More Mainers are spending their time watching wildlife, while fewer are hunting and fishing, according to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

A report released this month by the 2001 Survey of Fishing, Hunting and Wildlife-Associated Recreation found that Maine ties with Montana for the highest percentage of wildlife watchers.

Fifty-two percent of the state’s natives and visitors engaged in wildlife observation. The pastime raised an estimated $560,382 in Maine, the survey said.

Nationwide, about 82 million Americans participated in some wildlife-related activity during 2001, according to the survey, which is conducted by the Census Bureau every five years.

About two-thirds of this activity was wildlife watching – which can include observing, feeding and photographing animals.

In Maine, where hunting and fishing have traditionally been important to the state’s economy, the same trend emerged.

An estimated 164,000 people hunted and 376,000 people fished here during 2001, but the survey counted 920,000 wildlife watchers last year – twice the number of sportsmen.

Sportsman speaker

A director from the National Rifle Association will make the keynote speech at the Sportsman’s Alliance of Maine September banquet.

Craig Sandler, executive director of general operations for the NRA, will speak at the Sept. 7 banquet in Freeport.

Among Sandler’s responsibilities are the association’s education and community programs. He spent a career in law enforcement in New Hampshire, then lived in Maine for several years before going to work for the NRA.

Banquet tickets cost $35 for individuals or $60 for couples. For more information about the event, contact Kelly Cochara at SAM at 622-5503 or members@samcef.org.

The state of Maine lakes

Scientists and outdoor sports enthusiasts will gather at the University of Maine-Farmington today for the 2002 Maine Lakes Conference.

John McPhedran of the Maine Department of Environmental Protection, will present the state’s draft plan for handling milfoil and other invasive plant species. Members of the public are invited to attend and comment on the plan, which will be finalized by September.

Katherine Webster, a professor of limnology (the study of lakes) at the University of Maine, will give the keynote address – a discussion of the impact that climate change has had on Maine’s lakes and ponds.

The conference will begin at 9 a.m. Saturday, and conclude at 4 p.m. Admission is $10 per person.

Cleaner boating

As the summer boating season begins, Maine’s watercraft businesses have pledged to encourage their buyers to consider environmentally responsible engines.

The voluntary “Get on Board” initiative was created by a coalition of environmental and industry groups.

Modeled after a similar New Hampshire program, the initiative is designed to encourage the sale of low-pollution two-and four-stroke engines. Retailers hope to sell 95 percent of their boats with these “clean” engines by 2005. The standard is required by 2006 under federal law.

“This initiative shows what we can accomplish through consumer choice,” said Martha Kirkpatrick, commissioner of the DEP. “It presents the opportunity to keep pollution from fouling the waterways.”

Outdoor notebook items may be sent to Misty Edgecomb, BDN, P.O. Box 1329, Bangor, Maine, 04401, or medgecomb@bangordailynews.net