Deer yard purchases on track

By V. Paul Reynolds

An Oct. 3 announcement that the Land For Maine’s Future board had just approved a big part of the funding package for the acquisition of an historic 3,000-acre deer-wintering area in Southern Aroostook County is big news!

The growing decline in deer yards, especially in the North Woods, has contributed to lower deer survival numbers, especially in Aroostook County. New historic legislation this year earmarked $40 million in the state biennial budget for the express purpose of protecting historic deer wintering areas by outright purchase and subsequent management by the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife.

The funding for these deer yard purchases comes from a number of sources, along with LMF funding. Some of the money comes from federal matching funds (Pittman-Robertson Act) and from new state revenues generated by hunters when they purchase any-deer permits in Maine.

MDIF&W has identified 7,500 acres of deer wintering areas in Aroostook County for proposed purchase. A half dozen other deer yards in other parts of the state are being “negotiated.” Insofar as we can determine, there has yet to be a solid “closing” on any of these deer yard purchases. Some media accounts of the LMF funding vote suggested that the land deal was a fait accompli. This is not the case. Despite the public victory laps by Commissioner Camuso and Governor Mills following the LMF vote,  the 3,000 acres Reed Deadwater tract won’t actually be owned by the state until appraisals are completed and title searches are complete, and signatures are on the dotted line.

When the deal is really sealed, The Sportsman’s Alliance of Maine, which played a pivotal role in this deer-yard protection legislation, deserves to be standing alongside Gov. Mills and Commissioner Camuso when they take their bows.

If past is prologue, real estate transactions can be tricky. The act of buying deer wintering areas from a willing seller are no different. As historic and hope-augering as all of this is for Maine and its deer populations, taxpayers, which includes hunters, still need to be paying attention and asking questions once the yard purchases are final. Are we paying a fair price per acre for these deer-wintering areas? And do these state land purchases remove taxable property from the tax base? Who makes up the difference?

Interestingly, Maine gubernatorial candidate Paul LePage got in a dust up with the Sportsman’s Alliance of Maine (SAM) over this very issue, the loss of state-purchased wildlands from the property tax rolls. LePage’s concern is justified. SAM’s executive director, David Trahan, concedes that the tax concern is not frivolous. He told LePage that SAM is prepared to support legislation that might address these concerns over lost tax revenues. According to SAM, many of Maine’s conserved lands ( 4 out of every 5 acres) pay PILOTS (Payments in Lieu of Taxes).

On balance, these initiatives to protect deer wintering areas were inevitable if Maine is to be serious about being a proactive steward of its whitetail deer populations. The tools of state-enforced code ordinances and voluntary cooperative agreements with landowners just weren’t getting the job done.

The author is editor of the Northwoods Sporting Journal. He is also a Maine Guide and host of a weekly radio program “Maine Outdoors” heard Sundays at 7 p.m. on The Voice of Maine News-Talk Network. He has authored three books. Online purchase information is available at www.sportingjournal.com, Outdoor Books.