It is not necessary to be a sportsman to support the interests of sportsmen capably and well. For most of the past 16 years, I have represented the region from Fairfield to Moose River which may contain as many sportsmen as any other district in the Maine Legislature.

I am the only GOP candidate with a solid voting record sportsmen can count on in support of outdoor issues including A ratings from SAM. As a five-year Navy veteran of Vietnam, I am familiar with guns. While I had small arms training and continue to own several, most of my experience was with Navy heavy ordnance.
- Peter

Do you own a boat – what type and is it registered?
I own a canoe, a kayak, a fiberglass rowboat and an inflatable rowboat. No registration is required for these craft — nor should there be. For 30 years until last fall I owned an ocean going sailboat that was registered in Maine.

Do you own a “camp” in Maine?
Yes, jointly with three siblings.

Do you support a deer predation prevention and habitat restoration program? If so, how do you propose to fund such an initiative?
Yes.
When King was governor, Maine raised the tax on non-alcohol serving restaurants from 5% to 7% to match the rate generally applied to food and lodging. The new law also provided that 5% of the 7% food and lodging tax would be set aside for tourism promotion. That agreement has been honored ever since. Last year it produced $9.1 million for promotion. From that sum, 10% was divided up among Maine’s 8 tourism regions.

If the tax reform bill is sustained on June 8, as seems likely, the food and lodging tax rate will increase from 7% to 8.5% and the tourism promotion fund will increase to 6% of the new total. In terms of dollars, the promotion fund should grow to $13 million annually.

Many people come to Maine for hunting, fishing, boating, snowmobiling, four-wheeling and other outdoor sports that are overseen, regulated and sometimes rescued by IF&W. Because visiting sportsmen pay for lodging and meals just as much as other visitors do, it would make sense to allocate a small percentage of the food and lodging tax to improve deer habitat, stock fish, eradicate milfoil and create other inducements for sportsmen without raising fees on the privilege of hunting or fishing here. The fund could also be used to sustain the Department of IF&W in other ways: to pay for hiker rescues, boating safety, the policing of ATVs and snowmobiles, and many of the other things that wardens are now called upon to do.

Hunting and fishing are crucial components of Maine’s economy. They are not sufficiently supported by present policies. 1/2% of the food and lodging tax is $1.08 million. That would go a long way if intelligently spent on protecting the deer herd and reopening closed fish hatcheries.

Give three names of potential candidates to head the Maine Department of Fisheries and Wildlife under your leadership.
I would replace the incumbent. The following are not necessarily people I would choose, but they are people who have some qualifications and experience: John Marsh; Paul Jacques, the present deputy; Jim Ross, retired warden from Cornville; John Whalen, retired warden from Canaan and fish hatchery owner; Lee Perry; Gary Donavan; Chuck Allen; and Skip Trask.

Would you support a bill allowing Sunday hunting in the un-organized territories?
I have voted against it in the past but I am not unalterably opposed. It is my sense that most Maine residents, including my own fringe-county constituents, do not want it.

Would you support a bill to make it illegal to carry an un-concealed weapon in public? No.

In your opinion, what is the biggest threat to the sustainability of the deer herd in Maine?
Really bad winters. But coyotes and lack of suitable habitat are the factors more susceptible to our control. I own deer yards and am happy to see the deer use them each winter.

Does your economic development plan include any provisions related to the outdoors?
Yes. I think we need to connect up the many destinations available to those who visit the north woods. People will stay longer if they have more places to go. Our tourism promotion plans should include incentives for business owners in different Maine locations to offer packages of varied opportunities to enjoy what Maine has to offer. We need to encourage different guides, camps and vendors to combine their marketing efforts into shared programs.
See my answer to the previous question concerning tourism promotion funds.