A series of public informational meetings are scheduled to gather input on the Department of Inland Fisheries & Wildlife’s proposal to expand the current moose hunting season.

The DIF&W’s plan calls for adding hunter opportunity in central Maine and curtailing the population growth of moose in southern Maine.

The plan would:

. Establish a six-day October season in parts of northern Kennebec, southern Oxford, southern Somerset, southern Piscataquis, and southern Penobscot counties, in Wildlife Management Districts 15, 16 and 27. That season would correspond with the October moose season in other areas of northern, western, and eastern Maine.

. Establish a six-day season in eastern Kennebec, Hancock, Knox, and Waldo counties, in WMDs 23 and 26 during either the last week of the muzzleloader deer season in December or the last week of firearms deer season in November.

Permits would be allocated among the WMDs. Biologists estimate that 100 to 300 permits would be issued.

In October the DIF&W will host five meetings to solicit comment and ideas and present details on the plan.

Those meetings will be held on Oct. 3 at 6:30 p.m. at Mount View High School in Thorndike, on Oct. 4 at 6:30 p.m. at Maranacook High in Readfield, on Oct. 6 at 6:30 p.m. at Bridgton Memorial School, on Oct. 18 at 6 p.m. at the Jewett School in Bucksport, and on Oct. 20 at 6 p.m. in Room 102 of the Science Building at the University of Maine at Machias.

Youth waterfowl day on tap

Maine’s young hunters will get a jumpstart on the season on Sept. 24 with the state’s one-day Youth Waterfowl Hunt.

The hunt provides adults an opportunity to introduce youngsters to the sport at a time when the weather is warm, the ducks are generally abundant, and the chance for success is excellent.

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

The adult must either 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.

For more information on the Youth Waterfowl Hunt, check www.mefishwildlife.com.

Mainers can get 10 free trees

Ten free trees will be given to each person from Maine who joins the National Arbor Day Foundation during September.

The free trees are part of the nonprofit foundation’s Trees for America campaign.

The trees will be shipped postpaid at the right time for planting between Oct. 15 and Dec. 10 with enclosed planting instructions. The 6- to 12-inch trees are guaranteed to grow in Maine or they will be replaced free of charge.

The trees that are shipped to Mainers are the American redbud, white pine, sugar maple, white flowering dogwood, pin oak, red maple, birch, silver maple, red oak, and Colorado blue spruce.

For more information on the program, go to www.arborday.org, or send your $10 membership contribution to Ten Trees, National Arbor Day Foundation, Nebraska City, NE 68410.

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.