If you love Aroostook as I do than you have seen images of our lovely County all over the internet or in your local paper. Some of these are the icons of County life. It has been my pleasure to meet alot of these gifted photographers and artists of all kinds. Their art acts as a beacon to us that love this place so. Shining brilliance upon the places, people and things we may have been taking for granted. The Cyrs of Northern Maine have been amomg them. Although my relationship with them is a new found friendship. I hope to tell the world about their art and that they may count me as a friend from here on.

A Brief Biography:

The eclectic works of Debra and Gene Cyr are inspired by Maine’s rural character where nature is the true artist. Their job, as they see it, is to capture what has been so beautifully laid out before them. Living in the far northern region of Maine inspires them to be a part of this world of living things and the vast outdoors, doing their best to be out in nature every day taking photos, but at the same time trying to have as little impact on our natural resources as possible. Capturing the beauty around them with their cameras, but at the same time leaving it exactly as it was so others coming after them can see it as they witnessed it.

Artist Statement:

Our goal is to show the rest of the world that the state of Maine is one of America’s true visual treasures. People know Maine best through scenes of our beautiful coast, but Maine is so much more. For most people northern Maine is a paradise waiting to be experienced, we hope that the experience will be made a little easier through our photos. As photographers we try to capture what nature so kindly places before us, and do it justice. As a digital artist through photo manipulations, Gene uses his imagination and creates something slightly different than what nature intended, and hopefully nature doesn’t mind.

Debra Cyr is a three time winner in the State of Maine Photo Contest.

First Place Winner Inland & Mountain Scenes Category spring 2009 for “Katahdin In Spring”

Honorable Mention winner for the Inland & Mountain Scenes category summer 2008 for “Farm Field”

First Place winner for the Wildlife category summer 2006 for “Moose Family”

Gene Cyr is a six time winner in the State of Maine Photo Contest.Honorable Mention winner for the Agriculture & Rural Life Category winter 2008 for “Winter Birch”
Honorable Mention winner for the Agriculture & Rural Life category spring 2007 for “Budding Leaves”
First Place winner for the Agriculture & Rural Life category winter 2006 for “Cherry Snow Cones”
First Place winner for the Inland & Mountain Scenes category winter 2006 for “Winter Blues”
Honorable Mention winner for the Agriculture & Rural Life category fall 2006 for “Harvest Time”
First Place winner for the Inland & Mountain Scenes category spring 2006 for “Spring Clouds”

We did our first art show last year at the Skyline Farm’s “Fertile Ground Art Exhibit and Sale” held in September. Skyline Farm is located in North Yarmouth and is a carriage museum, more info on them can be found here:

Skyline Farm

Here is a Sample Of My Aroostook:

By Debra Cyr

By Gene Cyr

If you like what you have seen here, please go to their website and see more of what they see, when they look at my beautiful Aroostook. This is but a small meager peek into the skill and artistry of the Cyrs. Take a moment to go and look at the beauty of Aroostook, as seen through their loving eyes.

©BN Reece 2009       

I just finished reading a 147-page report from MeDIFW on the future of deer hunting in Aroostook County. A rather dim forecast in light of the 50 to 65% loss we suffered in the winter of 2008. The report was actually mandated by LD823.

The mandate read: Resolve to create an effective deer habitat enhancement and coyote control program, Commissioner Roland Martin signed off on the report and the report was released in December 2007.This report predates the decimation of the deer herd in the winter of 2009. But the information there in was very interesting.

The commission established a Task Force: The Northern and Eastern Maine Deer Task Force to oversee and implement the strategies outlined in the report and to follow the directives of the committee.

The most disturbing thing to come out of this report was the insistence of all of the relevant experts. That the continued killing of does must cease until the population increases to the 10 deer per mile figure. This Bucks only strategy would include archery, muzzleloader and youth hunts. Compounded by the equally insistent statement that we have to eradicate 70% of the coyotes each year to successfully control their numbers. In this way nature allows our deer herds to recover to the point of reaching a density near that 10 per Mile figure stated. The 10 per mile figure, is based on the carrying capacity of the land specifically studied in Aroostook. That’s a lot to accept into my deer loving head, and more than a little bit impossible to assure.

Among the many options stated in the report is one I advocated a couple years ago over on the Maine Hunting Today forum and website. A complete moratorium on deer hunting in Aroostook County, that’s bucks and does. The survey we ran in 2007/2008 showed that nobody was willing to make a sacrifice of his or her hunting. All voters in the survey saw the need for more coyote control. But getting them to leave deer in the woods was not on anyone’s agenda.

