Make no mistake: Maine’s annual moose hunting permits, or tags, are a precious, highly sought-after commodity. So it follows that how they are distributed, and the system that selects the lucky recipients, gets a lot of attention.
Maine residents are fortunate. About 90% of the more than 3,000 moose permits are allocated to individual resident applicants. The remaining 10% are earmarked for nonresident applicants, with roughly 2% of that block set aside for qualified Maine hunting lodges and outfitters.
Last year, 82 “lodge tags” were available. This year, there will be 74. Eligible lodges and outfitters apply for these tags through their own lottery process.
The concept of setting aside tags for lodges and outfitters dates back about a decade, when northern Maine’s deer population declined and many outfitters struggled financially. The goal was to help them regain economic footing.
Some outfitters, however, began monetizing those tags, selling them to clients for prices exceeding $30,000.
For reasons that have not been fully explained, the lodge tag process expanded beyond its original intent. Restaurants, hotels and even a nudist colony in southern Maine reportedly applied for and received a lodge tag.
A legislative proposal aims to address those issues. The bill, LD 2054, sponsored by state Rep. Rick Mason, is both controversial and complex. In short, it is a well-intentioned effort to reform the lodge tag system and make it more equitable.
Among other provisions, LD 2054 would tighten the definition of hunting outfitters and prohibit the sale of lodge tags to anyone other than the hunter. It allows outfitters to swap tags under certain conditions, regulates how many tags outfitters can receive and lets them indicate preferences for season and wildlife management district.
The Legislature’s fish and wildlife committee approved the bill in a 12-1 vote. However, as of press time, it remained in committee following a parliamentary maneuver.
Some lodges and outfitters still have concerns. But the Maine Professional Guides Association, the Maine Sporting Camp Association and the Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife all support the bill.
According to James Cote, executive director of the Maine Professional Guides Association, the reform addresses a key concern: cleaning up the buying, selling and bartering of tags so they do not become a commodity concentrated among those with greater financial means.
As for the nudist colony that drew a lodge tag, eligible members would still have to don an orange vest and cap — though they likely wouldn’t be comfortable, even during the early September hunt.