One thing about living in Maine is that we do not have much of a spring. We go from cold and mud to full blown summer in a few short weeks. We are now in the middle of that brief period. The leaves are starting to come out on the trees, the spring warbler migration is in full swing and the alewives are on their spawning run. We are still not enjoying summer temperatures; in fact it was cold and drizzling this morning when I got up.
“To change is difficult. Not to change is fatal.” Anonymous Lynnelle Bianco from Bold Vision Consulting wrote a post on change over at MaineToday.com which started me thinking about the future of conservation education. I attended hearing last week where a proposal to encourage hunter safety to change its methods of delivery was presented. The folks that oversee the program and many instructors stood up and said that they saw no need to change and certainly not in any hurry. After all the hunter safety record over the last forty or so years is a great success story.
I have never been bitten really hard by the turkey hunting bug. But after lobbying all winter for the Maine Chapter National Wild Turkey Federation I am looking forward to the opening day of the spring hunt. This year the folks with odd year birthdays hunt the first week which has made me even more enthusiastic. I have gathered up all of my turkey hunting gear (decoys, calls and camouflage clothing) and plan to be out in the woodlot behind the house first thing in the morning. I don’t expect that I will be successful but am looking forward to getting out and seeing what happens.
