Hunting & Bear Baiting

Maine Public Lands offer the opportunity to hunt in the backcountry.

• Use our Park Search Feature and select the hunting icon under “Search by Activities” to find the allowable hunting locations on Maine State Parks and Public Lands.
• For season information Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife (IF&W) site.
• Harvest data for black bear, whitetail deer, moose and wild turkey.
• The Maine Office of Tourism provides information about sporting camps and guide services.
• Opportunities for People with Disabilities - an IF&W listing.
• Tree Stand Guidelines (PDF)

Bear Hunting

Information is available from the Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife including:

• Licenses and Permits
• Laws and Rules
• Season for Hunting and Trapping

Bear Baiting

• Bear Baiting is allowed on Maine Public Lands with a permit from the Bureau of Parks and Lands.
• Bear bait sites are assigned, permitted, and renewable.
• 2025 begins a new 3-year cycle for Personal sites and a 6-year cycle for Commercial sites.
• Rules for Bear Baiting on Public Lands (PDF 142KB)

Application

• Registered Maine Guides that want sites for personal use must complete a Commercial application.
• Commercial Site Application (Fillable Form PDF 769KB)
• Personal Site Application (Fillable Form PDF 763KB)
• These are fillable forms. Please complete, save to your device, then email to the appropriate regional office, or, you may print and mail a hard copy.
• Requests for multiple sites within the same region must be on one application.
• If you’re applying for sites located in more than one region, please submit a separate application for
  each region.
• Completed applications must be received by the regional offices before 4:00 p.m. Friday, February 28,
  2025.
• Duplicate requests for the same sites will be resolved by lottery.
• Site assignment notifications will be made by Friday, March 21, 2025
• View the Bear Bait Season information on the Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife