07/30/2026
Let’s get those comments in to : [email protected] by 7 PM this evening. make sure to reference the proposed Tremont, Maine deer hunt scheduled for November.
The cutoff is technically 11:59 PM but better safe than sorry. There’s been a lot of activity on the petition and a great deal of people have written her.
I just spoke with somebody from the state and all of it will be taken into consideration for the meeting happening August 11. He said numbers matter and THAT day will be the deciding factor on this proposed hunt. You do NOT have to be a resident of the Town Of Tremont. ANY INTERESTED PARTIES WITHIN THE STATE OF MAINE WILL BE COUNTED THAT WRITE BY THE END OF TODAY!
https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1BJg8WKhou/?mibextid=wwXIfr
**Too all that braved through and read the original billion page post. Thank you, and I apologize. I had written for so many hours I rambled and repeated. I’ve edited and added some points. This is still a little lengthy, but far more concise. Petition at the end.••🙏🏻
OH-DEER.
KNOW BEFORE WE KILL.
I learned through The Bar Harbor Story that a public hearing had just been held in Augusta regarding the proposed Tremont deer hunt, which could begin this November.
https://barharborstory.com/2026/07/22/state-weighs-limited-deer-hunt-in-tremont/
According to the article, there was no oral public comment.
Nobody from the public spoke.
My immediate thought was:
Did they even know about this part of the process?
I didn’t.
I attended two Tremont meetings. I spoke at length. Then Tremont voted, and the proposal passed, 314–227. 541 votes out of a population of 1300+.
I assumed that was essentially the end of it.
But that’s not actually how the process works.
Changing Maine’s hunting regulations requires action by the State, and the proposal is now in the formal rule making process.
That is why public comment is open right now.
We are talking about introducing ordinary deer hunting on Mount Desert Island after nearly a century without it—on an island geographically intertwined with Acadia National Park.
On an issue as important as this I would have expected statewide—attention. Maybe many others just didn’t know? These weren’t huge headlines after all. Just largely local ones.
Anyway, I have questions.
WHERE IS THE MANAGEMENT IN THIS “DEER MANAGEMENT PLAN” AS IT IS CALLED?
What is the current deer population (no formal studies have been done)?
What population is trying to be reached?
How many animals need to be removed?
How will success be measured?
How will we know whether we reduced the population—or simply displaced deer into neighboring communities?
These are not anti-hunting questions.
They are management questions.
If we cannot tell how many deer we have before we begin killing them, what exactly are we managing?
The responsible order is:
POPULATION AND MIGRATION STUDIES FIRST.
PLAN SECOND.
MANAGE THIRD.
Ironically —the proposed is called a “no-point hunt.”
The name is almost painfully appropriate.
Because without a credible baseline and measurable endpoint, what exactly is the point? It is so named though as:
This hunt is for antlerless deer—not mature bucks.
It includes does and fawn (babies), furthermore, these deer don’t even count towards the hunters limit, (read that part again). They don’t count.
Also, it is intended to operate over multiple hunting seasons.
That makes knowing the starting population more important, not less.
Why trial run it for three years? If it is to be done, why not begin then with a single season? Especially on an issue this impactful?
As trusting as these deer have become the killing of them will be as easy, and pointless as pureeing goldfish in a blender.
WHAT HAPPENS WHEN THE SHOOTING STARTS?
Hunting pressure changes animal movement.
Will deer move toward neighboring communities?
Across roads even more?
Will frightened or injured animals create short-term road hazards?
What happens in Tremont does not necessarily stay in Tremont.
It literally impacts everyone who goes or passes through the town.
This is one island ecosystem.
PUBLIC SAFETY MATTERS.
For generations, residents and visitors have walked much of Mount Desert Island with the expectation that ordinary deer hunting was not occurring around them. As this will still be fall leaf peeping season will people know where hunting is taking place?
What signage will exist?
What about hikers?
Dog walkers?
Children?
Seasonal residents?
Visitors with no idea anything has changed?
What happens when a wounded deer crosses onto another property?
How will wounded animals be tracked? What about violators? What about penalties?
What about the lack of setback to Acadia?
If harvested deer must be tagged, why should carcasses pass through busy commercial locations or shopping areas where families are simply stopping for gasoline, groceries, or ice cream? My understanding is there are two convenience store gas stations being considered for the tagging location.
Why not use an appropriately designated municipal facility or another controlled location in a less public area?
BRINGING UP DEER BIRTH CONTROL AGAIN.
I raised wildlife fertility control at public meeting.
People laughed.
I get it.
“Deer birth control” sounds ridiculous.
Except it isn’t.
Wildlife fertility control is real. It has been studied and used in certain deer populations.
Would it work everywhere on Mount Desert Island?
Probably not.
Would it be expensive or difficult?
Absolutely.
Could it become one tool among several, alongside habitat management, nuisance permits, targeted professional removal, or other approaches?
Also absolutely.
So why wouldn’t we at least study it?
If reducing the population is truly the goal, reducing reproduction is not an absurd concept and at least one to consider intertwining.
