Outdoorswoman program set Oct. 9

The Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife’s Becoming an Outdoorswoman program is offering a one-day shotgun program at the Hermon Skeet Club on Oct. 9 from 8:30 a.m.-4 p.m.

The clinic is the last of six BOW opportunities in 2004. All of the workshops are sponsored by the DIF&W and are aimed primarily at women 18 years old and older.

BOW instructors will brief participants on how to purchase a shotgun, upland bird hunting, and waterfowl hunting.

Participants registering for the shotgun workshop must have previously taken a firearms safety program, either at BOW or elsewhere.

Registration deadline is Oct. 1. The workshop fee is $55, which includes lunch, instruction and ammunition. There is a maximum of 20 participants, and the event will be held rain or shine.

For more information or an application, visit www.mefishwildlife.com (click “education,” the “BOW”) or contact Lisa Kane at MDIF&W, 284 State Street, 41 State House Station, Augusta, 04333, or e-mail her at Lisa.Kane@maine.gov.

Youth Waterfowl Day today

Maine’s 2004 Youth Waterfowl Day will be held today. The one-day, kids-only hunt is a great opportunity to introduce young people to waterfowl hunting.

Participants must be 10-15 years old, possess a junior hunting license (no stamps required for junior hunters), and be accompanied by an adult who is at least 18.

The adult must be a parent or guardian, or a parent- or guardian-approved person who either holds a valid Maine hunting license or has successfully completed a hunter safety course.

Hunting opportunities for young hunters on Youth Waterfowl Day are generally the same as last year: Shooting hours are from one-half hour before sunrise to sunset. The daily limits on ducks, mergansers, and coots are the same as during the regular duck season, except that one black duck may be taken.

Junior hunters may kill up to four regular ducks (dabblers and divers); special restrictions on some of the more commonly encountered species: the daily limit of four may not include more than one black duck, two wood ducks, or two female mallards (four mallards total). In addition to the daily limit of four ducks, two teal (blue-winged or green-winged) may be taken. The daily limit on mergansers is five, of which only one may be a hooded merganser. Five coots may be taken. The daily limit on Canada geese is three.

The Maine Migratory Bird Hunting Schedule contains complete details on daily bag limits, as well as other waterfowl-hunting regulations. It is available at www.mefishwildlife.com.

Popular DIF&W book back

After selling out quickly in its first printing, Maine’s Endangered and Threatened Wildlife is available again through the Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife.

The book is billed as the definitive and only book on Maine’s wildlife species that are at risk of extinction.

The 117-page, full-color book is written by Maine’s top endangered species experts. It describes all 49 Maine endangered species, including Canada lynx, bald eagles, Blanding’s turtles, and Tomah mayflies.

The book also covers the history and policies behind the Maine Endangered Species Act, describes the causes of species decline, explains the listing process, provides a complete list of species, and offers some overall actions that can help.

The book can be ordered on-line at www.mefishwildlife.com or by visiting the DIF&W headquarters in Augusta. You can also order by mail by sending a check to the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife, Attn: Information Center, 284 State Street, 41 State House Station, Augusta, 04333-0041. Make checks payable to Endangered and Nongame Wildlife Fund.

The price: for Maine residents, $14 (which includes 50-cent tax), or $13.50 for nonresidents (no tax fee applies).

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.