BAR HARBOR, Maine — It is common knowledge that Mount Desert Island gets plenty of tourists during the summer.
What is only slightly less well known is that MDI also has plenty of deer, due in large part to the ban on hunting on the island, where Acadia National Park has a large presence that overlaps with all of the island’s towns and many of its villages. The ban has been in place since the 1930s, according to state officials.
Every few years, the issue of hunting comes up at meetings on MDI where people talk of deer raiding their gardens or of neighbors who have contracted Lyme disease. A limited hunt should be allowed, some argue, in order to reduce the island’s deer population to a more manageable level.
This past week, the Bar Harbor Town Council met with officials from the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife to discuss the issue. Councilors said they have received complaints from local residents and asked DIF&W officials Phil Richter and Tom Schaeffer about what options they may have.
“People in all walks of life have been affected by this,” council member Paul Paradis told the two men on Oct. 16. “My daughter’s had Lyme disease. My neighbor has had Lyme disease.”
But Paradis acknowledged that any action that might be taken to thin the deer herd on MDI probably is a ways off.
“I don’t think we’re at forming an islandwide deer committee yet,” he said.
Schaeffer, a DIF&W biologist based in Jonesboro, told the council that the department does not have an estimate for how many deer might be on MDI, nor is there a formula for determining what the ideal number for MDI might be. Commissioner Chandler Woodcock does have the power to authorize a depredation hunt to thin the island’s deer population, Schaeffer said, but would only do so if there was widespread local support for one.
“A [single] town’s effort will not resolve the island’s problem,” Schaeffer said, adding that it is up to MDI residents to determine if they have a problem or not. “Once you implement a program, it requires constant maintenance [or else the deer numbers will rebound again].”
Schaeffer urged Bar Harbor officials to consult with other coastal communities that have had depredation hunts, such as Castine, the Cranberry Isles or Swans Island, to find out what those communities did and what aspects of those hunts may have worked better than others.
Councilors discussed how they would determine whether there was ample support for a deer management plan they might develop. Some said the town could hold a referendum vote but that public hearings on the issue and informal feedback from the public might suffice. Schaeffer said the department does not require referendum votes for proposed depredation hunts.
The council voted 7-0 at their meeting to form a committee to work with DIF&W officials on further exploring options for a possible depredation hunt.
The state of the island’s deer herd was aired in neighboring Mount Desert in 2006, when the town took a nonbinding straw poll of its residents on the issue. Of the 950 Mount Desert residents who weighed in, 535 thought something should be done but nearly 700 opposed allowing a recreational hunt within the town’s borders.
Durlin Lunt, town manager of Mount Desert, said Friday that a local committee that had been established to look into the issue was disbanded by selectmen in 2007 without the town having taken any further action.
“It hasn’t resurfaced,” Lunt said about local interest in the issue.
This past June, the island’s deer population came up at a meeting of the Acadia National Park Citizen Advisory Commission. After the commission heard a presentation from experts about the spread of Lyme disease in Maine, commission member Matt Horton of Bar Harbor told Acadia officials that he hoped they could work with MDI towns and the state to determine whether a deer hunt on MDI outside park boundaries might be feasible and sensible.
Other municipal officials on MDI contacted this week said there have not been recent inquiries about deer depredation hunts in their towns but that they may be willing to look into it further.
Follow BDN reporter Bill Trotter on Twitter at @billtrotter.
Perhaps one of the cruise ship companies could bring up a” boat load” of hunters-maybe 3000 of them. Can’t you just see a 1200 foot ocean liner all painted in camouflage? The tenders bringing these guys to shore could be painted hunter orange .For an extra charge hunters could board an authentic military landing craft that would come onto Sand Beach. Cyr Bus and Ollie’s Trolleys could do the Camo change over as well. I really think the tree huggers would love the diversity.
Here’s an idea–have the cruise ship passengers wear brown coats and fake antlers. That would thin out the tourist population.
I struggle with asking the hunters to get off the bus to shoot, don’t you?They would be on vacation and looking to take it easy. The spotters up on Cadillac Mountain would be doing the really hard work.
Certainly don’t want any tourists around helping the pathetic economy in this state.
As much as I like to complain about the tourists, and I do complain about them, I wouldn’t be able to make a living without them, they are what allow me to live in a place I love. So, the less shooting of them, the better.
The deer may wish, in turn, to reduce the number of humans on MDI to a” more manageable level.” Many studies indicate that the number of humans has reached a sustainable level.
