AUGUSTA – More than $50,000 was raised for youth conservation education scholarships in Maine through the 2002 Maine Moose Permit Auction. Five sportsmen bid a total of $54,967 in a sealed-bid auction for the privilege to hunt moose in Maine during the 2002 season. The winning bids were revealed Friday.

All of the money derived from the auction goes to partial scholarships that will help send 300 Maine youngsters to the Maine Summer Conservation School at Bryant Pond and the Greenland Point Center in Princeton. At these five-day camps, youngsters ages 10-12 take part in an array of outdoor and classroom activities. Students work with experienced instructors and counselors, as well as staff from the Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife and other state and private conservation agencies.

The auction was created by the Legislature and began in 1995. It allows the DIF&W to publicly auction five moose permits.

Conservation camp programs are designed to teach the boys and girls of Maine the importance of conservation, a respect for the environment, and a working knowledge of outdoor skills. Subjects taught at the camp include wildlife identification, introduction to fishing, boating safety, archery, firearms handling, hunter safety, forest conservation, and map and compass work.

Both camps are still accepting applications for this summer’s schools. The partial scholarships are still available and distributed on a first-come, first-serve basis. Interested applicants can call the Greenland Point Center in Princeton at 255-1291 or Maine Conservation School in Bryant Pond at 665-2068 for an application.

These five hunters will join 2002 moose permit holders in the annual moose hunt during the 2002 moose hunting season: Arthur Gutierrez of Weston, Mass.; Arthur Gutierrez Jr. of Charlestown, Mass.; Dennis Bailey of Pelham, N.H.; William Bodle of Lewiston, Ohio; and Richard St. Hilaire Jr. of Turner.

Winning bids ranged from $10,101 to $11,327.