Shooters, hunters and collectors may want to make plans to head for Bangor on Sept. 6-7 for the 26th annual Bangor Gun Show.

A wide array of firearms, from antiques to the latest in rifles, pistols and shotguns will be featured at the show, which will take place at the Bangor Auditorium. A variety of accessories will also be available.

Proceeds from the show fund college scholarships for wildlife conservation students and conservation camperships for junior high students.

Show admission is discounted for law enforcement officers and NRA members with ID. Those who aren’t NRA members can join or renew their membership at the show and get in free.

Show hours are 9 a.m.-5 p.m.. on Saturday, and 9 a.m.-2 p.m. on Sunday. For table information call Charlie Rumsey at 941-8575.

Grass snowmobile races set

The third annual Maine State Championship of Grass Drags will be hosted by the Molunkus Valley Sno-Drifters on Sept. 13 and 14.

The snowmobile races will take place in Sherman, and admission is $5 per person. Racers must sign in by 10 a.m. each day.

Among the events planned are races for amateurs and pros under ISP rules, along with a swap meet, an antique car and sled show, entertainment for kids, and plenty of food and drink.

RV sites are available, but there are no facilities.

For more information, check http://molunkusvalley.homestead.com/mvsd.html, or www.grassdrags.com.

DU banquet scheduled

One of the highlights of the area outdoors event schedule each year is the Bangor Ducks Unlimited banquet.

That popular event is scheduled for Sept. 18, and potential attendees may want to start planning for the evening.

The banquet is being held at the Bangor Banquet and Conference Center on the Hogan Road in Bangor.

Maine has 13 chapters of Ducks Unlimited, and each, in its own way, is dedicated to raising funds for the preservation of North American waterfowl habitat.

Each year the Bangor chapter schedules a fund-raising banquet that includes a buffet, live auction, several large raffles, and also a silent auction.

The chapter has raised more than $250,000 toward waterfowl conservation projects in Maine and the Canadian maritime provinces over the years.

Duck Brook Road being repaired

Acadia National Park’s 1.1-mile Duck Brook Road near Bar Harbor is being rehabilitated.

The road connects West Street Extension and Eagle Lake Road and provides access to the Witch Hole carriage road loop from Duck Brook Bridge.

The project will repair drainage and road structure while retaining the existing road width and alignment.

Work is near completion on the south section of the road from Eagle Lake Road to Duck Brook Bridge. The completed section will be opened to the public on Tuesday, Aug. 26, and the north section between Duck Brook Bridge and West Street Extension will be closed for construction.

During this next phase of construction, the carriage road entrance at Duck Brook Ridge can be accessed from Eagle Lake Road.

The entire project is scheduled to completed in late September.

The Island Explorer shuttle buses have racks for bicycles and can be used to get from Bar Harbor to the Eagle Lake area.

New County regulations eyed

Frank Frost, the Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife’s regional biologist in Aroostook County, is looking for input on a proposal to stock a fish species in a body of water for the first time.

In this week’s DIF&W freshwater fishing report, Frost explained the rationale for the proposed stocking in Drews Lake in new Limerick, and sought public input.

“Drews Lake currently supports a sport fishery for brown trout with a daily bag limit of two fish and minimum length limit of 12 inches,” Frost wrote.

“To diversify this sport fishery the Department is proposing to stock splake, a hybrid char, on an interim basis until brook trout are available on a regular basis from the state hatchery system. Brook trout have been stocked at Drews Lake in the past but at a size that was insufficient to compete with and avoid predation by chain pickerel.

“We propose to use larger fall yearling fish (stocked in late September and October) that will provide immediate fishing during winter as well as some carryover to spring and early summer. One case of stocking these larger fish was documented in this region during 2002-2003 with very positive results. Splake were caught at a very high rate in this location and were well-received by winter anglers.

“We also propose to reduce the trout daily bag limit to two fish, which includes brook trout, brown trout and splake, so that anglers could keep a total of two trout per day. Currently, five brook trout may be kept, but few fish are caught. We feel this regulation change is necessary to distribute the catch of these newly stocked fish and the regulation may have the effect of allowing more brown trout to reach larger and older size.

“The current plan is to switch from splake to brook trout in the near future, as our hatchery system is able to grow additional brook trout of a larger size. Currently, there are hatchery improvements ongoing that should allow us to achieve this goal.”

Comments on the proposals can be sent to frank.frost@maine.gov or via the U.S. Postal Service to MDIF&W, Attn.: Frank Frost, PO Box 447, Ashland, 04732.

To submit an item for publication in the Outdoor Notebook, send e-mail to jholyoke@bangordailynews.net, fax to 990-8092 or mail information to Outdoor Notebook, Bangor Daily News, PO Box 1329, Bangor, Maine, 04402-1329.