Mildest Maine Winter on Record
 

On the evening news the other day they said that this is the mildest Maine winter on record. I'm hoping, if that's the case, that it will have a great effect on the deer herd. May we all find 300 pound dressed weight whitetails in November 2002!<img src=icon_smile_big.gif border=0 align=middle>

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RE: Mildest Maine Winter on Record
 

I've never seen a winter like this in the County. No snow for Christmas, little snow on the ground around Caribou right now. I can't ever remember drilling less than a foot of ice like this past weekend. And I've never seen it where the deer haven't yarded. Been a good winter for them.

RE: Mildest Maine Winter on Record
 

So Portage, do you think there may be a few more submissions than normal to the Biggest Bucks in Maine Club next season?

RE: Mildest Maine Winter on Record
 

Don't know about more entries but I can't see where this winter hurt the herd at all. We don't have a foot of snow on the ground now and they have had pretty easy going all season. There are still deer feeding in the fields outside of town, something I've never seen in February and early March. I don't know if we could get enough snow to really hurt them badly now. The next month will tell.

RE: Mildest Maine Winter on Record
 

Mainehunter,

How was the winter on the coast? My parents have a house in South Addision and I usually get down a couple of times to icefish Tunk Lake (skunk lake). Didn't get a chance this winter.

RE: Mildest Maine Winter on Record
 

I think on the news the other day they were saying Nj had the third warmest winter in history. Not much snow for us and I love snow. I miss it can you tell me what it looks like, I just don't remember lol

Brian

RE: Mildest Maine Winter on Record
 

Portage-Downeast usually gets less snow and has milder temps and this year has been no different. With all the warm temps any snow that did come down didn't stay. We had more problems from ice as the daily melt off tended to freeze during the overnight.

445-Snow.....Isn't that the white stuff that I usually have to shovel more times a year than I care to recall? I honestly don't think I've had to shovel out the driveway more than 3 or 4 times this year. Many years it's a once a week (sometimes several times a week) event. Whatever games Mother Nature is playing, my back sincerely appreciates the result. Hopefully my freezer will as well come November 2002!

RE: Mildest Maine Winter on Record
 

Good news,,,,Lets hope it stays this way..The herd needs to recover....
Keep your fingers crossed..

RE: Mildest Maine Winter on Record
 

WE WILL NEED A LOT OF RAIN IN MARCH &APRIL OR WE WILL BE FIGHTING FOREST FIRES ALL SPRING

RE: Mildest Maine Winter on Record
 

Very easy in Washington County Maine this year no snow on the ground here for a month. More deer are showing up earlier and in the best shape since i can't remember when. I hope it is a sign that the herd is building back in this area. We have had two or three easy winters in a row and the coyote pop. seems to be thinning out according to the woodsmen I have talked to. Less micromanaging from Augusta would be helpful. Nuture seems to handle things pretty well.

[ :) phil-d

Phil-D

RE: Mildest Maine Winter on Record
 

Phil-D, it's amazing isn't it that good old mother nature seems to be able to take care of things just fine in the absence of Man's all knowing and intrusive wisdom?
The deer are plentiful back home in Waldo County. I see them every day on MDI as well but as you probably know that's National Park area so they become pretty tame there. I work in Bar Harbor and on many occasions have come out to my vehicle and found deer within 20 or 30 feet without a care that I was around. I see them more mornings than not out in the fields on the mainland side of the island. The fields in Trenton too.
The deer are certainly here but I do hope the mild weather will boost their numbers none the less. I think the habitat can handle the greater numbers (especially in areas like yours) and it sure does make life more exciting to see the deer out and about.

RE: Mildest Maine Winter on Record
 

I talked to my friends in Unity last week and they are seeing 30-40 deer in the fields too...Thats about 30-40 more than we seen in Nov.... A month to go....

RE: Mildest Maine Winter on Record
 

Have hunted and vacationed in Maine for 25 years. Have a place in West Newfield.Have never seen the ground almost snowless in late February and early March.The deer herd in our area took a beating last winter. This is just what the doctor ordered.The deer needed
an easy winter this year.Hopefully they can get through the rest of March with little or no snow.Should make for a decent hunting season
this year.

RE: Mildest Maine Winter on Record
 

Archer-I've never really had a &quot;bad&quot; hunting season here in Maine. They have all been enjoyable and I can't remember one in which I didn't at least SEE deer. I do know what you mean though. I hope we all see more than usual and our freezers are filled. This winter (if we can still call it that) will help to make the coming season that much more of a great experience.

RE: Mildest Maine Winter on Record
 

Mainehunter-I have always had good hunts in Maine.It is a fall
ritual to hunt up north.We have had great hunting in your state
for the most part.We don't all get deer every year but we enjoy just being out there. What do you think of the increases in hunting
licenses the Fish and Game dept. has asked for?I think the state should fund the some of the departments budget if they are using them for non-wildlife services.They can't expect the hunters and fishermen
to fund the whole dept.and it is not just the non-residents that are getting slammed with higher fees, you residents are getting hit as hard if not harder than the non-residents.

RE: Mildest Maine Winter on Record
 

Archer-I'm not really sure of the status of the request to hike up the license fees. I'm a member of the Sportman's Alliance of Maine (SAM) and I know they blasted the department at a public hearing on the issue a few weeks back. The impression I got from the SAM feedback was that it looked like the overwhelming opinion was that the request for the increases was going to be tossed out. I think my latest copy of the SAM newsletter got thrown away but I will let you know the status of that request when I find out.
On the topic of a mild winter, I had to laugh Saturday. My wife spent the last week in Florida visiting her parents. She flew back here Saturday arriving after 8:00 PM. As the plane touched down the pilot told the passengers that for those that came from Florida wearing shorts (as it was 94 degrees there) he wanted to let them know that it was 24 degrees in Bangor! Some of the looks on the faces of those passengers as they left the airport were priceless!

RE: Mildest Maine Winter on Record
 

The fee increases were shot down.

RE: Mildest Maine Winter on Record
 

Portage-Thanks for the info. They must have gotten the message.

RE: Mildest Maine Winter on Record
 

Here's the link to the SAM report on the license fee hike.

http://www.samcef.org/news/article.asp?ID=33


[Rep. Dave Trahan expressed his opinion that it was a mistake to even offer “such a drastic proposal.
It turned people in my district into rabid dogs. I was threatened with tar and feathers,” he reported.]

Now that sounds like some Maine folk using the system properly!!

Edited by - Mainehunter on 03/19/2002 08:33:35