Two deer graze in Benton, not far from “no hunting” signs posted along the East Benton Road. Morning Sentinel file photo

Driving along in the dim light of dawn, I noticed a disturbance in the new fallen snow ahead. Eight inches of fluffy powder had fallen the night before, ending after midnight, so any tracks were fresh. These looked large enough to follow, so I pulled off the road, loaded up, and set off in search of their source.

At first, they ran relatively straight through a stand of open hardwoods and through the gap in a stone wall, where the forest was younger, and thicker, having been cut more recently. That called for a slower pace in order to pick quietly through the poles and whips. Farther along, the forest changed again, to a stand of young softwoods where the track was more meandering. There I found a bed, cold to the touch, the faint outline of a lying deer melted then frozen into the snow. Time to pick up the pace.

A large cut provided a chance to stop and glass, to no avail. Rather than cross the open ground, I opted to loop around the downwind side and pick up the trail at the far woodline. On it went, winding again through a thick bottom, then making a sharp 90-degree turn up and over a hardwood ridge. Topping the ridge, I looked down to see a patch of yellow, then another, and another.

The property boundary was clearly marked with posted signs. I grumbled at first about the premature end to my hunt, but as I walked the mile or so back to my truck, through alternating stands of forest, over stone walls and across woods roads, it occurred to me how many other property lines I’d crossed, all with no idea of the owner’s identity.

Folks who hunt in Maine are very fortunate. Somewhere around 95% of the forested land in the Pine Tree State is privately owned. With very little exception, the people who hunt or fish here do so on property belonging to someone else. Much of it is still open to the public, though increasingly more huntable land falls off the rolls every year.

Reasons for limiting or prohibiting access vary. Some are legitimate, like landowners who have had negative interactions. Some are out of ignorance, like folks who have moved out from urban or suburban areas and are unfamiliar Maine’s long tradition of implied consent, or who fear potential liability and aren’t aware that Maine laws protect them should someone get injured on their property. Also, some people just don’t like hunting.

State conservation and wildlife agencies do what they can with limited resources to preserve and increase public land access, a process that will be substantially enhanced by recent appropriations for the Land for Maine’s Future program. Land trusts represent another substantial and often unrecognized contributor. Some of the land they own outright, and on some they hold easements. Most, except municipal property, remains privately owned and is open to public use, including hunting.

Then there’s the private landowners who, through intent or indifference, allow the general public to use their land for outdoor recreation. That land ranges from your next door neighbor’s 10-acre woodlot to thousands of acres of industrial timberland.

Surveys of people who no longer hunt or never did find one of the leading reasons to be lack of access to quality hunting areas. Too often, we take for granted the access we have, which is exceptional. In the holiday season, it might be a good one to remind ourselves what a special gift that really is.

Bob Humphrey is a freelance writer and Registered Maine Guide who lives in Pownal. He can be reached at: bhunt@maine.rr.com