MAINE, USA — EDITOR'S NOTE: The video above aired on May 10, 2022.
Beginning this year, a licensed Maine hunter with an antlerless deer permit can harvest an antlerless deer in the designated district and an antlered deer statewide.
Hunters may acquire the antlerless deer permits through the lottery, and any remaining permits will be available for purchase on the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife's website.
There is a $12 fee and a $2 agent fee for the antlerless deer permit. Maine deer biologist Nathan Bieber told NEWS CENTER Maine the revenue from the permit fees would go toward conservation efforts.
"A lot of people are going to be resistant, I think, to a fee at first," Bieber said. "Since it's going toward purchasing deer wintering habitat, managing that habitat for wintering deer, and also, those areas will be managed as wildlife management areas and recreation. ... We're hoping by putting the fees to good use people can see how that money is used will make that a much easier choice to pay that fee."
Antlerless deer permit lottery applications will be accepted online only, according to the MDIFW. The lottery will open in late June and close at 11:59 p.m. Aug. 1, 2022. The MDIFW said it would post a link on its website to apply.
For anyone without access to a computer or the Internet at home, the MDIFW suggests:
- using a computer at a local library
- using a computer at work during lunch or a break
- asking a friend or relative with a computer for help in applying
There is no fee to apply for an antlerless deer permit. If someone receives a permit, they must pay the $12 permit fee and $2 agent fee in order to claim it.
To apply for an antlerless deer permit, an applicant must possess a valid Maine license to hunt big game.
For more information on Maine's new antlerless deer permit, click here.