UPDATE: The lottery results are in.

ORIGINAL STORY:

The names of hunters going into the 2022 deer season will be named next week. Here's how to claim your tag with the new lottery system.

The 2022 Maine antlerless deer permit drawing is Thursday, September 1. The privilege allows the permittee to hunt antlerless deer, or bucks with antlers less than three inches in length. The list of applicants awarded a tag will be posted online, via the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife website.

If you are selected, you'll need to pay a $14 fee ($12 tag + $2 agent fee) for the tag. The fee will need to be paid prior to September 29, 11:59 p.m. If the tag is not paid for prior to the deadline, it will be forfeited and sold to another hunter. Unclaimed or leftover tags will be available to purchase on a first come, first serve basis. The tags will be sold online on the MDIFW website beginning in early October. If you were awarded an antlerless tag via the drawing, you can purchase a second online.

As a part of the changes the anterless deer lottery system, youth hunters will be allowed to harvest an antlerless deer on "Youth Day" without a permit. Only junior hunters who hold a valid junior hunting license can participate in this specially designated hunting day, which is set for October 22. The special rule is statewide, even in WMDs that don't have antlerless tags available. WMDs 1, 2, 4, 5, and 28 do not have antlerless tags available for purchase or via the lottery.

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Swapping or transferring antlerless deer permits is no longer allowed, so only purchase tags for a WMD you plan to hunt.

The $12 from tags will go to the department's Maine Deer Management Fund. The newly created program works to enhance deer habitat. The funds are used for predator control, and to acquire or enhance deer habitat. In addition to antlerless deer permit fees, $2 from collected deer registrations will go to the management fund. Doe tags are expected to fetch over $750,000 for the fund. The collected funds will be matched 3:1 with money from the Pittman-Robertson Act.

If you are selected, you need to write down your corresponding any-deer permit number. It's suggested you keep that number with your hunting license so it's readily available when needed at a tagging station.

10 of the Deepest Lakes and Ponds in Maine

With 6,000 lakes and ponds, Maine has A LOT of freshwater shoreline. Some are densely populated in the summer months, while others are as remote as the wilderness that surrounds them. They're home to Maine's thriving gamefish populations, which calls-in anglers from all over the country. Ever wondered which of these lakes are the deepest in the state? We checked-over depth charts and topographic maps to find the 10 deepest lakes in Maine, as according to their maximum depth. 

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