If you aren’t receiving the weekly newsletter of the Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife, or reading it on the agency’s website, you’re missing a lot of interesting and helpful information, much of which can make your outdoor activities more fun. The newsletter is emailed on Tuesdays – coincidentally the same day this blog report is posted each week.

You can get on the email list by contacting Edie Smith, the agency’s Director of Information and Education, at Edith.A.Smith@maine.gov.

The September 13 newsletter informed us “the wild brook trout fishery in the Cupsuptic River in northern Oxford County will see some relief with the shutting down of gold panning on the river. Warden Reggie Hammond has been leading the effort to protect this resource. The major landowner surrounding the river, Seven Islands, has agreed to post the area to No Gold Panning, and violators will be charged with trespassing should they ignore the signs.”

I also learned in that newsletter that, “Many Wardens, including Pete Herring, spent considerable time and energy chain-sawing fallen trees on public roads clearing paths for emergency vehicles.”

I would add that sportsmen paid for this work, not the towns or general public that benefited.

Of particular interest to me was a report that Coffee Pond in Casco was now getting splake instead of brook trout, due to “competition and predation from introduced smallmouth and largemouth bass.”

I don’t believe that was warranted, because I know of many ponds where brook trout and bass coexist. Of course, I’m not a big splake fan to start with, and once proposed legislation to stop raising and stocking them altogether.

Because of this issue of the agency’s newsletter, I’ll be heading soon to the Maine State Museum to see the Back to Nature exhibit, a walk through of Maine’s seasons and environments featuring “live brook trout in the Bear scene.”

I guess brookies can survive in the museum, but not in Coffee Pond!

The September 2 issue of the newsletter contained a story about a collaboration that really pleases me. Here’s that report.

“The Fisheries Staff from the Greenville office teamed up with Plum Creek, The Natural Resource Education Center at Moosehead (NREC), and the Boy Scout Troop 120 from Greenville on a project to improve fishing opportunities in the Moosehead Lake Region.

“The project involved cleaning up the access site at Rum Pond, which is a large wild trout pond on the outskirts of town. The Boy Scouts cleaned up the site and built two picnic tables with materials purchased by NREC. The Scouts also built two fire pits to complete the picnic sites that are open to day use only.

“Plum Creek improved the old winter road to the site so anglers can drive trucks to the area without getting stuck in the mud or banging on the many large rocks in the old road.”

“We also cleared two areas near the pond for anglers to store their boats in orderly fashion. This will be a great spot for local anglers and folks visiting the area to fish, especially if they are hoping to get the flavor of the North Woods but may not be prepared to strike off to more remote areas.

“We hope anglers will use the improved site and help keep it clean and enjoy a beautiful undeveloped wild brook trout pond just a few miles from downtown Greenville.”

Probably a good excuse to travel to Greenville soon!

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