You nailed it!
What about Eastport??
Shouldn’t a coordinated thinning of the herd be undertaken ?
Plenty of excess deer on Moose Island.
Property damage, disease and car crashes would be reduced, thus enhancing
public safety and the quality of life for the humans that exist there.
How many more expensive police cruisers need to get smashed up?
The “Hunter’s Cruise Ship” could pull right up to one of Maine’s best docks in Eastport once they’ve completed their safari on MDI. Perhaps the “World” could swing back into Maine waters to watch the campaign. Maybe there’s army of High Line chefs on board that Condo Ship that might volunteer their services to butcher up the kill.
I nominate Ted Nugent as tour director!
With all the poaching that goes on I’m surprised to hear that there is an issue with the deer population.
I’m curious how many are actually taken each year on MDI. I know if I lived there and were sitting on my back deck with my bow, it would be a hard temptation to resist.
You’d be within rights if they were eating your garden, too.
But how does one go about shooting problem deer on you own property without risking being arrested for jacking it ?
When push comes to shove, I probably wouldn’t do it. Not so much because of the law though. I’m really not a big venison fan and I’m certainly not starving to death. I certainly wouldn’t have an issue with somebody jacking one if they needed it. Would definitely use a bow.
Warden Richter can issue you a depredation permit if the damage is severe enough.
my son lives there and he is by no means rich.he works in a boat yard and like a lot of other people with regular jobs and families throughout the rest of the state health care is expensive. your broad brush insult might look good to some,but it is irrelevant to the topic. it does,however,show your ignorance.I see many deer and other wildlife when i go down to visit right in his backyard and i don’t really like the idea of an open season on the island,how about a controlled hunt,maybe bow only,over bait in a sparsly populated area? not as snarky as your “comment” but definitely more intelligent.
No, no, no, The Flatty’s will definately not allow ANY hunting. But I bet the COA crowd will put forward a plan to reintroduce wolves to MDI, thereby creating a more natural ecosystem, and keeping the deer population in check. The huggers will wet their pants at the prospect!
They do just fine without bait on Marsh Island, and there is definitely enough room on MDI to do the same. The real problem would be if they let anyone go at it, which would be bad. For a place like MDI they should be selective of persons allowed to hunt if it ever happens.
i suggested bait to ensure a high kill rate and keep the hunting contained to certain areas where the anti-hunters would be less likely to interfere,marsh island and MDI are two entirely different areas and need to be treated differently
As many people on the island that already feed them, it’d be easy enough to pass an ordinance against feeding the deer so they go back to natural food sources. Which there are many on the island. Any hunter worth his salt could easily find a source or bedding area and make short work of it without the need of bait and in out of the way places. The real question is going to be what will they prefer paying for sharpshooters or taking the controlled hunt approach. I’m also betting the use of bait if it were to be sanctioned would bring in opposition in addition to what would already be there.
Never mind the hunt plan. Just have a Connecticut and Massachusetts driver road race from Thompson’s to Seal Harbor and then over to the quiet side and end at Pretty Marsh. That should take care of two problems! Just advertise it well so a few of us can put some money on the tow truck companies!
Yeah, that’s really accurate, on on all counts. (not). I hope you’re not a hunter, dead-eye.
I, for one, think that “Drunken Slapnuts” would be an excellent name for a band.
I agree. My comment was removed, but I gather the term “drunken slapnuts” wasn’t the reason.
I recently read where a woman wanted the state to remove the DEER CROSSING signs because the deer were crossing at those very dangerous areas. Apparently they must be able to read.
So they should just put up signs on the island that there will be a hunt beginning on a certain day. I’m sure if the hunters congregate along the causeway to Trenton they will all get to bag a deer as they flee from MDI since its the only way off the island.
The part of the story that I didnt see was that the controlled hunts held in the other towns were conducted by snipers not hunters
as they should be in populated areas. its not about hunting,it is about population control. a handful of pro’s could make a difference.
When a well to do’s child comes down with lyme disease, you will get your hunt. until then it’s Bambi
That is a really beautiful photograph accompanying this article, by the way.
