SUN JOURNAL • December 25, 2021
On the national level, there has been a longstanding consensus — backed by accumulated statistics — that the sport of hunting is not as popular as it once was. But in Maine, there has been at least a 10% increase in hunting license sales the past couple of years. the COVID era and rising meat prices may be behind it all, as more people are attracted to nature’s grocery store, to the fresh air, the exercise and the inherent social distancing that is part and parcel of recreational hunting. This season’s final deer harvest figure is over 38,000. That number represents a near-record deer harvest that is a 50-year high. It is likely that the comeback of recreational big game hunting in Maine is not about to wane anytime soon. ~ V. Paul Reynolds