Maine BowHunters Association

ATTENTION MAINE BOWHUNTERS
We as passionate and dedicated bowhunters need to step up and fight this bill that has very clearly been opposed by SAM, The Maine Guides Association, and Maine Bowhunters Association. Please go to our website for more info.
If you would like to help in shutting down LD27 please follow the link to learn more.
To read LD27: Click Here
To read testimonies given: Click Here

Please contact your State Senator to voice your opinion NOW.

Members & Staff
Senator Jim Dill of Penobscot- Chair
D - Senate District 5
72 Sunset Drive
Old Town, ME 04468
Phone: N/A, e-mail: Click Here
Senator Paul Davis of Piscataquis
R - Senate District 4
36 Townhouse Road
Sangerville, ME 04479
Phone: N/A, e-mail: Click Here
Senator Louis Luchini of Hancock
D - Senate District 7
PO Box 1311
Ellsworth, ME 04605
Phone: N/A, e-mail: Click Here
Representative Catherine Nadeau of Winslow- Chair
D - House District 78
23 Patterson Avenue
Winslow, ME 04901
Phone: N/A, e-mail: Click Here
Representative Jessica Fay of Raymond
D - House District 66
141 Spiller Hill Road
Raymond, ME 04071
Phone: N/A, e-mail: Click Here
Representative Scott Landry of Farmington
D - House District 113
PO Box 23
Farmington, ME 04938
Phone: N/A, e-mail: Click Here
Representative Danny Martin of Sinclair
D - House District 150
PO Box 97
Sinclair , ME 04779
Phone: N/A, e-mail: Click Here
Representative John Martin of Eagle Lake
D - House District 151
PO Box 250
Eagle Lake, ME 04739
Phone: N/A, e-mail: Click Here
Representative Rick Mason of Lisbon
R - House District 56
312 Ridge Road
Lisbon Falls, ME 04252
Phone: N/A, e-mail: Click Here
Representative Lester Ordway of Standish
R - House District 23
Phone: N/A, e-mail: Click Here
Representative Sean Paulhus of Bath
D - House District 52
677 Middle St
Bath, ME 04530
Phone: N/A, e-mail:
Representative Paul Stearns of Guilford
R - House District 119
33 Applebee Hill Road
Guilford, ME 04443
Phone: N/A, e-mail: Click Here
Representative Tim Theriault of China
R - House District 79
1210 Lakeview Drive
China, ME 04358
Phone: N/A, e-mail: Click Here
Linda Lacroix - Committee Clerk
Phone: 287-1338, e-mail: Click Here
Michael Russo - OFPR Analyst
Office of Fiscal and Program Review
5 State House Station
Augusta, ME 04333
Phone: 287-1635, e-mail: Click Here
Jon Clark - OPLA Analyst
Office of Policy and Legal Analysis
13 State House Station
Augusta, ME 04333
Phone: 287-1670, e-mail: Click Here
Deirdre Schneider - OPLA Analyst
Office of Policy and Legal Analysis
13 State House Station
Augusta, ME 04333
Phone: 287-1670, e-mail: Click Here

LD 27- An Act to Allow Crossbows in Archery Season

Maine Bowhunters Association is taking a position “against this bill.”

We at Maine Bowhunters Association are not opposed to crossbows for disabled hunters or for use during firearms season. We are opposed to crossbows during “archery only” season on deer.

We have a very limited resource. When more harvest opportunities are provided for crossbows it will decrease harvest opportunities for other hunters. Less any-deer permits will be available to firearm hunters, and any future opportunities for youth hunters will have to be seriously scrutinized and likely denied. We believe any new opportunities for harvesting deer should go to youth hunters, not crossbow hunters.
Many areas in expanded archery zones are already overcrowded with bowhunters because many landowners in those areas don’t allow hunting, closing off large tracts of land from hunting. Lack of access is the real issue here. We believe efforts to increase access through landowner and community education would be far more productive than putting more hunters with more weapons on already crowded properties. We believe this would actually be counter-productive by alienating more landowners to hunting.
We cannot be compared to other states that have allowed crossbow hunting. Their management goals are primarily aimed at reducing deer numbers. Ours are aimed at increasing them. Most states have multiple doe tags, while we restrict the harvesting of does. We harvest about 25,000 deer/year. Most of these other states harvest 150,000 – 200,000 and even more. Most other states have very short firearms seasons that are outside the major phases of the rut. We have a very long firearms season that runs through all phases of the rut. Some states have a 4 month archery season, a few days of muzzleloader, and a week of firearms in late November or early December. Those states have great hunting and having crossbow during archery season is not a problem. Other states also have bountiful public land to disperse hunting pressure. We believe putting more pressure on an already diminished resource would fly in the face of wise conservation.
Most northern states with low deer numbers have an “archery only” season without crossbows, because they know the added pressure on a limited resource can have a larger impact than in states with higher deer numbers.
Maine has had one deer biologist in recent history who was successful at increasing deer numbers (Gerald Lavigne). He did so, not by increasing opportunities, but by decreasing them with the “any deer permit” system. This was a courageous position to take, and he faced a storm of opposition………….however, he was right, it worked. No attempts to increase opportunities have caused our deer numbers to increase. We hunters must be conservationists, not opportunists. We must conserve, not exploit.
Archery only season was established in 1951 to provide those hunters who are willing to put in the time and effort to learn how to shoot and hunt with bow, a relatively solitary time in the woods. Never, in those 66 years has the legislature decided to eliminate that tradition of respect for bowhunting. It would be a shame to see that tradition lost.

In summary:
We think it unwise to be seeking more ways to kill more deer, by putting more hunters in the woods for longer periods of time with more types of weapons, in a state that is trying to grow its deer herd.
We encourage all bowhunters to reach out to their Senator, to make sure their voice is heard.

Deanna L. Page
President, Maine Bowhunters Association

MBA Spring 2017 Newsletter

The following link will display the Spring 2017 issue of the MBA newsletter click here.