I attended a recent meeting of the Sportsman’s Alliance of Maine’s Fish and Game Club Network at SAM headquarters.

Present were Judith A. Camuso, Wildlife Division director for the Department of Inland Fisheries & Wildlife, and game warden Maj. Christopher J. Cloutier. They were there to explain how IF&W manages the bear population.

They rely on hunters who bait, hound and trap bear to keep the population in check. They would like to harvest about 4,000 bear each year. Maine’s population is at about 30,000 at this time.

A group called Mainers for Fair Bear Hunting is trying to stop these methods by using the ballot box this November. This group is bankrolled by the Humane Society of the United States, which is located in Washington, D.C. They tried this back in 2004 and lost. They are back to try again.

I do not appreciate someone from Washington telling me how we should manage the bear population. Remove these methods and the bear population would likely grow into a major nuisance.

Let’s let the people who manage bear now continue. If you really want to know what is happening, go to savemainesbearhunt.com and click the word “Info.”

Ken Scribner

Durham