Meeting Minutes

ADVISORY COUNCIL MEETING
March 6, 2024 @ 9:30am
353 Water Street, 4th floor conference room
Augusta, ME
(and virtually via Microsoft Teams)

 

Attending: Judy Camuso, Commissioner
Timothy Peabody, Deputy Commissioner
Christl Theriault, Assistant to the Commissioner
Francis Brautigam, Director of Fisheries and Hatcheries
Nate Webb, Wildlife Division Director
Jen Vashon, Game Research and Mgmt Supervisor
Caitlin Drasher, Bear Biologist
Kelsey Sullivan, Game Bird Biologist
Dan Scott, Colonel, Maine Warden Service
Cody Lounder, Game Warden Corporal
Cindy Rego, Office Specialist
Robin Hudson, Secretary Associate
Becky Orff, Secretary/Recorder

COUNCIL MEMBERS
Shelby Rousseau (Vice-Chair) - via Teams
Eric Ward
Al Cowperthwaite
Mike Gawtry
Roger Grant
Bob Duchesne - via Teams
Ed Pineau via Teams
Tony Liguori via Teams
Jennifer Geel via Teams

GUESTS
Larry Bastian, Native Fish Coalition
4 additional staff and public online

 

I. Call to Order

Council Chair, Kristin Peet was not in attendance and Council Vice-Chair, Shelby Rousseau was participating online. Eric Ward, who was attending in person, was asked to chair the meeting. Mr. Ward called the meeting to order.

I-A. Pledge of Allegiance

II. Moment of Silence

III. Introductions

Introductions were made.

IV. Acceptance of Minutes of Previous Meeting

A motion was made by Mr. Cowperthwaite to approve the minutes of the previous meeting and that was seconded by Mrs. Rousseau.

Vote: unanimous in favor minutes approved.

V. Rulemaking

A. Step 3

There were no items under Step 3.

B. Step 2

There were no items under Step 2.

C. Step 1

1. 2024/25 Migratory Bird Seasons

Mr. Sullivan gave a PowerPoint presentation to the group. For a copy of the presentation please contact becky.orff@maine.gov .

Mr. Sullivan discussed how the general duck season was set. At the flyway level they looked at wood ducks, ring-necked ducks, green winged teel and common goldeneye, the population status, harvest rates and general estimates of total harvest. A combination of population status and harvest metrics equaled the general duck season recommendations. Overall, the species had trended in a stable way. The general season was 60 days and 6 birds overall with species specific bag limits.

Mr. Sullivan discussed mallard breeding population estimates from 1999 2023. In 2023 Maine went to a 4-bird mallard limit from 2. We went to 2 birds because of the general population decline in 1999-2019. Aerial surveys of Eastern Canada and Maine detected an increase in the mallard population which led to the 4-bird limit recommendation in 2023. The breeding population had dropped some but was still above the threshold to have 4-bird limit so there was no change recommended in the bag limit for the coming year. Specific to black ducks in Maine, we were fortunate the USFWS did aerial surveys of Eastern Canada and transects in Maine. Black ducks were variable in their breeding population in any given year based on water and other conditions. In general, black ducks were relatively stable over time. There was also no change being proposed for the black duck bag limit.

Mr. Sullivan discussed waterfowl hunter participation from 1999-2022. Estimated active duck hunters through HIP (harvest information program) showed increased participation in 2020. This may have been due to COVID. Overall, the trend in harvest matched the trends in participation which supported matching our seasons with the level of hunter participation. Harvest rates for banded Canada geese was discussed. 2020 was the last year we had done banding in Maine; it occurred every 3 years. If you harvest greater than 25% of your resident population you could start to impact the population trend in a negative way. The goal was to decrease the resident population in Maine and the flyway. They were considered an overabundant species and contributed to some issues with landowners and a health risk. Our goal had been to increase the goose harvest. In 2011 and 2012 we went above the 25% harvest rate, but overall, we had been below that. In 2023 we went from 6 birds in the north zone for the resident season to 8. After the 2024 banding season we would have a more updated harvest rate we could look at. Mr. Sullivan discussed the American woodcock and singing grouse survey. Trends for woodcock in Maine, we still had a pretty strong robust population of singing males prior to the breeding season.

