Moose permit bill draws fire from state, anti-gun groups

In Birmingham, Ala., Dennis Campbell dreamed of hunting a moose in the northern Maine woods.

So in 2000, the sportsman paid $8,500, more than 20 times the cost of a nonresident moose permit, to bypass Maine’s highly competitive moose lottery. Campbell bought his permit in the Maine Moose Auction, a little-known event that attracts a few dozen wealthy bidders each year seeking to win one of five chances.

Campbell said this week that his 900-pound bull moose trophy was well worth the investment.

If a bill introduced by Sen. John Martin, D-Eagle Lake, gains legislative approval, twice as many hunters would be able to buy the right to a moose permit each fall, and they might pay even higher prices to participate in the coveted hunt.

Martin’s bill has raised objections from state officials and the ire of anti-gun groups, however, because he proposes turning over responsibility for the auction, and half the revenue to the National Rifle Association.

“We don’t think the NRA has done anything to deserve that kind of support from the people of Maine,” said William Harwood, president of Maine Citizens Against Handgun Violence.

Inland Fisheries and Wildlife Commissioner Lee Perry does not support the proposed expansion of the moose auction because additional money that is raised will not necessarily benefit conservation efforts in Maine, DIF&W spokesman Mark Latti said Thursday. Nothing in the bill requires that the NRA spend its portion of the auction proceeds within Maine.

“There’s really no added benefit to us,” Latti said. “This would direct money out of state at a time when we have difficulty getting fish and wildlife funds. To do something that would send money out of state just doesn’t make sense.”

Friday, Martin’s office announced that the bill will likely be withdrawn Monday after a brief public hearing because of a legal problem first noticed by Commissioner Perry. Involving a private organization such as the NRA in the auction would limit the state’s ability to accept federal funds for the DIF&W, Perry said.

Maine’s Moose Auction was created by the Legislature in 1993 to allow five hunters to purchase their moose permits instead of taking a chance in the lottery. Hunters pay $25 to participate in the auction and individual bids have ranged between $6,000 and $13,500. The five successful bidders get to choose the week and geographic region in which they hunt.

Since the first auction in 1995, the program has raised between $35,000 and $50,000 annually for the DIF&W – a total of more than $300,000 over the past seven years.

All moose auction revenue is set aside for scholarships to the Maine Summer Conservation School in Princeton. The camp offers outdoor education programs for as many as 300 Maine children between the ages of 10 and 12.

Martin’s bill, An Act to Provide Funding for Conservation Education, would increase the number of auctioned permits to 10. The NRA, which is described, but not specifically named in the bill, would facilitate the auction and keep half the funds to further its mission.

Martin said Friday that his primary concern is with a lack of firearms education programs in Maine.

“We haven’t done very well in training people to use firearms,” said the Aroostook County senator. “In many areas of Maine, we don’t really even have gun safety courses for people who want to get into hunting.”

Martin said Friday that he would welcome amendments to his bill. Whether the NRA, a local group such as Sportsman’s Alliance of Maine, or the state, provides the courses is not a big issue, he said.

“I don’t particularly care where it’s done. I just care that it is done,” Martin said.

The attraction among wealthy out-of-staters in getting a chance to hunt a Maine moose could extend far beyond five or even 10 permits, and a great deal of money could be raised for conservation and gun safety programs, he said.

The vast majority of bidders in the annual moose auction are not residents of Maine, and past high-bidders have hailed from as far as California, Montana and Illinois.

Last fall, the moose auction received 46 bids from outside Maine and just two bids from Maine residents. In the regular moose lottery last fall, 63,000 Maine hunters competed for 2,700 permits, while 22,000 nonresident hunters competed for only 300 permits, Latti said.

“The odds are very poor for a nonresident in the lottery,” Campbell said. “There are people who put in for years and years without getting a permit, and this was just a hunt that I wanted to do.”

It costs between $10 and $30 for an out-of-state hunter to participate in the regular moose lottery. If successful, the hunter is required to get a nonresident big game hunting license for $85 and also pay a nonresident moose permit fee of $300, for a grand total of about $400 per moose.

Bidders in the moose auction have paid as much as 35 times that cost. In some western states, however, auctioning off the right to hunt a single trophy animal, such as an elk, has raised hundreds of thousands of dollars for conservation efforts.

Martin believes that turning the auction over to a powerful national organization will give it greater visibility and prompt higher bids. The department already advertises the auction at sportsman’s shows and in hunting and fishing publications, but the weight of the NRA or some similar group could make the auction a truly national phenomenon , he said.

“I think it’ll go national – you’ll end up with more money,” Martin said.

The Joint Standing Committee on Inland Fisheries and Wildlife will hold a public hearing on the bill at 1 p.m. Monday, March 25, in Room 206 of the Cross Office Building in Augusta.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.