Informational meeting on moose hunt 2010 set in Ashland

    ASHLAND — The Wildlife Division for the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife will be conducting a public informational meeting to discuss the 2010 moose hunting season and moose management options for Wildlife Management Districts (WMDs) 2, 3, 6, and 11.     WMDs 2, 3 and 6 are in Aroostook County, and WMD 11 includes parts of southern Aroostook, northern Penobscot and northern Washington (farm-woodlands) counties.
    This meeting will be held on Wednesday, Sept. 9, at the department’s regional headquarters in Ashland beginning at 6:30 p.m.
    This meeting was initiated due to the last session of the Legislature when the Joint Standing Committee on Inland Fisheries & Wildlife enacted LD 929, a resolve regarding the classification of WMD 2. This resolve directed the department to adopt rules that for the purposes of moose hunting; WMD 2 would be managed the same as WMD 3.
    The agenda for the informational meeting will center on requirements for LD 929, along with background information of moose hunting in WMDs 2, 3, 6, and 11, in Aroostook County. The focus will be on three main issues:
• The department’s existing moose population goals and objectives;
• The number of moose-hunting permits the department may allocate in 2010; and
• The possibility of extending the moose hunting season from the current two-week season to a three-week season.
    The department will use the public informational meeting input to develop the rule governing the 2010 moose season in WMDs 2, 3, 6, and 11 in Aroostook County, including permit allocation, timing and hunting season.