BANGOR DAILY NEWS • November 10, 2025
A new state program allows farmers to increase hunting on their land by giving them extra free permits to use or distribute. It reflects the threat that increasing deer populations are posing to Maine’s agricultural economy. The Deer Management Assistance Program through the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife offers the permits to commercial growers who are seeing significant crop damage from deer. Farmers said they believe it’s an overdue step in the right direction, but it’s going to take more than that to make a dent in the destruction.