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Membership News - September 22, 2009

Protecting Guides & the Natural Resources
We Depend On for 30 Years ─ 1979-2009

1. MPGA Meetings:

• Board of Directors - Sunday, October 18, 2009 at 9:00 AM. Location is the Holiday Inn on Odlin Road in Bangor.
• Membership - Sunday, December 6, 2009 at 9:00 AM. Super Raffle winners will be drawn. Location is the Holiday Inn on Odlin Road in Bangor.

Members are welcome to attend all Board meetings.

2. Sell Super Raffle Tickets - Earn a New Marlin Rifle!:

The 2009 Super Raffle is well on its way. The Bear season is nearly over and the Moose and Deer seasons are right around the corner. Although the economy is slow, Guides are telling me that the Super Raffle Tickets are selling themselves. We are finding that our clients are very willing to support our cause, so that they can continue to enjoy the Maine outdoor experience.

Get Involved

I would like to thank all of the Guides and participants that are making a special effort to sell tickets, and support the MPGA’s Super Raffle. This engine has to be firing on all cylinders so that the Maine Professional Guides Association can defend the rights and privileges that we have enjoyed throughout Maine’s history.

Remember, we award prizes to anyone who sells lots of Super Raffle Tickets!

• Sell $1,500 - Receive a beautiful Marlin Rifle, complete with the MPGA Logo engraved in the stock.
• First-time winners receive a blued model Marlin 45/70 “Guide’s Model” rifle.
• Second-time winners receive a stainless model Marlin 45/70 “Guide’s Model” rifle.
• Third-time winners receive a Marlin 308MX Express.
• Sell $1,000 - Receive a $200 L.L.Bean Gift Certificate.
• Sell $500  - Receive a $100 L.L.Bean Gift Certificate.

Note: To be eligible for your prize, you must return the Contest Form with your ticket receipts by November 28, 2009.

Fight for your Survival

It’s no secret that outsiders away from this state, and some from within, spend many countless hours plotting and seeking to dismantle our guiding traditions, and for most of us, our livelihoods. Although it pains us to think that some people with nothing at stake would take time out of their lives to harass us for doing what we do, it is sad but true…

They are out there. They want to put you out of business. And they work hard raising money every day to fight us in the legislature, elsewhere in Augusta, in the courts, and at the polls.

You Make the Difference

Each and every one of us has an ultimate responsibility to defend what we know is right. What we know is ours. Our livelihood. Despite the flurry of things we must take care of in the upcoming months, we must not forget to also sharpen our defenses.

Your hunters and guests will buy Raffle Tickets - all you need to do is show them your recent MPGA newsletters, and then -

• Explain that the money goes toward MPGA's lobbying effort in Augusta to maintain their privilege to hunt in Maine.
• Explain that MPGA lead the fight to protect bear hunting in Maine.
• Explain that MPGA created the Deer Task Force to re-build northern Maine's deer herd.
• Explain that MPGA created the Sportsman/Forest Landowner Alliance to maintain access for hunting opportunities.
• Explain that MPGA participates in many Task Forces and Committees to maintain access for hunting, fishing and boating. Including:
  • Deer Predation Task Force
  • Resource Agency Consolidation Task Force
  • The Governor's Task Force on the Management of Public Lands
  • The Governor's Task Force on Access for Traditional Uses
  • Eco-Reserve Advisory Council
  • The Allagash Advisory Council
  • The Maine Tourism Commission
  • The Governor's Nature Tourism Task Force
  • The Bureau of Parks & Lands Management Planning Committees
  • The Land for Maine's Future funds that buy lands and access rights for hunting
  • The Governor's Green Infrastructure Committee
  • The Land Use Regulatory Commission

Raffle Questions

For info on the incentive program, and a printable Contest Entry Form, visit MPGA's Super Raffle Contest webpage. VERY IMPORTANT: You must send a Contest Entry Form along with your sales receipts in order to be credited for all your sales.

For other information on the incentive program, and for pre-printed tickets, contact Bert Goodman at (207) 528-2320.

* * * Public Hearing Notice * * *

3. LURC Comprehensive Land Use Plan:

The Land Use Regulatory Commission (LURC) will hold public hearings on the Comprehensive Land Use Plan (CLUP). Members are encouraged to attend and speak out at these important hearings.

Everyone who recreates, conducts business, or owns property, in the unorganized townships should be aware of this document and how it will affect your activities.

The CLUP has been reviewed, written, and re-written many times over the past three years. Every new version seems to create more controversy as we all try to absorb the potentially sweeping changes in land use regulations that includes the regulation of recreational activities.

Many environmental preservation organizations have been strongly advocating for further restrictions on landowners, motor vehicle access, and motorized recreation. Will these changes affect you? Will further land use restrictions force landowners to seek alternative uses of their commercial forest land, including selling to conservationists (The Nature Conservancy, AMC and Roxanne Quimby, for instance) and to kingdom lot buyers, or to restrict access by returning to gating roads or even establishing recreational lease situations?

Your Comments?

If you need a starting point, download Chapter 1 and read the "Vision" section. The Vision sets to tone for everything else that will be regulated. What is your impression? Do you feel that the Vision represents you and your interests? You need to tell the LURC Commission what you felt when you read the Vision.

Be sure to sign in when you arrive. Your comments will be taken in the order of the sign in.

Hearing Schedule

Written Comment Period

• Wednesday, September 9, 2009 – Open the written comment period.
• Wednesday, October 21, 2009 – Close of comment period for filing written statements in rebuttal of previously filed statements.
• Wednesday, October 28, 2009 – Deadline to file written statements in rebuttal of statements filed previously.

Comprehensive Land Use Plan Downloads

4. MPGA Celebrates National Hunting and Fishing Day

Congressionally Appointed Commemoration Set for Sept. 26

MPGA's "Events Committee" will be in full action this weekend to celebrate National Hunting and Fishing Day -- the 38th annual, Congress-appointed, president-proclaimed celebration of hunters, anglers and conservation. We hope you can join us and share in the celebration.

MPGA will be at L.LBean and at Kittery Trading Post on Saturday and Sunday. The Events Committee is presenting a panel on deer hunting at L.L.Bean.

If you would like to help at future events, contact Don Dudley at ddudley@hughes.net. Next up is "Hunters' Gear Up Weekend" at Kittery Trading Post, October 17 & 18.

Visit the MPGA Website for more news and info.