Sportsmen will defeat referendum Commitment to defending and protecting hunting heritage is strong

Editor’s note: Final of three parts

Since there is no scientific or conservation reason for restructuring Maine’s bear-hunting regulations, the obvious question is, What will the referendum accomplish if enacted? The answer: Nothing positive. In addition to encouraging more anti-hunting effrontery and impeding bear management, the initiative will rob guides and outfitters of incomes integral to their livelihoods. Not to mention serious ramifications to DIF&W revenue and the state’s economy. Currently, the department estimates the direct fiscal impact of bear hunting to the guiding community at more than $4.5 million annually. Likewise, bear hunting brings $1.5 million to DIF&W’s budget and $6.4 million to Maine’s economy. Big money, for sure; but none of it can be described as disposable income.

Of course, everyone is entitled to his or her opinion regarding the referendum. Therefore, I’m of the opinion that it’s unfortunate that a relatively small number of sportsmen and a few so-called Master Maine Guides are publicly supporting the anti-hunting initiative. Their position is that baiting bears isn’t “fair chase” and is therefore unsportsmanlike. If that’s true, then I’m not a sportsman. The reason being that I set goose decoys in fields of corn stubble, which for all intents and purposes are bait sites. Likewise, I hunt partridges in thorn-apple thickets and I build duck blinds on marshes where wild rice and arrowroot (duck potato) attract waterfowl.

Furthermore, because I’ve never heard or read a definition of fair chase, I’m of the opinion that it’s a matter of interpretation. And how a hunter interprets it is his business, provided he’s hunting legally and responsibly. Personally, I prefer hunting birds with dogs, which dictates wing-shooting. There are a lot of hunters, however, who enjoy road-hunting, in which partridges are shot on the ground. Some people think that’s unsportsmanlike. My opinion is that as long as that method of hunting is legal and the hunters who practice it are licensed, that’s their business and nobody else’s. The same is true of bear hunting.

My understanding is that some of the so-called guides supporting the referendum cater to campers and kayakers rather than hunters and fishermen. There again, that’s their business. But I won’t hesitate to say I think supporting the referendum is a travesty of the traditions represented in their Maine Guide patches. I’m also of the opinion that the referendum is being used for personal agendas including vindictiveness toward DIF&W, self-promotion, political advantage, and publicity.

Because, historically and traditionally, outdoors columnists have been spokesmen for sportsmen, I think I’m expressing the opinion of the majority in saying the hunters and guides who are supporting the bear referendum are being egregiously short-sighted. There’s simply too much at stake to be causing rifts in the ranks of voters, many of whom are nonhunters but not necessarily anti-hunters. How anyone can read the position statements on hunting published by the Humane Society of the United States and Fund for Animals and continue thinking the hunting heritage of this state isn’t under siege is beyond me.

The truth of the matter is, the forthcoming referendum isn’t about prohibiting bear trapping or bear baiting or hunting bears with hounds. Nor is it about fair chase or hunting ethics or sportsmanship. It’s about the eventual banning of all hunting and trapping, nationwide. And again, don’t discount fishing.

For those reasons, there is no doubt in my mind that the majority of Maine sportsmen are committed to defending and protecting their hunting heritage. Moreover, I believe Maine residents, for the most part, are content to leave the business of managing the state’s bear population to the professionals who have made that their business and are excelling at it.

In conclusion, the more I follow the tracks of the Sportsman’s Alliance of Maine’s bear-campaign coalition, the more I’m convinced that the anti-hunting referendum will be defeated by sensible sportsmen and nonsportsmen alike arriving at the ballot box loaded for bear.

Tom Hennessey’s columns and artwork can be accessed on the BDN Internet page at www.bangornews.com. Tom’s e-mail address is: thennessey@bangordailynews.net. Web site address is: www.tomhennessey.com.