2,585 – the few chosen for ’03 moose hunt

OLD TOWN – A Bangor woman got her first moose permit Tuesday night – while wearing a moose.

Specifically, Rae Fournier-Wren was wearing the hide of a 720-pound bull moose that her then-15-year-old daughter, Morgan, shot two years ago.

“We don’t waste any parts,” she said, describing how the family had the entire hide tanned so that she could dress up, complete with hunter-orange hat, vest, gloves and sneakers. The heavy rack, however, had to go. As it was, Wren had to rest her long snout on a friend’s shoulder.

“This is the premier appearance,” said Wren, who introduced herself as Elmyra Fudd.

Wren’s euphoric victory dance was, for many, the highlight of Tuesday night’s annual moose-permit drawing. This year, the Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife selected 2,585 of 78,003 applicants to participate in the fall 2003 moose hunt.

This will be Maine’s 24th hunt, and the first in which the number of permits declined from the previous year. State biologists recommended the drop from 3,000 permits because of uncertain data about the moose population.

Officially, the state’s herd is estimated at 29,000 animals, but anecdotal data about moose sightings suggested to state biologist Karen Morris that a winter tick outbreak could be leading to increased calf mortality. If the state is going to err, it should be on the side of caution, she said last winter.

Fewer people applied this year, however, so the odds were the same as always – slim. Somewhere around 3 percent of applicants typically get a moose permit, and, in a good year, 80 percent of those favored hunters actually bring home a moose.

More than 300 optimists turned out for the lottery at the Old Town Elks Lodge on Tuesday night.

Bob Karlavine traveled from Scranton, Pa., in the hope of hearing his name. The lifelong hunter has applied every year since the hunt started in 1980, with no luck. He’ll have to try again next year.

Roger Duprey of Fairfield sat with grandson Corey Lee, 12, hoping to introduce the boy to Maine’s most famous hunt. The moose hunt is special, even for a guide who makes hunting his life, Duprey said.

“It’s fabulous,” he said.

But for this year, the twosome will have to make do participating in Youth Deer Day.

“It’s once in a lifetime,” said James Cyr of Old Town, after learning that he will be hunting in the fall.

Billy Mullin of Winterport, the first person present Tuesday night to get a permit, agreed: “Moose is just the ultimate,” he said.

Keven and Susan Denis of Steep Falls love moose meat and they love hunting, but this year’s lottery held a special significance.

The couple’s 23-year-old son, Christopher, was killed just last week. On Tuesday night, they had his orange cap sitting on the table as a talisman, hoping that his name would be drawn so they could try for a trophy in his memory. Instead, they’ll have to remember how much he enjoyed hunts in the past.

And in a poignant moment for many in the outdoor community, legendary game warden Jack McPhee, who died on the job a few weeks ago, was drawn for a moose permit. The person listed as McPhee’s subpermittee will be able to hunt.

Next year, the annual event will be held in Presque Isle, the home region of new DIF&W Commissioner Danny Martin.