SUN JOURNAL • February 24, 2024
As Maine works at restoring its declining deer numbers in the north woods, identifying and protecting historic deer wintering areas has taken on a new urgency. The Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife now has dedicated funding that is legally earmarked to actually purchase known deer yards, so that the yards can be protected in perpetuity. This acquisition of deer yards is a work in progress. How many historic deer yards do we have? According to MDIF&W spokesman Ryan Robicheau, that figure is about 350,000 acres, or 2% of all forestland in the state. ~ V. Paul Reynolds