Nestled on the third floor of the Department of Inland Fisheries & Wildlife’s Bangor headquarters, Lee Kantar’s office is similar to the others that line the quiet hallway.

It’s small. A rack of antlers hangs on one wall, near an educational poster.

But in the eyes of Maine sportsmen, this office is a bit different from the others on this floor.

In a state where a rich deer-hunting tradition is relived every autumn, Lee Kantar will play an essential role.

There are other biologists in this building, you see. And there are others who know a lot about deer.

Then there is Kantar.

On a floor filled with semi-anonymous biologists who perform countless tasks for the state, Kantar blends in well … for now.

But Kantar seems to realize his anonymity won’t last for long.

It’s not because Kantar is controversial or flamboyant.

It’s because of the job he accepted six weeks ago.

Ask the state’s outdoors enthusiasts who’s in charge of managing moose for the DIF&W, and they may not know. Ask them about bears, and you may get a shrug.

But ask them about deer, and everything changes.

Meet Lee Kantar. The state calls him their “deer specialist biologist.”

Most hunters will simply call him “the state’s deer guy.”

“I certainly knew [Mainers were passionate about their deer herd] coming into the job, and was really excited about it because there’s a great deer [management] program here,” Kantar said.

“My predecessors did a great job here of managing the deer herd, so there’s some big shoes to fill,” he said.

Those predecessors – one in particular – are also the reason so many Mainers expect so much from their top deer expert.

Gerry Lavigne worked for the DIF&W for 30 years and headed up the state’s deer management efforts until his resignation earlier this year.

After arriving in Maine from his previous job in Washington (with a graduate degree from the University of New Mexico), Kantar quickly found Mainers were curious about how a man some viewed as a westerner ended up here.

The truth: Kantar isn’t a westerner. He grew up in New Hampshire, but ended up on the West Coast because there are few wildlife biology jobs available in this part of the country.

“I came back here often and wanted to come back up north,” Kantar said. “I guided trips in Maine back 20 years ago. I was a recreational guide in the summers from ’85 through ’87 and in ’89.”

While Kantar will be known as the state’s deer specialist, he said management will never be a one-man job.

“Trying to manage the deer herd is a team effort,” he said, pointing out that the DIF&W and members of the public each play roles on that “team.”

Kantar said managing Maine’s deer herd is a complicated process.

“Looking at the difference of herds between the northern part of the state and the southern part of the state [is a challenge],” he said. “The southern part of the state will continue to be challenged by habitat development, an increasing human population and access to land to be able to hunt deer that in – some cases will become too dense.

“Up north and in Down East Maine and in the mountains, we’ll continue to look at trying to protect wintering deer yards and improve conditions for deer so that we can increase densities in those areas,” he said.

CWD update

With chronic wasting disease having been reported in deer as far east as New York state, Kantar said it’s not too soon for Mainers to begin changing some of their habits.

CWD is a fatal disease of the nervous system of deer that is similar to “mad cow disease.” Researchers have not found the disease can be transmitted from deer to humans, but incidence of the disease in this state could have severe impacts on the herd and recreational hunting.

Kantar said researchers are still trying to figure out how the disease is transmitted between deer.

“It’s believed that any time you have more of a congregation of animals, a number of animals together, you’re going to increase those odds [of transmission],” he said.

The DIF&W has compiled a CWD fact sheet that hunters may find informative.

Kantar offered a couple tips for hunters.

“One [suggestion] is to wear gloves when they’re gutting a deer,” he said.

“The other thing is making sure that people do not eat parts of a deer that could potentially be infected,” he said. “The prions, these infectious proteins that cause the disease, they’re really in the nervous system … in the brains, in the lymph nodes, in the tonsils. So those areas we want people to keep away from, as far as consuming.”

The state’s CWD fact sheet also encourages Mainers to stop feeding deer by phasing out the practice as soon as possible, and recommends hunters use caution in spreading urine-based deer lures in the environment or on their clothing or skin.

Today’s your lucky day …

You’ve spent plenty of time in the woods, tromped over hill and dale, and ignored our finicky November weather in hopes that you’d cross path with a buck … with no luck.

Don’t despair.

According to the state’s new top deer guru, this may well be your lucky weekend.

All you have to do is get out there … somewhere … and keep on trying.

“I think this is going to be a really important weekend here,” Kantar said. “No. 1, we’re getting into the height of the rut, so I think we’re going to see bucks that everybody’s after traveling around a bit more, and probably [they won’t] be keyed into people as much as they’re keyed into does that have come into heat.”

The third week of November is typically the peak of the rut for white tail deer in the northeast, and hunters who head afield today … and for the rest of the week … may enjoy their best odds of the year.

Kantar said the weather has also been a factor in hunter frustration thus far, but fully expects things to change … soon.

“I think it’s just a matter of getting out there, spending some time in the field looking for deer sign, and hoping that the combination of the rut will be the right time to be out there,” he said.

And if chores are going to keep you close to home today, don’t fret. Kantar says you’ve still got plenty of time.

“This whole next week will be a good one,” he said. “Absolutely.”

If that’s not the kind of report that will drive you out the door and into the woods, I don’t know what is.

Good luck.

Coming up on ‘Going Outdoors’

If you’re anxious to put a face with the state’s new deer expert, you’ll have this chance over the next two weeks.

The next two ‘Going Outdoors’ segments on ABC-7’s Monday night newscasts will deal with Kantar and chronic wasting disease.

In one episode you’ll hear Kantar’s views on his new job and the challenges facing the deer herd, and in the other you’ll hear more specifics about the disease.

“Going Outdoors” appears on the 6 and 11 p.m. ABC-7 newscasts each Monday, and runs on the 10 p.m. newscast on FOX-22.

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