Let me first say I’m a resident Maine hunter (opening day tomorrow!). Recently Maine assembled a task force to address an issue of a declining number of non-resident hunters in the state. They’re looking for ways to combat the trend. I’ve contributed ideas, but I have a limited perspective. Does anyone have ideas? Has anyone hunted in Maine before? What obstacles were there? How about combating the national trend of declining hunters?

I’ve written a blog post the summarizes the issue here http://www.youhuntandfish.com/blogs, and here is a link to the material the task force has http://www.maine.gov/ifw/news_events/meetings_events/NonresidentHunterTaskForce.htm.

Aarons, welcome to HuntingNut. I'm sure you will get plenty of input. Down here in Texas, I don't think we have a problem of declining hunters.

Welcome arons:

I was in the state of Maine 2 years ago to visit my sister who lived near the St. Johns area and has since moved to Alaska (teacher), but when I was there, I did get a small game out of state license and it was reasonable. Your guns laws are pretty reasonable, so are the licenses.

Maybe it the demographics, maybe in peoples perception of big game is elsewhere beside Maine.

Send us Ozzians tickets, and you'll see increases in out of area hunters

Nationwide the number of hunters is down 11% from 1980 to 2006. Texas may be the exception.

Haha, free tickets might be a problem.

Hey there!!! Someone with a spelling similar to mine! And my last name starts with an S! HE HE HE!!!! Welcome to the HNShack. Beware of a guy with a bunch of pints of beer. You will know him by his "personal" woodstump seat by the firepit. But just the same... grab a cold one of your choice. Lately I seem to favor Coca-Cola for some reason. And join in when ya' like. See ya' around the BBS.

Just heard on the morning hunting talk show that there are 1.1 million hunters here in Texas. 10% of those come from out of state. Revenue generated is $2.2 billion. Some of these small rural towns in Texas depend on the hunters. They will have banners across their streets welcoming hunters. When you stop to eat, they will strike up a conversation, ask you what you are hunting, and how it is going. A nice environment.

this is strange, the OP posted TWO posts, but his post count is Zero?

gelandangan wrote:

this is strange, the OP posted TWO posts, but his post count is Zero?

you also noticed.
There are always guys who can do a little bit more than I can

Here is some interesting info.

DEER HUNTING BY THE NUMBERS
500,000 - whitetail population in the United States in 1900.
34,000,000 - whitetail population in the United States today.
3,200,000 - number of whitetails in the state of Texas.
11,000,000 - the number of hunters in the United States today.
1,300,000 - number of deer hunters in Pennsylvania (most in the U.S.)
8,250 - number of deer hunters in Rhode Island (lowest in the U.S.)
256,000,000 - number of days hunters spend afield annually.
140 - gun hunting days for whitetail in South Carolina (most in U.S.)
7 - shotgun hunting days in Illinois (shortest in U.S.)
$20,900,000 - total annual hunting-related expenditures.
3,000,000 - average annual whitetail harvest in the U.S.
150,000,000 - pounds of meat - from 3,000,000 whitetails.
$40 BILLION DOLLARS - amount hunters and fishermen contribute to the annual economy.
16 - Number of states permitting the use of magnifying scopes on muzzleloaders.
80 - Percent of hunters reporting treestand accidents who were not wearing safety belts.
90 - Percentage of nighttime visits to scrapes by bucks in a north Georgia study.
4 - Number of teeth in a fawn's mouth at birth.
65,000 - Approximate number of hunter safety/education volunteers in the U.S. today.

For the rest. www.ardeerhunting.com/tidbits.htm

The numbers re white tail before and after white settlement would probably mirror that of the eastern grey kanagaroo here in OZ.
Lots more water and feed.
11,000,000 hunters eh, thats 50% of our entire population.

The numbers are impressive, especially the monetary figures.

The figure for hunting-related expenditures seems way, way too low. It figures to an average of only $7 per deer harvested, by these numbers. (I am assuming they mean expenditures on deer hunting only, not other game.)

This won't help but it was my experience.
Some years back I considered bear hunting in Maine but was more interested in moose. I knew the odds were sllim but paid each year to enter the draw. Then they started allowing people who could afford it to buy preference points. In that one year someone could get more points than I had gotten over the last 4 years.

Since then I've gone with my brother and his buddies to Canada to hunt bear and may go to NF with him for moose. Haven't applied nor thouht of going to Maine since.

RPM1031 wrote:

Since then I've gone with my brother and his buddies to Canada to hunt bear and may go to NF with him for moose. Haven't applied nor thouht of going to Maine since.

I live in Newbrunswick and have been to NF on vacation. It is like no other place you will ever visit. Plan a trip and go

MRFixIt,

Thanks for your input. It's good to hear.

I've heard there is a big problem with their woodland caribou population. From what I hear, it's supposed to be declining and they don't know why.