With the number of Car/Deer accidents on the island the past couple years there may indeed need to be something done about the deer population, However an Open Hunt is not the answer, Perhaps allowing Bow hunting only, on private land, with the landowners express permission would work. I happen to love the deer, there are 6 of them sitting in my yard almost every morning. But I also would rather see the excess deer killed by a skilled hunter (or sharpshooter) than lying suffering on the side of the road with 4 broken legs from being hit by a car. When we had our car/deer accident, we had to wait almost an hour for a Hancock County Deputy to come and end its suffering. (this was in Blue Hill not on MDI)
My solution… Re-introduce Mountain Lions and Wolves! Let the natural predators deal with it. (yes, thats a bit of Sarcasm)
sorry matt, that would only last so long before the wolves and lions decided that your domesticated animals were easier prey than the wild stuff.
Well in reality the lions would deplete the food source so quickly that they would target domestics out of necessity.
I didn’t say it was a GOOD solution! :)
Why can’t the Department of Inland Fisheries trap some of these deer and truck them in the Northern Maine woods, where the population has been decreasing for the last 20 yrs. I honestly feel that this department has failed big time for the Maine citizens when it came to the salmon and trout that ran the St. John River, “folks” them fish are gone! Muskies have taken over our rivers, in planted or they came down from Canada no one will ever know, never the less, these fish have fed off of our trout and salmon and the trend seems to be like this is perfectly normal, eventually these muskies will eat each other off and we will be left with nothing. Who do I blame? Politicians and big land owners, we have no deer up north any more because of logging in deer yards, ” this is where deer feed and shelter in the winter”. We have no more trout and salmon in our streams because of big clear cuts, logging way to close to brooks and rivers in Northern Maine. Next is mining, what a joke, take it all to Canada and leave Northern Maine with a big hole in the ground that could look like one of the great lakes with out the water. Seems like big money is all that matters today, before we know it, Northern Maine will be left with Moose running into cars, killing people and that’s an issue that has to be addressed. We can not forget the lives of these people for a moose, the men and women that represent Maine citizens need to wake up and do what is right for the people of Maine.
Relocating deer is problematic if they aren’t tame. They have a tendency to not make the trip, and the constant need to monitor their condition while sedated just adds to the cost. As for the moose issue and roads, fences along the highway are a stupid idea despite what many yuppies will tell ya. I’d rather see them try the large highway over/underpasses designed for animal movement. they worked in other places, so they have their place in Maine. But you are right it all boils down to the almighty dollar.
Bow hunt only !
This wont sit too well with PETA…
I’m guessing 12-20 deer are removed from the Town of Mount Desert every year.
Island wide, probably 60ish.
(Not enough).
The deer tick infects us not only with Lyme disease, which can lead to crippling arthritis and brain damage, but also with babesiosis and anaplasmosis, both of which can be fatal. These diseases are increasing in incidence and spreading. Monhegan Island ME and Mumford Cove CT ended their Lyme epidemics by getting rid of the deer. This works because deer are key to the reproductive success of the deer tick. The adult egg-laying deer tick requires a sizeable mammal to feed on, and 95% feed on deer. Although immature forms of ticks may feed on mice, etc., these come from eggs laid by the adult tick which cannot feed on a mouse. Estimates are that ticks from just one deer can produce up to a million tick eggs per season. Deer can be removed by hunting and also by professionals who may set up clover traps, fenced-in areas where deer are lured with food and then shot by sharpshooters.
The sad part is that once you have a big population like M.D.I. does unless you shoot a huge amount (100 plus)you won’t even effect the population thats why bangor and brewer have expanded deer seasons for archery been going on for years the season runs 3 months and you can shoot all the does you want for 12 bucks apiece and we don’t even put a dent in the population i mean you can drive through parts of brewer and orrington hour before dark and it’s nothing to see 40 deer or more and alot of other towns are starting to do similiar plans i think it’s expanded all the way into bucksport and down to castine now.they did a controlled hunt on marsh island last year and the year before and didn’t even put a dent in it now you can hunt all old town and orono accept for university propertyif you can get permission all in all i guess it helps sustain the population but if you don’t do it every year your back to square one again in about 3 years if that long thats why all towns that have that expanded zones,seasons do it year after year some towns have tried the sharp shooter routine yeah works for a year or two then what they should try a bow season every year i mean limit the permits if they want but alteast they can control it then but you have to have the hunters too
I live on MDI, and have health insurance, because I work full time. Your comment seems ignorant and redneck. It’s too big of an island to use sweeping generalizations. You probably don’t love where your trailer sits, and it’s making you grumpy. Don’t worry about us Hopper, we will be fine.