Two areas designated as Wildlife Refuge System Lands will be open to limited hunting this year.
The Rachel Carson National Wildlife Refuge and the Great Thicket National Wildlife Refuge will now be open to select hunting and fishing opportunities, according to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
The Rachel Carson National Wildlife Refuge, located in Wells, will now allow open turkey hunting. The refuge has been closed to existing quail and pheasant hunting. The Rachel Carson National Wildlife Refuge is part of the National Wildlife Refuge System within the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, protected with grants from the Land and Water Conservation Fund.
The Great Thicket National Wildlife Refuge, created in 2016 in an effort to protect vulnerable shrubland species such as the endangered cottontail rabbit, spans acres across New England. Protected lands in Maine are located in Berwick, with other protected areas in Northern Housatonic, New York, and Pachaug-Ledyard, Connecticut.
Open migratory bird, upland game, and big game hunting will now be allowed at Great Thicket National Wildlife Refuge lands.
Hunters will be allowed to harvest one species at one field station under the new regulations.