Maine Deer Spys Wanted

If you enjoy getting out into nature the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries & Wildlife has a cool new project they are introducing, and they could use your help. You could become a citizen scientist by becoming a volunteer in the new Maine Deer Spy Project! Yes that's right, you could be a spy....  all to help Maine’s biologists better understand the white-tailed deer population. Helpers across the state are needed and there are no age or physical requirements, everyone can participate.

MDIFW Wildlife biologists say this project is vital:

"It helps our understanding of whitetail recruitment patterns in the state. This project, Maine Deer Spy, allows deer and wildlife enthusiasts as well as Department staff around the state to record and report their deer sightings in a way that feeds right back into Maine’s deer management. The data that we receive will be used as a secondary source of recruitment data and to increase confidence in our understanding of whitetail recruitment patterns throughout Maine"

One of the main reasons this data helps is that the state biologist can use the information to tailor the "any deer permit"  program to help control deer populations. As a matter of fact, regulated harvest of female deer is the primary means of controlling Maine's deer populations and keeping it at a healthy level.

According to the MDIFW website:

"When determining the number of Any Deer Permits to issue each year, it is important to estimate recruitment rates (how many fawns each doe is able to raise up until the hunting season) so we can account for how many deer are added into the population each year and what proportion of the doe population we can lose while keeping the population healthy and stable."

So if being a deer spy intrigues you, this new pilot program may just be the thing for you. To lean more about the new Maine Deer Spy project, CLICK HERE to learn more about how you can participate.