State’s efforts at controlling invasive fish ‘laughable’

It’s hard to find an advocate for milfoil. Boaters, fishermen and camp owners all fear the noxious weed.

But when state regulators start considering the problem of invasive fish, the issue becomes as muddled and snarled as that infamous plant.

Some “foreign” species, like bass, have lived in Maine for hundreds of years, and spawned a valuable game fishery. But these bass eat the trout and landlocked salmon that made Maine’s name as a fisherman’s paradise.

At a meeting to discuss the state’s aquatic invasive species action plan this week, George Smith of the Sportsman’s Alliance of Maine, complained that the state’s efforts at controlling invasive fish have been “woefully inadequate” and “laughable.”

“Yes, there’s been some hand-wringing about it, but there’s been no decisive action,” Smith said. “We are losing our fishing heritage all over the state, and we’re doing nothing to stop it.”

Only one person has ever been prosecuted for illegally introducing fish to a Maine lake, Smith said.

The state’s plan proposes spending as much as a half-million dollars annually to eradicate invasive species. However, Smith criticized the state’s choices, particularly the Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife’s decision to manage invasions of perch, pike and bass with seasons and bag limits and proposed killing off nuisance fish. He wants DIF&W to go after bass and perch with the same level of enthusiasm they do milfoil.

“‘Can’t do’, is the only way to describe the department’s policy,” he said

Bear bait

As bruin hunters well know, baiting for the 2002 bear season started two weeks ago in anticipation of the Aug. 26 season opening.

But hunters who choose to shoot over bait may have a rough year. Because natural food is plentiful, few bears will be drawn to baits this fall, wildlife biologist Randy Cross said recently.

Bears killed during the Aug. 26-Sept. 21 bait season will likely be few this year.

However, the abundant natural food will keep black bears active into late fall, giving hunters more opportunity. Bear season lasts through Nov. 30, but in slim years, the animals might hibernate as early as September, Cross said.

“If they don’t have anything to eat, they just go to bed,” he said.

The biologist predicted a five-fold increase in bears shot during deer hunting season this fall, and an overall kill that could rival last year’s record 3,900 bears. Last year only 103 bears were killed in November.

Dollars for ducks

The local chapter of Ducks Unlimited is taking reservations for its 31st annual fundraising banquet and auction, scheduled at 5:30 p.m., Sept. 19.

Last year, the event raised more than $12,000 for waterfowl habitat conservation projects.

The event will be held at the Bangor Conference Center on Hogan Road. Tickets cost $45 per person, or $60 per couple and must be purchased in advance. The popular event typically draws more than 100 people, so early reservations are recommended.

For more information, contact Peter Bartley at 862-2650, Tom Duff at 989-6082, or David Poll at 947-4616.

Salmon celebrity

The Down East conflict between blueberry growers and Atlantic salmon has received national attention in a new environmental history book called “Water Follies.”

The book, written by Arizona law professor Robert Jerome Glennon, examines the use and abuse of groundwater nationwide.

Glennon cites local reports about the conflict, including those published in the Bangor Daily News. He concludes that Maine, with its abundance of groundwater, is “ill-equipped” to deal with water conflicts, and that the dispute, ironically, has improved Maine’s groundwater planning by raising public awareness.

“Water Follies” is being published by Island Press in Washington, D.C. and will be available in October. For more information, call 202-232-7933.

To submit an item for publication in the Outdoor Notebook, e-mail medgecomb@bangordailynews.net, fax to 941-9476, or mail information to Outdoor Notebook, Bangor Daily News, P.O. Box 1329, Bangor, Maine 04402-1329.