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Thursday, June 13, 2002
Moose hunters learn lottery fate
Copyright © 2002 Blethen Maine Newspapers Inc. | ||||||
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Also on this page: LOTTERY RESULTS | |||||
BUCKSPORT — Neither Jerry Markley nor Joel Farley remembered the new box on his 2002 Maine moose hunt application form. But while Farley, who was a first-time permit winner in the annual lottery Wednesday, said the newest wrinkle in the moose hunt made no difference to him, Markley, the first one drawn in the lottery, said it made all the difference in guaranteeing a memorable hunt. The tiny box in this year's application gave would-be hunters a choice. They could indicate that they would accept an antlerless-only moose permit, which would let them hunt only a cow moose, or they could choose to pass on it, even if it was the only permit available when their name was drawn. The new option meant hunters could turn down a cow permit without losing their bonus points, which help increase their chances of getting drawn each year. Markley, of Penobscot, said he would rather not get a permit than have to hunt a female moose, or cow, which is smaller than the male. After putting on his reading glasses and re-reading the tiny box, he said he definitely checked it off. "You might only get the one chance," said Markley at Wednesday's lottery at Bucksport High School. "I know some people who are pushing 70 (years old) who have never been drawn. They feel they don't want to waste it on a cow." This year the state issued 495 antlerless permits and 2,505 any-moose permits, which allow hunters to shoot either sex. There were 84,725 Maine residents who applied for a moose permit and 24,308 nonresidents. Of those two pools of applicants, 93 percent of the residents said they would take either permit and 64 percent of the nonresidents said they would accept either. Samantha Horn Olsen, the Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife data manager, said the fact a good one-third of the nonresidents wanted to pass up a cow permit made the new option worthwhile. Department spokesman Mark Latti said before the cow-permit system was implemented three years ago, the vast majority of hunters chose to kill a bull moose, as many as 80 percent. With certain roads in the state seeing a high number of moose-related automobile accidents, the department wanted to thin the moose populations in those areas, Latti said. The best way to do that was to increase the number of female moose taken in the hunt, he added. "The population growth in places like Jackman needed to be slowed, to trim the population," Latti said. "But people want that trophy moose." Both Markley and Farley, of Ellsworth, have put in for a moose permit nearly every year the lottery has been held. Many at Wednesday's lottery agreed with Markley, saying they view the hunt as flawed if they are denied a trophy rack. Many others, like Farley, said they entered the hunt for the meat or the unique, tough-to-get experience surrounding the Maine moose hunt. Zeke Gaddis of East Machias said he would have been happy with any kind of permit, but if he got an any-moose permit, he would go after a moose with a rack. "Bulls are bigger — and the trophy," Gaddis said. Tim Reeves also said he would have been happy with any permit. To Reeves, the moose hunt is all about experienceing a unique cultural event in Maine, much like Wednesday's lottery was for him and his wife, Cecilia. The two Georgians included the stop at Bucksport High as part of their spring trip to Maine. "This is our fourth trip here," he said. "We went to Bar Harbor, Greenville. We saw 22 moose there. "We came up to fish, but we had to see this. Everybody gets into it — for a little town." Staff Writer Deirdre Fleming can be contacted at 791-6452 or at: dfleming@pressherald.com
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