Laugh if you want.
But consider studying it first before you laugh it out of the room.
AND HERE’S WHERE I’LL PROBABLY MAKE MYSELF EVEN LESS POPULAR.
Nuisance deer provisions already exist. If someone wants deer killed because they are damaging flowers, landscaping, or gardens, I think they should at least confront what they’re asking for. If they already have means to control those specific situations why does this hunt have to target the entire deer population of that community?
Maybe those of us pointing the finger should also be willing to pull the trigger.
If you are asking for a living animal to be killed because it has become a nuisance on your property, perhaps you should have some direct hand in that decision.
Not because I want more people shooting deer.
Quite the opposite.
But because there is something uncomfortable about demanding death while outsourcing it to someone else.
If lethal population control is ultimately shown to be necessary, my preference would be:
Only trained professionals or the landowners themselves.
Controlled circumstances.
Clear humane standards.
Accountability.
A defined management objective.
Not target practice.
Not a novelty.
Protecting animals has felt like part of my job on this earth since I was a child.
When I was eight or nine—possibly younger—I earned money selling drawings for ten cents around the neighborhood, picking raspberries, delivering newspapers, and doing household chores here in Southwest.
And what did I do with it?
I bought lobsters and crabs at the town dock across from my house.
And set them free.
That child never entirely went away.
Though I have worked in a variety of fields in my 50 some years, much of my life was working in veterinary medicine, wildlife rehabilitation, and animal care.
And yes.
I know many will say:
“Hypocrite—you own a lobster restaurant.”
Yep.
Proud owner of Charlotte’s Legendary Lobster Pound here.
(Yeah. We’re that place).
Call me a lobster killer.
Call me a hypocrite.
That’s all right. I’ve been called worse.
However; in 2018, that same lifelong instinct led our little lobster pound restaurant in Southwest Harbor to do something unprecedented:
We became the first to sedate lobsters, then with cannabis, before our later move to Valarian root, prior to cooking them.
What began there sparked an international conversation about lobster sentience, pain, and humane treatment—one that grew far beyond our little lobster pound and became part of a much larger movement and worldwide discussion to reconsider how these animals are treated which still continues to this day.
At Charlotte’s Legendary Lobster Pound, our belief is simple:
If we are going to take a life, we must do so as compassionately as possible.
Life deserves respect.
I am not saying there should never be a hunt.
I am not saying deer populations should not be controlled.
I am saying:
KNOW BEFORE WE KILL.
So I am asking the State of Maine for something extraordinarily reasonable:
ONE YEAR.
A one-year moratorium before this hunt begins.
Use those twelve months to:
Establish a credible baseline deer population.
Study distribution and movement.
Analyze deer-vehicle collision data.
Examine likely displacement into neighboring communities.
Evaluate claims involving Lyme disease.
Study fertility control and other nonlethal options.
Determine whether targeted professional removal is warranted.
Create clear public-safety protocols.
Establish humane standards.
And define exactly what success looks like.
What is the rush?
It has already been nearly 100 years.
What's another twelve months?
This should not become a simplistic fight between "hunters" and "animal lovers."
It is bigger than that.
It is about:
RESPONSIBILITY.
FACTS.
SAFETY.
COMPASSION.
ACCOUNTABILITY.
AND HAVING AN ACTUAL PLAN.
DON'T JUST "LIKE" THIS. SIGN. ACT.
This letter accompanies a public petition calling for a one-year moratorium on the proposed Tremont deer hunt.
https://c.org/gFG7NmDRqr
You do not have to agree with everything I've written.
You don't even have to like me.
But if you believe we should pause, study, and plan before moving forward—
Please sign the petition and write Becky.
Share it because you agree.
Share it because you think I'm wrong.
Just learn what is being proposed and make your own voice heard while it can still make a difference.
SEND WRITTEN COMMENTS TO:
Becky Orff
Maine Department of Inland Fisheries & Wildlife
353 Water Street
41 State House Station
Augusta, Maine 04333
Or Email her: [email protected]
Reference: Chapter 16.07 — Deer Hunting (Special Regulations and Closures) / Tremont Special Deer Hunt
Written comments are due July 30, 2026.
Your message can be as simple as this:
I respectfully request that the State of Maine place a one-year moratorium on implementation of the proposed Tremont special deer hunt until a credible baseline deer-population assessment, safety and displacement review, and comprehensive management plan—including consideration of reasonable nonlethal alternatives—have been completed and made available for public review.
That's it.
One email.
A few minutes.
One signature.
One voice.
Enough voices can matter.
I am not opposed to the possibility of deer population management.
I am opposed to:
Insufficient information.
And killing without a measurable plan.
Respectfully,
Charlotte Gill
Resident of Southwest Harbor
Neighbor of Tremont
Lifelong advocate for animals
(And probably the most unpopular person on this side of the island 😉 .
Know before we kill.
https://c.org/gFG7NmDRqr
https://barharborstory.com/2026/07/26/petition-calls-for-one-year-delay-in-proposed-tremont-deer-hunt/
