There is a much bigger issue in Maine right now, it is not a question of where you can bait or what the rules are but rather is there any future in it at all. In case hunters reading this are not aware of what is going on in Maine please take a few miuets and read this post.
This November the people of Maine will be faced with a referendum question that will outlaw bear hunting over bait, with dogs and trapping. This referendum is being brought to Maine by the US Human Society anf the Friends of Animals, based out of Falmouth Maine and headed up by a guy named Robert Fisk. This is a huge and serious concern for all hunters in Maine. Here are some of the facts. This referendum is on the ballot during an election year, that is no accident. 91% of the money to fund thier effort is from out of state and they have deep pockets. Here is the real issues. 1) Should public opinion be used to make policy to controll the bear population in Maine. Currently we have the best bear biologist in the country. If they win and bear baiting is banned we will see a serious rise in the bear population in Maine and all the problem associated with it with no way to remedy it. 2) if they win, Maine will loose 10 million in revenue income that come from the hunting season. This is a poor state, the out of state money funding this initiative doen't care who looses a job in this state, they only want to end all hunting and will chip away at it one species at a time. So I don't right a book on this here is what I will ask everyone in the hunting community to do. Please go on line to The Sportsman Alliance of Maine web site and the Dpartment of Inland fisheries and Wildlife and read all the information regarding this upcoming referendum. They update the sites often as new information is available. Finally, try to get organizations to help us in this fight. We need money and support. States can no longer be expected to act alone on these issues, we need to ban together, we are a much stronger group collectivly than when we stand alone. The Sportsman Alliance can give a list of supporters from across the country, and the list is growing. The bottom line is, these anti hunting groups have national support and tend to focus one state at a time and dump everything they have into that one state. We need your help to fight back. If we loose the bear hunt in Maine, they will back to ban someother form of Hunting. Thaks for taking the time to read this, Please check the SAM web site and try to help.