Petitioners seek end to December partridge hunting statewide

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For many bird hunters, crisp early fall mornings spent behind gun dogs are among the best times of the year.

Others prefer to ride slowly along old woods roads, hoping to spy a ruffed grouse – commonly called a partridge – or two.

A petition-driven initiative seeks to limit Maine’s ruffed grouse season by reducing the length of the season. According to the petition, which has been received by the Department of Inland Fisheries & Wildlife, grouse hunting in December – which is now allowed – should be eliminated.

The December season is not a longstanding Maine tradition, according to one veteran lawmaker, who said he thought the change from a November end of a season to a Dec. 31 closure came about in the last 10 years or so.

Leo Kieffer of Caribou, a former state legislator and present member of the DIF&W’s advisory council, said the season expansion was made after a request several years ago.

According to Brad Allen, a wildlife biologist who serves as the DIF&W’s bird group leader, those who filed the petition are trying to address recent years of subpar grouse seasons by limiting the kill of birds in December.

That doesn’t mean Allen thinks the idea is a good one, however.

“I think their perception is that the population is so low that it needs any help it can get to come back around,” Allen said. “And I believe in their hearts they believe that hunting in December keeps the numbers down, but it has no impact.”

Allen said the top determining factor when looking at the grouse population is weather, especially during the spring.

Wet, cold springs mean fewer young birds are hatched or survive. Drier springs are better for the birds.

And recently, Maine’s spring weather hasn’t been kind to ruffed grouse.

“We’ve had several bad springs in a row, but that’s a natural thing for grouse populations,” Allen said.

But he said there are reasons to be optimistic.

“We know that this is a natural phenomenon of highs and lows, and seeing the bad springs we’ve had, it’s natural that hunters would be seeing fewer grouse in the fall,” Allen said. “We just ask them to hang on.”

Allen explained that the number of grouse seen and shot by Maine hunters during December is very small.

“December is all about hunting opportunity. We kill so darned few [during that month], it’s all about opportunity,” Allen said.

Because of that, he said, “the gun has nothing to do with the next spring’s population,” and “biologically, their impact on the grouse population is negligible.”

Two petitions were delivered to the DIF&W, though department advisory council member Kieffer said he thinks both originated in the Houlton area.

One, he said, likely made its way from Aroostook County to Washington County because many Houlton-area sportsmen have camps on several large Down East lakes.

Kieffer said that before word of the petition’s filing spread, he had heard no concerns from Aroostook County grouse hunters.

Since word of the petition spread, he has begun hearing a few comments.

“I’ve had seven or eight people talk to me about it. I didn’t hear any adamant position either way,” Kieffer said.

Public hearings on the rule-making proposal will be held on June 12 at the Calais Rod and Gun Club and on June 27 at the Presque Isle Rod and Gun Club. Both hearings begin at 6:30 p.m.

“I don’t have a strong feeling either way at what the outcome of those hearings will be up here,” Kieffer said.

While originating in Washington and Aroostook counties, the petitions call for a statewide change in the grouse hunting season.

“My original thought [after hearing about the petitions] was it was for those regions, but when I look at the draft … it’s statewide,” Allen said. “If it’s statewide, I’ll be even more adamantly opposed to that from a biological standpoint.”

Allen said that a year ago, the advisory council considered the same issue and decided to let the seasons stand. He hopes that happens again.

“The advisory council listened to us, did not close the season, and we’re already seeing some recovery,” Allen said. “They stayed the course, and last year we’ve already seen some good improvement and this year has been very, very good nesting conditions. So we can hope that the population will be good this fall, barring some catastrophic [weather] event in the next three weeks.”

John Holyoke can be reached at jholyoke@bangordailynews.net or by calling 990-8214 or 1-800-310-8600.