Select board split on options to move forward
Jun 06, 2025
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TREMONT—Baby steps, according to Tremont Select Board Chair Jamie Thurlow, is the way to approach instituting a possible deer hunt in the Town of Tremont. At the June 2 meeting of the Tremont Select Board, members of the board and public discussed possible options to move forward to a public hearing.
While the select board did not set a date for that public hearing during that meeting, the town has since set a date for a public hearing on “July 7, 2025 at 5:00 p.m., at the Tremont Town Office in the Harvey Kelley Meeting Room. The purpose of this hearing is to accept comments concerning allowing deer hunting to take place in the Town of Tremont. The options to be discussed include expanded archery, resident only, and limited license hunt. All interested parties are encouraged to attend,” according to its social media post.
All of these meetings and actions are being taken due to the introduction of LD 1438 by Maine Representative Billy Bob Faulkingham (R-Winter Harbor) which would have legalized the hunting of deer on Mount Desert Island. That bill has since been “killed in committee.”
However, the town is trying to stay ahead of the game and see if there is potential for hunting in Tremont and for the town to maintain its control over a possible hunt rather than lose that control at the state level via a bill similar to Faulkingham’s that could potentially open the entire island up to a normal hunting season.
In previous meetings, members of the select board had decided that they did not want a hunt that allowed rifles, were leaning toward not allowing shotguns either but had not firmly decided on that, and were preferring archery-only hunt options.
At least one member of the audience didn’t think even bowhunting was a good idea and pondered if a shotgun-only hunt was a better option.
“If you make a bad shot with a bow, which expanded archery was talked about, which therefore you have to bring in crossbows, which then you have to bring in the Ravin crossbows that shoot 200 yards, no problem, to kill a deer. An arrow deflects worse than a rifle ever thought of deflecting,” Kenneth Seavey said.
Seavey went on to say that at least the soft lead in buckshot tends to deform and stop traveling faster if it hits something in route to its intended target.
The real issue is the amount of people in Tremont now, according to Seavey, and clearing land to make room for houses pushes the deer out into the open and makes them more easily seen and vulnerable to collisions with vehicles due to the loss of habitat.
Seavey also believes that there is no evidence of overpopulation because deer aren’t dying from natural causes usually linked to overpopulation like severe tick infestations. Seavey stated that in his opinion the easiest way to get rid of nuisance deer, if there is a problem, is to “get a depredation permit. Wardens are pretty easy to work with nowadays around here.”
The select board had originally asked Town Manager Jesse Dunbar to look into four possible hunt options at its May 5 meeting.
- Expanded archery—This would be part of the state’s regular hunting season and would require the least amount of work/planning on the town’s part. It would not require IFW committee approval unless it was a special hunt outside of the state’s normal deer hunting/expanded archery season.
- Resident Only—This would require a plan to be put together by the town and presented to the IFW committee for possible approval.
- Limited License Group—This would require a plan to be put together by the town and presented to the IFW committee for possible approval. The limited license group would most likely be some entity that has agreed to be in control of the hunt and be morally and ethically conscious and strictly follow hunting laws and private property access rules.
- Hired Hunt—This would be the hiring of a private company or USDA hunters to thin out the deer herd.
The goal of the June 2 meeting was to narrow the list down to one or two options to bring to residents at a public hearing.
During discussions about which options to bring forward, Dunbar told the board that Nate Webb, a state deer biologist had advised him on what the goal for a possible hunt should initially be.
“I’d recommend your goal being proof of concept (i.e. that deer removal can be safely conducted in the town) with the intent of turning that proof of concept into allowing hunting generally in the town, even if by archery only. The goal should be to maintain deer removal long-term; a short-term special hunt with no long-term follow-up just results in some agitation and the issue returning,” Webb told Dunbar.
An audience member asked about how the park (Acadia National Park) is playing in on all of this. Dunbar responded, “They (ANP) haven’t responded to anything as of yet”
“It’s not a bad idea to reach out to them and see what their input is. Last time I heard, they were not really excited about any sort of deer hunting,” said Thurlow.
Member Eric Eaton said, “I don’t care either way, which way it goes, if the town or the people of the town want to say that they think there is an issue or there isn’t an issue, then vote on it.”
“Personally, anything we do, I don’t want to go over 12 months,” said member Kevin Buck.
“I think we need to do baby steps,” Thurlow said, “The only way you’re ever going to be able to do anything safely, let alone worrying about how many deer (are killed), is with a small group (to) go around and prove to people that this can be done quietly and safely.”
“I do think it should be someone who is pretty familiar with the area (who is doing the hunting),” Buck later said.
Vice Chair McKenzie Jewett and Buck both indicated that it should be residents or at least someone who is familiar with the area.
Eaton said that he thinks that they should just move it to public hearing and see what people want. He also said that he believes that the expanded archery season is the most practical due to the fact that a hunter can purchase multiple doe tags and killing does is the only way to lower the deer population.
One issue with opening the town to an expanded archery season is that this would fall under established state hunting rules and the town would lose the power to end the hunt. Ending an expanded archery hunting season would have to be done at the state level and could be quite difficult.
Buck made a motion “to have a public hearing discussing the options of a deer hunt that is residents only, limited license group, and the option of an expanded archery season.” Eaton seconded.
Prior to voting, Thurlow said that he would not vote for a motion that contains the option of an expanded archery season due to safety concerns.
The vote was split 3-1 with Thurlow voting against the motion. Member Howard “Howdy” Goodwin was absent.
After the meeting, Thurlow said, “I will not vote for an expanded archery season in Tremont. Crossbows shoot too far and too fast and adding in the fact that expanded archery allows anyone with a Maine hunting license to hunt here, the combination of a lack of knowledge of the area, the housing density in areas that can appear more rural, and the lethality of a crossbow could lead to a tragedy. I need to know that I did the best I could to stop someone, a child even, from getting hurt, or worse.”
LINKS TO LEARN MORE
State chapter about wildlife causing damage or nuisance
- To connect with a Maine game warden 24-hours-a-day:
1-800-432-7381 - For general inquiries related to MDIFW and assistance, you can contact the service at info.ifw@maine.gov or by calling 207-287-8000 during regular business hours (Monday-Friday 8 a.m. – 4:30 p.m.).
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