip to Maine that involves me driving through Kittery Maine you can rest assure I’m stopping at this place. Growing up in New England I have seen how Kittery Trading Post has grown and expanded over the years. KTP is a lot like a Cabela’s or a Bass Pro with some animal mounts spread throughout the store but not as elaborate as those stores.

As far as product and selection where it really counts KTP hits a homerun. Just walk through the archery section or the firearm section and they have far more product and selection then any Bass Pro or Cabela’s I’ve ever been in.

I’m like a kid in a candy shop when I get inside the store and my wife knows that she’ll have a hard time dragging me out. Years when I’m on my way up to hunt in Maine I often stop here to purchase hunting, fishing licenses as well as tags. They have knowledgeable staff and if only I lived closer lots of classes on outdoor topics. KTP is on the Maine New Hampshire border and only about an hour drive from Massachusetts so easy for lots of outdoor enthusiasts to reach.
Now my interests are mainly hunting and fishing but KTP caters to many more outdoor interest then that; Kayaks, Canoes, Camping Equipment, Casual Clothing for the entire family, Maine products, and much more.

If you are traveling through the area you need to check this place out it sometime is overshadowed by the more famous outdoor retailer LL Bean but in my book KTP beats them out.

As I promised I went through some of the photos I took this past weekend while in Maine where the fall foliage was just spectacular. Here is one of my favorite shots additional fall foliage shots are posted on my photo blog Moose’s Wild America so check them out.

Hunting success rates must be in the high 90’s or so because we have such overwhelming advantages of the creatures we hunt. At least that is what some folks would have you think. I was reading Steve Black’s opinion piece on the opening of DuPont Forest for bear hunting and although I agree that development in the area has lead to some of the problems his opposition to the hunt is at best mythological view non hunters have about the sport.

I don’t believe for a second that the hunted animal ever has a sporting chance. The modern hunter has all the odds in his favor.

He has, first of all, the element of surprise. Any military man knows this is 99 percent of the battle won.

Secondly, he has a weapon powerful enough to bring down a Buick. On top of that, he has a hunting scope mounted on his weapon. (”All the better to see you with, my dear.”)

Sport? Hardly. If a modern hunter really wanted to give the animals a true sporting chance, the hunters would go after bears with a claw hammer and a pen knife.

The sporting chance, as it has been for 200 years or so, is not the equal footing of game animal and hunter to kill each other in the encounter but for the animal’s keen senses preventing the hunter from killing the animal. Beating the bear’s nose is a tough undertaking and I would say that for you to enter the bears comfort zone or home area without being detected by his nose is no small feat. I doubt there is much element of surprise. There is little doubt that few men armed with a hammer or a pen knife would win the battle with a black bear but to even suggest that method should be how a hunt should be conducted is ridiculous.

Developments in the prime bear habitat of this state is no doubt having a huge impact on the bear population and the increase of human / bear encounters in the area. In recent years individuals have been killed by black bears and to ignore the problem is only asking for this horror to happen again. Although many of us hate to see the development of raw land the rights of private land owners is what this country was founded on. Much of the protected land in this state from development was secured through monies raised by hunters and conservation groups.

Bear population in this state is also rising and whether you like it or not the only proven method for keeping wildlife populations in check is hunting. Bears are a renewable resource and allowing the hunting of this majestic creature will only further secure the population and keep this animal from being completely removed from the North Carolina landscape.

Will the bear hunt in DuPont Forest result in the harvesting of any bears? Hard to say, last year a hunt was held in the eastern part of the state that was having bear problems and the hunters did not kill a single bear. So much for the odds being stacked in their favor. I’ll give you this a bear in DuPont Forest has much better odds then the steer grown on a farm for your local Piggly Wiggly Grocery Store. Think about that Steve next time you’re leaning over the meat counter picking out that perfect steak for your weekend BBQ.

Maine is one of a handful of states that has a Chaplain as part of the warden service. When you think about the variety of tragedies and rescues that most State Wildlife Agencies are called on to perform it seems to make a lot of sense to have a Chaplain as part of the professional staff.

I came across this CNN report on the Maine Warden Service Chaplain Kate Braestrup and her story while wrapped in tragedy with the untimely death of her husband a Maine State Trooper Killed in the line of Duty and the path she took to become a chaplain.

Her husband, Maine State Police Trooper Drew Griffith, was killed in 1996 when a truck slammed into his cruiser about a mile from home, leaving Braestrup to raise their four young children by herself.
Although he was 15 years from retirement, Griffith’s long-term plan was to attend seminary and pursue a second career as a minister. Braestrup took on that dream and went on to become chaplain of the Maine Warden Service, helping people who find themselves in the midst of sudden tragedy not unlike her own.

The entire CNN Story is a good one and well worth the time to read. This sounds like a worthwhile program that more states might want to look at adding. Maine is a big state and it sounds like she travels where ever the need is. She even has on occasion blessed some of the wildlife as well;

And yes, she did on one occasion bless a moose. It happened when she was in Presque Isle and arrived at the scene of one of Maine’s all-too-frequent car-moose collisions. The motorist was unhurt, but the big animal was mortally injured.
At the driver’s behest, Braestrup placed her hand on the moose as it raised its head and then died.
“I said this little prayer, and then I thought, ‘Oh my God, I just did last rites on a moose!”‘

The opportunity came up for me to travel up to New England for this past week so I’ve been on the road. I got to visit with some family and old friends as well as make some new ones along the way. As I often do I let a sample of some of my photos tell you about my trip.

Humpback Whale

Nuble Light Maine

Moonlight

Black Bear White Mountains National Forest

Cow Moose feeding in pond

Hope you enjoy them.

This is the second post in a series of posts on places that have a holiday atmosphere around hunting. Yesterday I covered Massachusetts and the opening of deer firearm season this is the state I first learned to hunt. Today I’ll post a little bit about Maine and the rich hunting traditions I enjoyed when I lived there in the 90’s. In Maine there are two very important opening days and those are the opening of partridge season and resident opening day to firearm deer season.

Opening day of partridge season, and for those who don’t know a partridge is also called a ruffled grouse, is started with a traditional hunters breakfast. In the south we have all kinds of civic groups that fund raise with BBQ’s or fish fries but in Maine they hold hunters breakfasts. These breakfasts start well before sun up and the menu includes many traditional favorites’ eggs, pancakes, home fries, bacon, sausage, toast and one surprising item and that is bake beans. Bake beans are and old traditional New England staple, as kids we had them every Saturday Night for supper. Which reminds me of an old New England Proverb “He who eats beans on Saturday night sits in pew alone on Sunday morning” well anyways I’m digressing. Bake Beans are good because they stick with ya a long time and it can be a long time till lunch time. The breakfasts are usually a festive a fare with door prizes being handed out and lots of wild stories being told.

The opening day partridge breakfast is really just a warm up for the big event resident opening day of firearm season. Maine is the destination for many non resident hunters but at least one day a year the Maine residents have the woods to themselves on the first Saturday of firearm season. The day starts early with hunter’s breakfasts opening earlier enough to give hunters ample time to reach their hunting spot before first light. The breakfast menu and many of the activities were the same as the Partridge opening except on a grander scale. My dad who was not a hunter would often join my brother and I at the local hunters breakfast for the good meal and to be part of one of the most significant social events for many of these small communities. The truth of the matter is that probably about half of the people attending the breakfast don’t hunt deer. I’ll tell you this if your ever in Maine and see a sign for a hunters breakfast you should check it out. Any effects the consumption of beans has on you should be overcome by Sunday morning.

Next up will look at some traditional opening days in North Carolina.