Small Smelt, Huge Impact

[caption id="attachment_435" align="alignright" width="300"] An invasive rainbow smelt washes in when a pond is reclaimed[/caption] The story begins with arctic char, also known as blueback trout.  Maine is the only state in the lower 48 that has native

Salmon Stripping

As crisp mornings become regularly bedecked with heavy frosts, landlocked salmon have one thing on their minds: spawning. For the most part, salmon are quite able to locate an appropriate spawning area, spawn, and return back to lakes and ponds without any issue.

Tick Check

River Otter Surveys

As the nights continue to get colder, wild animals all over the state are making preparations for the impending winter. For otters, this means increased marking of fishing territories so other otters know where their neighbors will be fishing when ice forms.

Seining Kennebago River

[caption id="attachment_423" align="alignright" width="300"] Biologists dragging seine net through a section of the Kennebago River[/caption] Seine netting is a non-lethal capture method employed by MDIFW fisheries biologists during the

Biologists and October Bulls

[caption id="attachment_419" align="alignright" width="300"] Unity College students check harvested moose for winter tick load.

Trap Nets for Trout

Fall is descending upon us and that means breath-taking foliage, crisp, cool mornings, and trap nets! Trap netting is a live-trapping technique that targets fish swimming close to shore.

Watch out for CWD

Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) is a transmissible spongiform encephalopathy (TSE) disease in cervids, including deer and moose. Other TSEs you may already know are Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease in humans, mad cow in bovines, and scrapie in sheep. TSEs are fatal diseases that effect the nervous system. Visible symptoms of CWD include excessive drooling, thirst, and urination, teeth grinding, drooping ears, unusual behavior, sluggish behavior, and emaciation.

Fall Preparation

Fall is just around the corner and IFW’s wildlife and fisheries biologists and hatchery personnel are rushing around preparing for the coming cool weather and all of the hunting, fishing, and fish stocking that come with it! For wildlife biologists, this means monitoring the black bear harvest, which is currently in full swing, and preparing themselves and the many tagging stations statewide for the inevitable rush of moose and deer and turkeys that will be coming in!

Creating Food and Habitat with Flame

The morning of August 24th rolled into Brownfield with blue skies, a few clouds, and only occasional wisps of wind; it was a perfect morning for setting the woods on fire in IFW’s Brownfield Wildlife Management Area (WMA). The Maine Forest Service, the USDA Forest Service, IFW, The Nature Conservancy, NOAA, and the Maine Army National Guard all congregated for the prescribed burn.