No political opinions will be shared in this article - this is informative only.

You make up your opinion...

Maine Democratic Representative, Nina Milliken, is under a bit of scrutiny from Mainers and other New Englanders.

Last month, in an effort to restrict coyote hunting in Maine, Milliken (Dem. Rep. Maine) said that "deer don't tend to go up North" in Maine, according to a Maine Wire article.

As you can guess, many Mainers, especially those who live in Northern Maine, were confused.

Are there deer in Northern Maine?

Simply put, there ARE deer in Northern Maine.

According to an NRA article, the 2024 biggest buck in Maine weighed 261 pounds and came from Fort Fairfield, ME - which is pretty much on the Canadian border.

Some people are using this fact and taking it to one extreme - saying that the state representative is out of touch, does not live in/represent Nothern Maine correctly, etc.

But was there some truth behind the statement that the deer don't tend to go up in northern Maine?

There is some truth behind the statement...

Sportsman's Alliance of Maine's Executive Director, David Trahan, said that there has always been deer in Northern Maine, “but the loss of habitat and predation has largely wiped them out.”

So, perhaps it is a grey area - like most things.

It is not that there are NO deer in Northern Maine; we know that is not true, but there is certainly a smaller population than in the rest of the state.