Mr. Sullivan went over the season changes being proposed in the rule. The brant season was not included in the packet, the information was not available when the proposal was created. The brant season would be the same length and bag limit as in 2023. Another change in the packet was the coastal zone segment start. Traditionally, prior to 2023 coastal zone and south zone started on October 1. When we eliminated the sea duck season in 2023, we lost 2 weeks of sea duck hunting in January. Because the sea duck season was eliminated, sea duck harvest was within the 60 day/6 duck general framework. Based on surveys and input from the Waterfowl Council, it was a priority to maximize the amount of sea duck hunting later into the winter. In order to do that, we had to truncate the first segment of the coastal zone. The coastal zone and the southern zone both have split seasons (an early and late segment), to try to increase the amount of time for sea duck harvest later in the winter, we pulled days off the early segment for the coastal zone. In 2023 we broke the tradition of October 1 and went to September 30. That was to grab two Saturdays within the early segment of the coastal season to accommodate the coastal duck hunters that preferred hunting earlier. The surveys predominantly showed there was more interest in going later in the coastal zone. In 2024 to do that we would go to October 5, not October 1. In general, the Waterfowl Council felt maximizing Saturdays for the early segment was important enough to make that traditional break from October 1.

Mr. Sullivan stated the sea duck harvest and the concern about over harvest of sea ducks has been a conversation at the flyway level since the late 1990's. There was a change in 1999 you could hunt sea ducks for 107 days and take 7 eiders, scoters or long-tailed ducks. In 1999 the bag limit on any given species was reduced from 7 to 5. There was work done by the USFWS to look at potential for harvest for sea ducks and compared what was measured and observed compared to what's allowable based on different parameters for each of the sea duck species survival, reproductive rate, and various other things that went into population estimates. At the flyway, they were struggling with how to approach the concern, recognizing it's a challenge to monitor sea ducks. To go with the process of the change they'd been seeing over time, sea duck season reductions happened in the Atlantic flyway and in 2016 we went from 107 days to 60 days for the total sea duck season. Species bag limits were dropped from 5 to 4 for scoters, eiders and long-tailed ducks with a total bag limit of 5. In 2022, because we weren't seeing a response to reduced level of harvest, a change was made at the flyway level to eliminate the sea duck season completely. Sea ducks are now included in the general bag limit. The Maine Waterfowl Council met prior to drafting the proposal and at the meeting some council members expressed concern about the lack of eiders being seen on the coast. A graph of sea duck harvest over time was shown. Looking at Ebird data the eider population had been trending down. Reviewing data from 2011-2022 there appeared to be a max decline of 30% in some areas.

Council Member Comments and Questions

Mr. Gawtry asked about the baseline for population data. He agreed that he did not see as many eiders as he used to. Was it potentially that the population hadn't changed but relocated because of lack of forage base and they were not viewed in the places they were viewed before? Was the justification for reducing it valid? He felt it was based on what we think we see vs. what we knew.

Mr. Sullivan stated that was the struggle. He had reached out to other key eider hunting states, MA, NH and they were not making any proposed changes. To Mr. Gawtry's point about relocation, there were larger groups of eiders turning up in Long Island and MA that may be Maine birds.

Mr. Gawtry stated if there were fewer eiders and we were visually seeing fewer on the Maine coast, was it still meaningful to reduce the rate in Maine because there were fewer here and some associated impact to that.

Mr. Sullivan stated that was where the Waterfowl Council's concern came in, were we at the point where saving a few birds would keep them on our coast.

Mr. Ward stated there was a comment from MPGA that some guides may have already booked clients and the change might impact them. Would that have any effect on thoughts about going from 3 to 2.

Mr. Sullivan stated they had made their plans before the season was adopted, but it was a valid point for the guides.

Mr. Duchesne stated the crash in common eiders had been scaring him for years. He realized there was a desire to keep hunting at the current rate, but at the current trend they wouldn't be able to hunt them at all in a few years. He thought there were natural reasons why it was happening, not because of hunting pressure; the decline in blue mussels because of green crabs, avian flu, etc. All these pressures were already affecting eiders and we had to be careful how much more pressure we added to that. He also questioned if there were enough brant in Maine to hunt.

Mr. Sullivan stated there were low numbers of brant, they were vagrants. We maintained a tradition of allowing that opportunity. There were a couple of brant hunters that attended the public meetings expressing interest.

