You’ve been waiting for weeks, and today, your wait is over: It’s time to find out if you’re one of the 66,050 lucky winners who earned a Maine any-deer permit this year.
If you can’t wait any longer and don’t want to read any more explanation from me, you can click here to access the list on the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife’s website.
Yes, 66,050 — that’s a drastic increase over 2016’s total of 45,755 permits that were made available, and the 28,770 that were up for grabs in 2015.
Why? Mild winters.
State biologists have explained that after a string of mild winters, the state’s deer herd is in great shape; that status is reflected in the number of any-deer permits that are issued each year.
With an any-deer permit in hand, a Maine hunter will be allowed to target bucks, does or fawns when heading afield this year.
The rest of us — me included — will be hunting for deer sporting antlers.
Congrats to those who were among the lucky this year!