We are facing some hard choices in the future and that future is now!! If we the hunters and outdoors-folks of this great county don’t roll up our sleeves and get to work on these issues. Then it’s the same as telling the rest of the state to do what they want in Aroostook, her people don’t care. We have to put an end to the decimation of the deeryards, or DWA’s as the Commission calls them. Make whatever deal has to be made with the landowners to get them to leave the yards alone. Then bring in the hunters to thin out the Coyotes. Give us back our snaring program to protect the DWA’s from the packs. Yes, despite information to the contrary, anyone with any real knowledge of the north woods. Will tell you coyotes form packs and hunt as a group and as individuals. A trait they acquired in their Eastward migration.

I cannot count the number of times I have been in the woods and had them “working” around me. Sometimes when I was tracking a deer or moose, or other times scouting an area, or while bird hunting. Catching sight of them as they circle, repeatedly. Like they were sizing me up or waiting for me to kill something. It teaches you to carry a gun everywhere you hike and at all times in the woods. I now trout fish with a gun on my hip, anytime I’m in the backcountry.

I am not here trying to explain the report as it was written. I have read it and have a better understanding of what the experts say must happen if we are to have the deer paradise we all desire. I truly feel all of us must read it and understand that now it is time to make the toughest sacrifices for our kid’s sakes. Our failure to take action now and do what must be done will surely result in the complete annihilation of our hunting tradition here in Aroostook. When the deer are eaten and gone it will be our own doing. For our sustainable hunting tradition to continue we must allow the deer to rebuild their number and turn our guns to the plague we face. Coyotes must be controlled for the deer to recover.

The herds will never recover if the coyotes are allowed to continue their proliferation. Our motto as proud Mainers and especially as proud County folk should simply be:

Kill a coyote ……save a deer!!!

I welcome all of your comments: post them here!!!

ACCA 2009 Coyote Contest

 

 

 

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I recently received an interesting email from Kurt Lane. The Treasurer of the ACCA…….Aroostook County Conservation Association. I want to share it with you:
Aroostook County Conservation Association: Sunday, March 22, 2009
As you can see by our name, we intend to involve/represent The whole of Aroostook County. I’m sure you’ll agree, the States non-management of our area is leading to tradgedy, particuly in regards to our deer herd. Many traditional yards here are showing losses of 65-85%. We organized on Jan 6 of this year, since then we have signed up over 100 members. We put on the coyote hunt to help make known to the general public the problem with winter predation, by the States own addmission the leading cause of winter loss. While we intitaly thought to start some sort of winter feeding program, research has lead us in another direction that will be a more beneficial use of our funds. Despite the availability/quality of winter feed, a deer will draw from it’s fat reserves. The key to winter survival in this regards is putting on as much fat as possible before yarding. This lead to the start of a seeding program with Irving Woodlands. We will be seeding down their winter roads and log yards with forage plants suitable for this. This promises to have a huge impact on this part of the problem. Irving has agreed to split costs and labor. The Public Lands dept here is also onboard with this program, although details have not been finalized. We hope to involve all the large woodland owners.
We have held monthly meetings at the Northeastland Hotel in Presque Isle, featuring speakers addressing the different problems our deer are facing. Gerry Lavigne, a former state biologist spoke in Feb on the predation problem, I’m sure you’ve heard of him. We had the head of Quality Deer Managment from Maine give us a presentation on food plot and benefits. Our last meeting, held on the 16th of March had our regional biologist Rich Hoppe and Maines head moose and deer biologist Lee Kantar. They spoke on the problems associated with winter feeding, but more interesting was the Q&A period on our herd in general. Despite past history, many thought the state would take some sort of action at this point. It was made clear, buisness as usual. This galvanized several individuals into preparing a citizen inititive, aimed at forcing the state into action. This is being worked on now, I expect to see the finished product in the next several weeks.
What can you do? We need members to up our political pull,as well as for our practical applications.. While we have several on the roster in your area, your part of Aroostook County is largly untapped. We need people across the county that are willing to work . We need PR. We have a huge job ahead of us. We are going to make a difference.
If at all possible,you should attend our next meeting being held on the 21st of April, 6:30 pm at the Northeastland Hotel in Presque Isle. A rep from the Whitetail Institute will be our speaker, helping us as we move into our seeding program.
If you’d like more info, feel free to contact me,or our president Jerry McLaughlin- 592-2516
Thanks
Kurt Lane; Treasurer ACCA

I will try to make it there…….how about you??