Commissioner Camuso stated the Waterfowl Council had met and she was then informed that they were recommending a reduction in the eider bag limit from 3 to 2. Since the proposal was different than the Federal framework (to hold at 3 for another year to get additional data at the flyway level) she asked Mr. Sullivan to see what other states were doing. Other states weren't making any changes. The Commissioner met with the Waterfowl Council and was convinced by the Council that there were not enough ducks and anything we could do to protect the resource was justified. They wanted to make sure there were eiders to hunt in the years to come. They discussed Maine being at a disadvantage to the other states, but needed to ensure that we had enough eiders to hunt. They felt that most people that came to Maine to hunt eiders wanted one good looking male to mount. A 3-bird limit wasn't necessary. Most came to Maine because they liked to hunt here and we had a lot of other sea ducks and reducing the eider limit from 3 to 2 was not likely, they believed, to impact the guide business overall.

Mr. Grant asked if we knew the comparison of hunters per the three other states? In comparison, there was more coastline in Maine than the others put together.

There were no further comments or questions.

2. Ch. 16 rules (edits for crossbow/archery equipment)

Ms. Theriault stated these were changes as they pertained to crossbow hunting. The rule changes were to implement changes in the law to make things consistent. In years prior, bow and arrows and crossbows were considered different classes of weapons and as such, different laws and rules applied to each weapon type. With the increasing popularity of crossbow hunting and a desire to simplify the laws there have been statute and rule changes for a period of years to allow the use of crossbows more broadly and we had examined the impacts of the increased usage. In 2020, a temporary law went into effect allowing broader use of crossbows during the October archery season. This took place until 2022 and in 2023 the legislative committee made the law permanent. In 2023, the Department brought forward a law proposal that created the definition of archery equipment. The law went into effect January 1, 2024 and created a definition of archery equipment that included both traditional bow and arrow and crossbows. This created a host of changes within Title 12 statutes and the rulemaking proposal aligned rules regarding crossbow use with the statutory changes.

Ms. Theriault stated because bow and arrows and crossbows were now both considered archery equipment in statue the proposal would incorporate the change in rule terminology. It also allowed the use of crossbows more broadly during the expanded archery season. We also included crossbow use for fall turkey season. She reviewed the changes in the packet. There were no changes to hunter orange requirements. In the migratory waterfowl section, bow and arrow and shotguns were the only things that could be used. We couldn't expand to the use of crossbow due to the code of federal regulations. In the special hunts section, the proposal impacted several town specific hunting closures and modified the rule regarding the special closures to reflect the preference of the impacted towns. A section was being removed regarding the Eastport special hunt because the hunt no longer occurred. The section describing special hunting requirements for archery hunters on Marsh Island in Old Town was being repealed because the hunt no longer occurred. The City of Old Town was consulted along with local wildlife biologists as well as regional game wardens and they all concurred it should continue to allow the use of handheld bow and arrow only and not expand to the use of crossbows. The section would also include several special hunt locations that were currently in statute. The Department would repeal the sections in statute next year in a law proposal and pull them into rule to have them all in one area.

Ms. Theriault discussed use of crossbows during the expanded archery season. Expanded archery hunting occurred primarily in developed areas of the state where firearms discharge ordinances prohibited hunting with firearms and where additional deer removal was desired. As seen during the regular archery season when crossbows were made widely usable a significant increase in the expanded archery deer harvest is expected. It's the Department's desire to maintain lower deer numbers in these developed areas and an increase in expanded archery harvest would be beneficial. In terms of warden service violations for expanded use of crossbows since 2020, they encountered more violations with crossbow use opportunities, but they were minimal. From 2020 2022 there was an increase of 10, 23, and 21 violations respectively. Most of the incidents were not related to the use of crossbow, it was only the implement that was possessed at the time.

Mrs. Theriault stated prior to the changes a very small percentage of harvested animals were taken with a crossbow. Between 2017 2019 there were 162 deer of the over 1,800 deer that were taken during the regular archery season (9%). In 2023, about 56% of the deer taken during the regular archery season were taken by crossbow. There had been a very low increase in crossbow harvest for turkeys in the fall. It did not appear to have any negative impacts on the population. The new law repealed the crossbow permit so hunters would no longer be required to purchase a separate crossbow permit.

There were no questions or comments.

