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Old Town and Orono are making plans to allow a limited deer bowhunt scheduled for next year. The hunt is to be carried out on private property owned by willing residents of Marsh Island. The hunt will not take place on University of Maine property, which has some officials concerned about the potential for increased deer problems on campus.
“The hunt will take a tightly regulated approach,” said Mark Caron, a wildlife biologist with Maine Inland Fisheries and Wildlife. The proposed plan calls for a two-week bowhunt with the consent of private landowners. Only a restricted number of hunters who have completed the Maine Bowhunters Association’s Bowhunters-Landowners Information Program recieve permits.
Caron will meet with representatives from Orono and Old Town again in 2007 to finalize plans for the hunt, which will be organized by the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife.
Representatives from the UMaine, Old Town, Orono and Inland Fisheries and Wildlife met two years ago to discuss how to thin the deer herd on Marsh Island. They came up with a proposal that would allow a two-week archery hunt, most likely taking place in December.
Marsh Island is a state-designated game management area that allows trapping. According to the Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife, the island’s deer population is estimated at 30 per square mile north of Stillwater Avenue and 60 per square mile south of Stillwater Avenue. The optimum number of deer per square mile is considered to be 15.
For years, residents of Marsh Island have dealt with deer in their gardens and streets. The animals, although sometimes welcome, are more often considered a nuisance because of their overpopulation on the island. The deer cause a variety of problems, including crop damage and car accidents, and can be hosts to ticks that carry Lyme disease.
UMaine, owner of 25 percent of the land in Old Town, has decided not to participate and will not allow hunting in the University Forest.
“There have only been two occasions in the past five years of deer crashing into academic buildings and only a few traffic accidents with no resulting injuries,” UMaine Public Safety Chief Noel March said.
According to March, the safety concerns are simply too great for the university to authorize a hunt on its land. However, with hunting elsewhere on Marsh Island, there is the possibility that deer may seek refuge on university property, which may lead to an increase in problems including on-campus accidents or other nuisance complaints. March said that if such an event were to occur, university officials would need to rethink their position on allowing access to UMaine land for approved hunters.
University officials also fear that there might be a backlash of student and public opinion if they were to take part in the hunt. Such a hunt could increase the potential for injuries since the university woods are used for recreation by members of the UMaine community and the public.
Old Town and Orono may continue the hunt indefinitely, according to Old Town City Manager Peggy Daigle. “It took us a while to make the decision because there were a lot of political issues and safety concerns,” she said.
According to the Maine Bowhunters Association, many Maine towns have taken similar steps to diminish their deer herds. Bucksport administered a similar hunt to reduce the numbers of deer and still have not reported any problems. After acquiring permits, the qualified bowhunters successfully diminished the deer population in Bucksport and continue to do so annually.
Other towns, such as Wells, allow the bowhunters to hunt deer for two weeks each December. The reduction shows signs of success, but is slow in producing results because of the large number of deer in the area.
Bangor Daily News