Deer, islands and people

In a simpler time, wildlife managers kept deer herds at stable levels by issuing hunting licenses to hunters, who eagerly did their part in thinning the herd to a size that biologists considered optimal. Hunting remains the primary management tool used to control the size of the herd, but keeping island deer herds in check

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Selective Gear

Nets that will keep targeted species and allow others to escape have long been the goal of fishermen and researchers trying to solve the thorny and wasteful problem of bycatch. But now the pressure is even greater, as New England fishermen desperately try to survive crushing regulations. Selective gear may not be a “silver bullet”

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A new book brings a whole fishery to life

For five years this book was a gleam in the eyes of the people who participated in the Penobscot Bay Collaborative. Because it was a “deliverable” of that federally funded, multi-year effort, everyone knew it would one day make its appearance, at the end of the project’s fifth and final year. Boxes of Lobsters Great

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What the law allows

To the Editor I would like to correct a statement in the article that Muriel Hendrix reported in the April 2002 edition of the paper. I probably stated to her that I fished 20 strings of four traps when I should have stated that I fish “20 traps set in groups of four.” I realize

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Jean Brown Wetherbee

Jean Brown Wetherbee of Vinalhaven died March 25 at the age of 84. She was a long-time reporter and editor who worked for the Hartford Courant and the Newington (Conn.) Town Crier before moving to Vinalhaven, where she had spent summers, in 1984. On Vinalhaven she became editor of The Wind, and worked in that

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Baaaaaaaaa……

As sure as the black flies arrive every spring, the sheep get rounded up on Allen Island for their semi-annual checkup and shearing. On Saturday, June 8, the Island Institute will once again be organizing a group of hearty volunteer shepherds to go out to the island and spend a day corralling sheep and enjoying

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Monhegan elects assessors, passes budget

Monhegan residents gathered April 16 for their annual plantation meeting. The election of First Assessor presented some obstacles, with the first seven nominees declining to run. At one point it was humorously suggested that instead of a First, Second, and Third Assessor, perhaps they should elect Second, Third, and Fourth Assessors. In the end Daniel

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