3. Moose permit allocations 2024

Mr. Webb stated the proposal was to set the annual permit numbers and season dates. There was a lot of work and information that went on throughout the year to inform the annual rulemaking. Aerial survey work that Mr. Kantar and staff participated in with the Maine Forest Service pilots as well as collection of biological data. The proposed changes were minimal. The past two years we had seen some positive trends in the moose population. We had two consecutive years of relatively low tick numbers and that was being reflected in relatively high rates of pregnancy and high rates of overwinter calf survival. The moose were in good condition, calf weights were up and things were looking good for the upcoming season. We were proposing no changes to permit numbers for the 2024 season. With the current season framework, we felt we were more limited by hunter satisfaction and just overall busyness on the landscape; hunter numbers as opposed to the harvest level. We had reached a threshold within the existing framework for the hunting season in terms of the number of hunters we could have on the landscape. The only change we were proposing was for the adaptive hunt. Initially, the first two years of the adaptive hunt we had three one-week seasons. Last year we tried a new approach where we had an additional fourth week where any hunters that were unsuccessful in each of the first three weeks could come back during the fourth week and have an additional six days of opportunity. We saw very minimal harvest resulted from the fourth week. There were 15 moose harvested out of potentially up to 400 hunters that were eligible to come back and hunt. There was a lot of effort required on the Department to host that moose hunt. We felt the added effort to host the fourth week wasn't worth the small increase in harvest. The proposal recommended eliminating the fourth week of the adaptive hunt and reverting back to the three one-week seasons with a total of 550 antlerless permits.

Mr. Webb stated this year, and it happened about every seven years, there would be two weeks in between the first bull hunt and the second bull hunt. That was based on how the calendar dates fell. Most years there was only one week between the bull hunts. Every time the calendar worked this way we received comments. We had received mixed messages on making changes to the season structure to avoid this.

There were no further questions or comments.

VI. Other Business

1. PFD age requirements
Commissioner Camuso stated that the Department had received a request from the Power Squadron and Representative Hepler about changing the minimum age that people would have to wear a life jacket from 10, to align with the federal requirement which was 12. A meeting was held with Warden Service and Marine Patrol. The federal framework was that in state waters the federal regulation switched over to what that state's regulation was. We hadn't had any issues and didn't feel that changing the regulation was necessary or warranted. That was communicated to the Representative and the constituent so they may respond by forming a petition.

2. Legislation Update

Commissioner Camuso updated the Council on some of the bills before the IFW Committee. This was the short session for the Committee.

Mr. Webb updated the Council on the stakeholder group for moose hunting. The group met three times and discussed various perspectives. There was no consensus among the group on what should change. Conflict between moose and grouse hunters was discussed. There was a statutory change that occurred changing the start of the upland game bird season such that rather than starting on the last Saturday in September and going until the end of December, there would be a one-day upland game season the last Saturday in September and the season would close and restart on October 1. That change did not become effective until 2025. The group also recommended a moose hunter education course modeled after the briefing for the adaptive hunt. They felt the course should be voluntary to start. They also recommended collecting broader information on the issue of conflicts during the moose season as well as season timing. We would be doing a public survey to investigate those issues. The stakeholder group would be reconvening to help inform the survey process and questions. Mr. Webb discussed the changes in the lottery application timing.

Mr. Ward stated regarding the survey, where he lived there was a big moose watching industry. Those companies had four months where someone that hunted had one week. Maybe a survey would let us know that hunting along with viewing wasn't what it used to be as far as conflicts. The survey would help bring that information out.

Commissioner Camuso discussed additional bills before the legislative committee including the invasives bill which proposed an increase in the cost of the milfoil sticker ($10 for residents and $15 for non-residents). The supplemental budget was discussed. There was a decline in federal monies for fisheries. During the next budget cycle there may be an increase in the cost of fishing licenses proposed. This was due to the reduction in gas tax revenues.

VII. Councilor Reports

Councilors gave reports.

VIII. Public Comments & Questions

Claire Perry asked a question in the chat function of Teams, "Question on crossbow/archery:  I heard "Beauchamp" as being a place now open to crossbow hunting. Is this in Camden (Beauchamp Point)?  If yes.... was hunting prohibited in this area previously?  Thank you."

Mr. Webb stated that area was already open to archery hunting and now that would include crossbows as well. It was already open to hunting.

There were no further questions or comments.

IX. Agenda Items & Schedule Date for Next Meeting

The next meeting was scheduled for Wednesday, April 17, 2024, at 9:30am at IFW, Augusta.

X. Adjournment

A motion was made by Mr. Cowperthwaite and that was seconded by Mr. Gawtry to adjourn the meeting. The meeting was adjourned at 11:30 a.m.