MDIFW Blog

IFW, Students to Capture and Track Radio-tagged Heron

Students and teachers from several schools across the state, in conjunction with the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife, are capturing and radio tagging great blue herons to learn more about herons and their habitats. The student’s jobs, equipped with binoculars, minnow traps, and fish ID cards, is to locate a foraging heron in their area and then catch fish to use as bait to keep the herons comi

Butler Island Wildlife Management Area

By Regional Wildlife Biologist Amanda DeMusz [caption id="attachment_1537" align="alignleft" width="300"] One of the smaller pools on the mainland in Compartment 1[/caption] Butler Island, located in Ashland, is a small WMA of approximately 295 acres of Aroostook River floodplain and riparian area.  The area is split into 2 compartments; the larger of the 2 compartments includes an 86 acre island referred to lo

Brook Trout Flourish In Little Moxie Pond After Removing Suckers, Shiners

[caption id="attachment_1524" align="alignright" width="578"] Removing the suckers and shiners from a native trout pond allow the brook trout to flourish.[/caption] Wonder what can happen when you remove nearly two tons of suckers and shiners from a small, 73-acre native trout pond? Brook trout flourish. Fisheries management can take many different forms.

Bud Leavitt Wildlife Management Area

[caption id="attachment_1513" align="alignleft" width="300"] View from Bud Leavitt WMA towards the western mountains[/caption] By Mark Caron, Regional Wildlife Biologist The Bud Leavitt Wildlife Management Area comprises 6,530 acres across portions of four towns including Dover-Foxcroft, Atkinson, Garland, and Charleston (Delorme Atlas,  Map 32).  The W

Training Drill Prepares Biologists For Multiple Crisis Scenarios

[caption id="attachment_1496" align="alignright" width="410"] Biologists locate, capture and assess oiled wildlife in a mock oil spill scenario.[/caption] The Department’s mission is to “protect, conserve and enhance” Maine’s fish and wildlife resources.

Searching for Maine's Moose Calves

By Scott McLellan, IFW Wildlife Biologist As part of the moose survival study that the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife (MDIFW) initiated in 2014, it is important to u

Maine Warden Service: Notes from the Field

Division A (Gray): Game Warden Mike Pierre began watercraft patrol on Sebago Lake.  He has seen early season success with lake trout and salmon anglers.  He issued several warnings for misinterpretation of the early open water season rules, where anglers were killing salmon from Sebago in violation. Division B (Sidney): Game Warden Doug Kulis was one of several airboat operators who attended an Air

GPS Radio Collars Tracking Deer for Next 5 Years

By Lisa Kane This article also appears in the April issue of the North Woods Sporting Journal How many of you apply for an Any Deer Permit each year? These much sought-after permit allocations are based, in part, on the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife (MDFIW’s) estimates of the previous winter’s deer mortality, previous season’s actual hunter harvests and biological information collected during each hunting season on harvested deer. Another part of the equation is called the Winter Severity Index, or WSI.

Working with Partners to Create Wildlife Habitat

By Sarah Spencer, Region C Wildlife Biologist In the Downeast Region, biologists frequently work with partners to accomplish tasks aligned with the Department’s mission.  A recent example of this collaboration came in mid-April when Region C Wildlife Biologists participated in an effort that was organized by the Maine Coastal Islands National Wildlife Refuge of the U.S.

IFW, TU and Audubon Are Looking For Volunteer Anglers

[caption id="attachment_1450" align="alignright" width="359"] Maine is one of the last strongholds for eastern brook trout.[/caption] Augusta, Maine -- Maine Audubon, Trout Unlimited and the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife (IFW) are seeking volunteer anglers to survey remote Maine ponds and coastal streams for brook trout this fishing season.