Culling the herd in Tremont necessary for deer, residents

A proposal before the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries & Wildlife Advisory Committee would approve a three-year deer hunt in Tremont aimed at reducing overpopulation and related impacts. The effort would potentially begin this fall, focusing on less touristy areas on Mount Desert Island (MDI). Residents and landowners in Tremont would receive a total of 200 tags, with a limit of three antlerless tags per hunter. Participants would hunt using shotgun or bow from a tree stand or ground blind. The article cites problems tied to deer comfort around people—car accidents, destroyed gardens, and rising tick and Lyme cases—arguing culling is necessary to bring deer numbers closer to acceptable biological carrying capacities. It compares to Monhegan Island’s 1990s deer eradication and Lyme reduction.