Staff Writer
Regional Enforcement Coordinator of the Maine Forest Service Thomas Whitworth has been on the job for 30 years and will be the first to tell you that the forests of northern Maine are not what they once were before the Spruce Budworm epidemic 25-years ago. The deer population of northern Maine has been struggling ever since.
Aroostook Republican photo/Natalie Bazinet
Regional Enforcement Coordinator Thomas Whitworth of the Maine Forest Service attended the last meeting of the Aroostook County Conservation Association on Feb. 19 to educate hunters, foresters and outdoors-oriented individuals about how to manage a wood-lot while keeping the white tail deer in mind.
On Feb. 19, Whitworth was at the Northeastland Hotel in Presque Isle speaking with members of the Aroostook County Conservation Association to educate the group on ways that timber lot owners, managers and foresters can alter their harvest to help conserve what little habitat the white tail deer have left in Aroostook County.
According to Whitworth, the Spruce that grew after the epidemic are still about 10 to 15 years away from providing good habitat for the deer.
“Unfortunatly, the deer might not last that 10 or 15 years because their numbers are getting so low, but once that habitat comes back, I think there’s going to be a resurgance of deer,” he said.
Harvesting a woodlot while keeping the deer in mind does require a bit more work but the idea of assisting a struggling species seemed reward enough for many of the members attending the meeting.
While many harvesters are interesting in visiting a lot, making their cuts and exiting to let the land repopulate, leaving “x” amount of trees to be harvested later can provide crucial habitat necessary for the deer.
The Maine Forest Service Web page is full of information about woodlot management and can be viewed at www.maine.gov/doc/mfs, but Whitworth also suggest contacting the forest rangers or foresters, who would be more than happy to assist the public with their questions.
