Marsh Island Cooperative Agreement Announced by Maine DIFW
OutdoorHub 08.30.11
AUGUSTA, Maine – The Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife is opening the Marsh Island area in Old Town and Orono to archery hunting for whitetail deer, beginning with the upcoming season, following an approval from the MDIFW Advisory Council.
Marsh Island will now be open to deer hunting during any hunting season that allows the use of a bow and arrow, including the expanded archery season. University of Maine lands, however, will remain closed to any hunting.
The expanded archery season begins Sept. 10, 2011 and runs through December 10, 2011.
“We are extremely appreciative of the cooperation from the University of Maine, the Town of Orono, the City of Old Town and the Maine Bowhunters Association,” said Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife Commissioner Chandler Woodcock. “Without their tireless efforts, this would certainly not be possible.”
A controlled archery hunt first took place on Marsh Island in 2008 as a way to assist Orono and Old Town with long-standing nuisance deer and public safety concerns. The effort continued in 2009 and 2010, with the Maine Bowhunters Association taking the lead through their Bowhunters Landowners Information Program (BLIP).
More than 40 deer were harvested safely and effectively in both the 2009 and 2010 controlled hunts.
“I strongly feel that the MBA and the BLIP archers clearly demonstrated that bow hunting can be a safe and effective management tool to address this type of challenging problem, especially for municipalities with firearm discharge ordinances in place,” said MDIFW Regional Wildlife Biologist Mark Caron. “It took all of us six years to get to this point, but we all hung in there, worked together, and finally were able to make this happen.”
Expanded archery in urban and suburban areas where firearms are restricted is a critical tool to keep deer numbers in check and reduce negative impacts from high deer densities. Road collisions, deer browsing in gardens and on ornamental plants and brush, and the risk of Lyme disease are all increased when deer population densities grow too steep.
“The Maine Bowhunters Association takes great pride in the team effort conducted with the State and the municipalities to educate and demonstrate the value of bowhunting,” said Daniel Long, MBA President. “Our goal is to continue to work to improve landowner relations and ensure a high public regard for bowhunting throughout the State of Maine.”
