Deer hunt begins

    AUGUSTA – The regular firearm season for deer opened for residents on October 27 and October 29 for nonresidents. The season will continue through Saturday, Nov. 24.     Department biologists believe that if normal hunting conditions and hunter effort take place statewide, the deer harvest in Maine should be in the vicinity of 29,580 deer. 
    The department manages the state’s deer population through the any-deer permit system, which allows a hunter to kill an antler-less deer. To reach deer population management objectives in 2007, the department has set doe harvest quotas ranging from zero to 1,295 among our 29 WMDs.  This year’s projected doe kill of 8,488 statewide, is 3.5 percent below the doe harvest achieved in 2006.  This reduced doe quota from 2006 reflects cold February temperatures and deep late season snows that increased winter mortality in many northern and central Wildlife Management Districts.  A total of 66,275 any-deer permits were issued statewide.
    The allocation of 66,275 any-deer permits, along with the archery and youth seasons, should result in the statewide harvest of roughly 8,688 does and an additional 4,952 fawns in 2007.  Antlered buck harvests should approximate 15,940. 
    Currently, the archery season for deer is ongoing, having started on September 27. In certain suburban areas of the state where high population densities of deer are common, an expanded archery season began on September 8 and will continue until December 8.