Powerful video draws widespread response from hunters

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When the Department of Inland Fisheries & Wildlife and the New England School of Communications joined forces to produce “Irrevocable Decisions,” the resulting 23-minute video was greeted with solemn silence and heartfelt praise.

The video, which documents a fatal hunting-related shooting that took place in 2004, is a moving account of how one flawed decision can change any number of lives … and end one.

After its April release, the DIF&W’s deputy commissioner, Paul Jacques, said the department would use the video’s powerful message to send a safety message that’s hard to ignore.

“I think this film will become the kingpin of every hunter safety class that’s taught from this day forward, and I’ve been a hunter safety instructor for almost 20 years,” Jacques said at the time.

“I want this at every hunter course that’s taught from this day forward. I want this at conservation camps. I want this at every place we can educate people what happens when you drop your guard when hunting,” he said. “And I’m talking 10 years old to 90.”

Thanks to DIF&W marketing expert Bill Pierce, Jacques is getting his wish.

In late October – just before the opening of deer season – Pierce arranged for an e-mail to be sent to roughly 45,000 hunters who had purchased a license through the DIF&W’s Internet MOSES system.

The message was simple: Have a good season. Be safe. Report poachers.

And, if you have time, watch this video.

In the first day after the e-mail was sent, Pierce said 15,000 viewers clicked the link and watched the video.

Since then, Pierce has fielded calls from all over the country, and he says other organizations are interested in distributing the video to share the powerful safety message.

Having watched the first official screening of the video back in April, I can tell you that it’s well worth the time to do so.

The experience isn’t pleasant. You won’t be smiling when the video’s over.

But I guarantee you this: You’ll be more careful the next time you go hunting.

If you’re interested in seeing the video, you can find a link to it at the DIF&W Web site (www.mefishwildlife.com).

Click on “Hunting and Trapping,” then click the “Safety Courses” link. The link to “Irrevocable Decisions” will be at the top of the page.

Moose harvest down

When Maine’s first flock of moose hunters headed into the woods in late September, they were greeted by temperatures in the 80s.

In moose hunting, weather like that assures you of one thing: The hunt’s not going to be a day at the beach … no matter what the thermometer may indicate.

That proved true, as the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries & Wildlife released its official statistics on the annual moose hunt on Wednesday.

The overall success rate for moose hunters this year was 71.3 percent as 2,052 of the 2,880 permit-holders bagged a moose.

That result is lower than past years. Last year, 82 percent of hunters were successful, while 76 percent of hunters shot a moose during 2005.

While a state news release placed some of the blame for the low harvest on that September heat wave, the statistics showed little difference between the success rates of hunters in September or October.

Moose are less apt to move when the weather is warm and seek shelter in shaded or wet areas that are more difficult for hunters to access.

Maine’s hunters headed afield during two weeks in late September and early October. During the first six-day session, 797 of 1,133 hunters (70.3 percent) filled their tags.

During the second session of hunting, 1,255 of the 1,747 hunters filled tags. That equates to a 71.8 percent success rate.

In the past, biologists and game wardens have pointed out that the high success rates enjoyed during the first years of the modern moose hunt were becoming more difficult to maintain. In the 1980s, it wasn’t uncommon for nearly 90 percent of hunters to fill their moose tag each year.

The biologists and wardens I’ve spoken to have said that the changing condition of the state’s forested land makes moose hunting more of a challenge each year.

In the early days, vast clear cuts were the hunting grounds of choice, and many hunters simply drove along gravel roads, scanning those cuts for the burly critters.

Now, more than 20 years after Maine began its modern moose hunt, many of those clear cuts have grown up, and it’s harder to spot moose while riding the roads.

As far as I’m concerned, that’s a good thing.

Having bagged a moose in 2006 by getting some good scouting information from my hunting buddies, then setting up and calling in a small bull, was a tremendous experience.

For us, road hunting wasn’t a particularly attractive option. Our plan was simple: Find a good area where moose sign was apparent … get out of the trucks … and get to work.

Getting off the beaten paths of Wildlife Management District 4 was the key, and when we were hunting, we rarely ran into other hunting parties. When we did, it was always on the main road spurs, when groups were heading to and from their preferred hunting spots.

In places, road hunting still works fine.

But the older those clear cuts get, the more folks will be rewarded for abandoning their road-hunting tactics and trying something new.

Lyme caution urged

The more time you spend outdoors – and the more time you spend around those who do – the more apt you are to find someone who has Lyme disease.

In this week’s DIF&W wildlife report, a biologist cautioned outdoors enthusiasts to be on the lookout for ticks that could carry the disease.

Rich Bard, an assistant wildlife biologist working in the Down East region, said he returned home after a recent day in the field to find two deer ticks crawling on his undershirt.

Armed with a “Tick ID Wallet Card,” which he had obtained from the Lyme Disease Foundation, Bard quickly identified the creepy-crawlies as deer ticks.

While most outdoors enthusiasts have heard plenty about Lyme disease, a bit more knowledge can never hurt, Bard figures.

He advises folks to get their hands on the Tick ID Wallet Card and to use it religiously.

In addition, Bard reported, a tick removal kit is available, and contains the ID card, a magnifying glass, tweezers, alcohol swabs and other pertinent information.

To find out more about the removal kit and ID card, go to www.lyme.org.

Waterfall screening set

Earlier this week I told you about the CD project undertaken by Erik Stumpfel and the Piscataquis Chamber of Commerce titled “Waterfall Guide to Southern Piscataquis County.”

If you want to get a first glimpse at the photos, you can do so on Wednesday at the Center Theatre for the Performing Arts in Dover-Foxcroft.

A reception is scheduled to begin at 5 p.m., and a short presentation on the project will follow.

To RSVP for the event, call the Piscataquis Chamber of Commerce at 564-7533.

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