Outdoors

Published
December 24, 2011

Hunting: Roadblocks to drawing nonresident hunters persist

“Vacationland.” “The way life should be.” These are the slogans used to attract nonresident visitors to our state. Apparently, they’re not working. And the problem is significant enough that the Legislature passed a resolve establishing a Task Force To Examine the Decline in the Number of Nonresident Hunters, charged with reviewing the numbers of nonresident […]
Published
December 24, 2011

Birding: Latest NGS Guide offers innovations with birders in mind

The battle of the bird field guides is picking up again. The sixth edition of the National Geographic Society (hereafter, NGS) Field Guide to the Birds of North America was published recently. This new edition is much improved. It will offer some serious competition to other field guides. When I began birding, the two available […]
Published
December 24, 2011

Best Bets

UPCOMING New Year’s Day Hike 1 p.m. in Kezar Falls Join Healthy Sacopee for its 14th annual New Year’s Day Hike. Meet at 1 p.m. at the Sacopee Valley Health Center, 49 Summer St., one block off Route 160 in Kezar Falls. The hike will start at 1:30 p.m. and cover two miles in the […]
Published
December 17, 2011

Best Bets

SATURDAYS Free Wagon Rides 2 to 4 p.m. in Bethel During the Country Christmas in Bethel celebration, there will be free horse-drawn wagon rides in Bethel, leaving from the Bethel Common. Other festivities fill the town during the month-long celebration. For more information, go to www.bethelmaine.com. SATURDAYS Bird Walks 8 a.m. in Freeport Geared toward […]
Published
December 17, 2011

A way of living, with no regrets

Fur trading may be controversial and not as profitable as in the past, but a niche group remains that loves nature and has that pioneer spirit.

Published
December 17, 2011

Deirdre Fleming: The permit that nods to a culture

It’s a long way from happening and certainly no guarantee, but after six years of uncertainty, lawsuits and questions, Maine may become the first state to be given an incidental take permit for trapping by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Public hearings last week were one of the final steps in the service’s review […]
Published
December 17, 2011

Allen Afield: Rabbit-hunting season brings back fond memories of childhood

All my life, Maine’s varying-hare season has run from Oct. 1 to March 31, one of the few hunting-season constants when one reaches my age. When I was 10 to 13 years old, my hare hunting kicked off during the 2½-week Christmas vacation from school and continued through March. (We call hares “rabbits” in northern […]
Published
December 17, 2011

Snowmobiling: Club gatherings bring good cheer, with or without snow

Tis the season — to join a snowmobile club! OK, there isn’t any substantial snowfall or official grooming going on just yet, but you can have a great time getting ready for the season and making new friends by joining a snowmobile club. Plus, the holiday party season is going on right now, and the […]
Published
December 17, 2011

Hunting: To stay safe outside, go hunting

I was at a postseason get-together for one of my kids’ soccer teams recently when a parent approached me and asked, “When is hunting season over?” They were most concerned with when it would be safe to go outside without wearing orange. I advised them that the regular firearms season was over, which seemed to […]
Published
December 17, 2011

Josh Christie: Mt. Abram and Snow Bowl can be all yours for a day

Lift lines. Crowded slopes. Tracked-out powder. As important as a bustling community of skiers is to the feel of the sport, haven’t you ever wished you could have a mountain to yourself? Thanks to the California-based outfit Liftopia, now you can. Starting this winter, the company is offering Full Mountain Rental packages at five ski […]

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Outdoors