A year ago, during the Sportsman’s Alliance of Maine’s annual Sportsman’s Congress, Sunday hunting was a hot topic of conversation … again.

Tom Doak of the Small Woodland Owners Association of Maine told that 2006 crowd the issue was something that his membership didn’t support.

“At best half the hunters in the state of Maine favor it, it’s an incredibly divisive issue for sportsmen and we saw that play itself out recently … and perhaps most important, the public doesn’t want it,” Doak said at the time.

“So after being rejected 25 times over the last 30 years by the Legislature, we think it’s time to stop pushing that issue and put the energy into some [other area],” he said.

Well, it’s a year later … and guess what?

Sunday hunting is back on the agenda, with an Augusta hearing on a brand new bill to be held today.

This bill is a bit different, however, and it’ll be interesting to see how things pan out.

This proposal, LD 307, would permit hunting on Sundays by landowners or their immediate family members on every 20-acre (or more) parcel of land they own in Maine, with one caveat: It must also be left open to public hunting the rest of the week. The landowners would be required to register (for free) with the Department of Inland Fisheries & Wildlife in order to qualify.

A year ago, the Maine Farm Bureau also panned the Sunday hunting proposal, and spokesman Jon Olson left little room for doubt in his testimony.

“In 1951 there was a bill in the Maine Legislature about Sunday hunting,” Olson said. “The Maine Farm Bureau opposed it. I can tell you now that Maine farmers are opposed to Sunday hunting, and my suggestion is to put it to rest once and for all.”

This year’s debate is shaping up to follow form from years past: SWOAM cites its opposition to LD 307 on the home page of its Web site, and says the Maine Farm Bureau is again an ally.

Both groups, it’s important to note, represent plenty of Maine folks who allow hunting and other outdoor recreation on their land.

“SWOAM opposes this legislation as counterproductive to efforts to deal with hunter/landowner relations, unworkable and bad public policy among many other reasons,” the Web site posting says. “A recent poll indicated Maine residents are overwhelmingly opposed to Sunday hunting. We had hoped that after the very contentious battle around Sunday hunting two years ago, that the issue would be settled for some time.”

DIF&W inks logo deal

The Maine Department of Inland Fisheries & Wildlife announced on Wednesday that it has entered into a licensing agreement with outdoor giant L.L. Bean that should pay dividends.

The agreement allows L.L. Bean to sell DIF&W logo merchandise at its Freeport store, with proceeds from those sales benefiting the department’s educational and promotional programs.

According to a DIF&W news release, L.L. Bean has agreed to sell a variety of apparel featuring the department’s logo, which will appear paired with an embroidered bear, moose, brook trout or other wildlife.

The program has been in place since December, and sales have been brisk, according to L.L. Bean representatives.

“We knew this was going to be a successful program right off the bat,” said Mike Gawtry, L.L. Bean product line manager for hunting and fishing. “In fact, we have already sold close to 1,000 units in just this short amount of time.”

Bill Pierce, the DIF&W’s public relations specialist, has championed the department’s logo program, which he created to increase the visibility of the department and its conservation mission.

“It was important to create a brand and get our logo in the marketplace so that more people understand our role as the leaders of conservation in the state,” Pierce said. “Those who purchase and wear our logo support the department and its programs. Having L.L. Bean as a partner will increase the visibility of the department and increase support for the conservation of Maine’s natural resources.”

Reader seeks information

A reader from Dexter checked in this week looking for a bit of help that I hope someone will be able to provide.

The woman is aware of the National Wild Turkey Federation’s Wheelin’ Sportsmen program, which provides hunting outlets for disabled outdoors enthusiasts, but is looking for even more information about other programs here in Maine.

Her query: “Do you have any contacts for disabled sportsmen in order to get [them] back into hunting and fishing?”

With a wide and diverse readership perusing this paper each day, it seems probable that other readers would have that kind of information. And if you could pass that kind of info along, I’d certainly appreciate it.

The reader has a particular friend in mind as the recipient of any information you can provide, but I’m sure any such programs would be of benefit to plenty of others.

Thanks in advance for your help, and I hope to let you know what we find out.

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