Another deer killed by Coyotes!!!!!

I took this picture last week near an area I am monitoring and taking pictures of deer in.  This doe ran off with snarling beasts ripping at it’s hindquarters. The pack that attacked didn’t kill her outright, but tore at her until she fell, then they disemboweled her alive. A  hard way to die for such a wonderful creature of God. (BN REECE2009)

Where to hunt.......check zones they have expanded since this map

For all of you moose maniacs out there like me. April first is coming fast. that is the deadline for written paper applications for the moose permits…aka the moose lottery.

Now if you are computer equipped as you must be to be seeing this……..you can go to the website and do it electronically and you have until May 15th. That site is:http://www.mefishwildlife.com

Now some added info…..what is LD929?

Seems Sen. Troy Jackson, and a few of his legislative allies have taken it upon themselves to reduce the accidents on the scary route 11 corridor from Patten to “Fort”. The new law would increase permits along that way to reduce accidents and give us more meat for the freezer. Although he sites increased spending for guides and lodgings as a chief benefit.

He’s got my vote!!!!!

Now in the group of esteemed sponsors is my own Representative Richard Cleary of  Houlton. Thank You!!!!!! I’ll remember this next election RC!!!!!

eagle cam

Here are a few pics my buddy Pete sent over…….enjoy.

The eagle has landed!!!

So beautiful!!!

The Lord of the feast!!!!

From the Dens Of Aroostook: By Brent Reece©2009

Is there anything cuter than baby bears? Nope.
These two youngsters were pulled from a den near Presque Isle, Maine. As part of the on going bear research conducted by the state.

The team:

Second from the left is biologist Randy Cross. Team leader and bear lover.

The team was out on a perfect day, just trying to complete as many surveys as our often times nasty weather would allow.

Quite the closeup!!!!

Each cub gets weighed and measured to determine the overall condition. Mom gets her turn as well. But all the data is recorded and used to help make management decisions.

It is obvious that all of the staff and volunteers who do this work truly care about what they are doing. The information they get and share about our bear populations. Is critical to the continued good healthy and recovery of the population. In light of the previous hard winters and lean mass crops to be expected in the coming year. 2009 will be the off year for mass and this could be harder on the bears than previously good crop years. Information gathered in a timely manner is the only way to know what is really going on with animal populations.

Thanks for the pics Mac…….

Any question or comments? Please leave them here… email me at aroostookbasser@yahoo.com

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 ……And how I came to hear of it and get these pictures.

The Big Bull

        John Kaplanis photo: From Thunder Bay Fishing..thanks Bottomfeeder and TerryK……. and Ivan for finding it

A few weeks ago I was doing some of usual Internet stuff and thought to check an email I only use for church related work. A very good friend of mine had forwarded me an email from a friend of his in Canada. Now being a cautious type about all things Internet. I only half believed what I saw there in that email. A tremendous bull moose that I would have guessed would go 1200 lbs. And had a spread, based on the hunters stature, to be about 70 inches. Included in that email were the following pictures…….

Using The Wheeler is the only way to move such a critter.

Hanging.....WoW!!!

The hunter…….Fred H. (read more at Muskoka Outdoors)

The Lucky Hunter

Up Close.....way more impressive.

All of these pics were from either a hunting companion or relative of our lucky hunter. They clearly show the work involved in recovering what had to be the trophy of a lifetime.

In an effort to know more I requested an interview with the hunter through the same source who sent me the pictures. I have been waiting for an answer ever since. I got my answer a few days ago when my Moose Guide buddy Ivan found the picture you saw first, posted on a “Walleye Fishing Forum in Canada”. The topic of discussion was this huge moose. Now previously I had given another friend, Bill Anderson over at Muskoka Outdoors permission to write a blog entry of his own using the pics I had sent him. (Trying to learn more about this trophy story.) Them being in the public domain the way they were he had every right to write the entry without asking. But being a friend he knew I was working on a piece for my blog.

Now according to the forum posts the publicized numbers are as follows: 64 ½” wide and 229+ Boone and Crocket Points. That makes for one sweet trophy. Now I don’t fault the hunter for wanting to keep wraps on his story. Especially if he is looking to make some green off his good fortune. (Look at the first picture posted here and you will see he has posed well for a Remington ad.)

This should be warning to others though. Don’t let your pics get emailed around if you are keeping a secret, or trying to sell the story. It may just write itself.

If you have any comments please post them here: or email me at aroostookbasser@yahoo.com