Contact: Joe Mullin, New England States Senior Coordinator
Earlier last week, the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife (MDIFW) hosted a series of virtual hearings pertaining to petitions for rulemaking proposals that were received from the anti-sportsmen’s community. On October 6, the MDIFW took oral testimony related to a proposal that promises to prohibit all predator hunting contests, while unnecessarily and unjustly restricting opportunities for sportsmen and women to hunt coyotes. The following day, on October 7, the MDIFW held a virtual hearing on the proposal to ban coyote trapping.
As was previously reported, the Congressional Sportsmen’s Foundation (CSF) and 18 other in-state and national conservation and sportsmen’s organizations submitted a sign-on letter of opposition to the MDIFW, presenting a unified front against such egregious proposals. In addition to submitting this letter, CSF attended last week’s virtual hearings and provided supplementary representation in staunch opposition.
Emotionally-driven pseudo-science cannot be the driving factor behind wildlife management decisions made at any level of government. CSF stands firm in its fight against both of these plans, and will continue to dedicate its efforts towards supporting sportsmen and women across the nation. The comment period for the proposed predator hunting contests ban closes on October 16, 2020, while the coyote trapping ban comment period closes on October 19, 2020. Further updates will be provided as they are made available. Please contact CSF with any questions.
Studies conducted at both the state and federal level have found that the number of hunters and trappers have been on a generally declining trend over the past several decades. To increase recruitment, retention, and reactivation (R3) of hunters and trappers, which initiative do you think would have the greatest impact?
