Outdoor group looks for stricter deer harvesting regulations to improve herd

By Natalie Bazinet
Staff Writer
    Members of the Aroostook County Conservation Association have been working for years to improve the struggling white tail deer herd in northern Maine by planting food plots, encouraging the development of habitat and participating in predation management, also called their coyote control program.
    Problems faced by the deer started about 25 years ago with the spruce-budworm epidemic that crippled the habitat needed for the white tail to thrive in the harsh conditions of northern Maine. Theoretically, the habitat will be restored in 10 to 15 years when the spruce that grew after the epidemic reach maturity,
    “Unfortunately, the deer might not last that ten or 15 years because their numbers are getting so low,” said Regional Enforcement Coordinator of the Maine Forest Service Thomas Whitworth to ACCA members during a meeting about a year ago.
    ACCA members are looking to keep the herd strong until the natural habitat is restored.
    “We planted 17 new food plots this summer,” said ACCA President Jerry McLaughlin. To date, the organization has planted 36 food plots for the white tail which really benefits all sorts of species, humans included.
    In 2009, for example, the ACCA was allowed to plant food plots on a couple of Irving Woodlands roads. The growth, which will last about five years, protects the dirt roads from erosion while providing a full buffet of browse for all omnivores of the woods.
    “Every single food plot that we checked contained deer signs,” McLaughlin said. “Deer, moose, bear — just about all wildlife are thriving off the food plots right on down to the bumble bee who benefits from the clover.”
    This winter has been pretty mild up until this recent cold snap, and the healthy-looking deer have had plenty to eat for the most part; in parts of the Allagash and Portage, for example, McLaughlin described how the deer yards have been over-browsed and food is scarce for many of the ungulates.
    While feeding deer is a serious commitment that will more often than not have a negative impact on the animals unless done absolutely properly — providing starving deer with a one-time plethora of food will actually expedite the animal’s starvation, the ACCA has begun providing supplemental feeding for white tail in the Allagash and Portage. The group, which has worked closely with IF&W biologists, is providing a light feed of whole oats and barley for the deer — not enough to fully sustain the herd but just enough to supplement the lack of natural browse available for the animals.
    Other measures taken by the conservation enthusiasts are attempts to alleviate predation pressures put on the herd.
    “Feeding deer does not address the chronic problem that deer have up here, which is that they’re just not surviving predation losses in the deer yards,” former State Deer Biologist Gerry Lavigne told the group during a meeting last January. “A major factor in getting the Aroostook County deer population to recover is improving the survival rate of deer that are one week old to six months old.”
    The almost single-source of natural predation pressure on the herd is the coyote, who’s population is above healthy levels. The ACCA started their coyote control program on Dec. 16 this season, which is historically early.
    “We started earlier this year to help relieve predation pressure already being placed on the deer,” McLaughlin said. Going into a second consecutive mild winter, McLaughlin said that the deer he’s seen look healthy; the coyote, on the other hand, are showing traits of overpopulation.
    “They’re overpopulated, and that produces mange,” McLaughlin said. With the coyote control program under way, McLaughlin had 14 harvested coyotes at his shop on Monday. Of those 14, about 50 percent had mange.
    “We’re not out to eradicate the coyote,” McLaughlin said, “we want to get the coyote population under control. Their population has gotten to the point where some of them are so infested with mange that they have very little hair left, and that makes a cruel death,” he added.
    Actively taking measures to keep the coyote population in check has caused negative speculation regarding the group — but the organization is about conservation, environmental stewardship and responsible land management, not ignorantly killing animals.
    Exemplifying this point, the group asked IF&W to increase limitations being placed on hunters and as many members of the ACCA are hunters, they’re basically asking the biologists to put more stringent limitations on themselves.
    While success of Vermont’s program is debatable, ACCA members are interested in becoming as educated as possible regarding the subject; they’ve invited a specialist on Winter Supplemental Feeding and Antler Restriction to speak  Friday, Jan. 28 at 6:30 p.m. at the Northeastland Hotel in Presque Isle. Regardless of membership, everyone is welcome to attend this meeting.