On opening day of deer season, hunters in central Maine have little concern about PFAS advisories.

Saturday marked the first day Maine residents were able to harvest a deer during firearms hunting season.

It was also the first time hunters were warned that any deer they harvested in parts of Albion, Liberty, Unity and Unity Township. it would be unsafe to eat due to the presence of so-called forever chemicals, commonly known by the acronym PFAS.

But many hunters at tagging stations near the area Saturday morning were largely buoyed by the quick and successful start to the month-long firearms hunting season, saying they either stayed away from two new “Don’t Eat” advisory zones or simply accepted any potential risk.

Dan McKean, 62, of Benton, was among about a dozen hunters who brought deer to be registered between 9:30 and 10 a.m. at the Troy General Store. The store, located at 1129 Bangor Road in Troy, is one of the closest labeling stations to the “Do Not Eat” advisory, a few miles northwest of the store, located primarily in Unity Township.

Dan McKean’s son, Mark McKean, 37, of Jackman, shot the adult female in Unity – on land outside the two advisory areas.

“At my age I don’t care. I’ve been eating this my whole life,” McKean Sr. said. “What will change?”

His son agreed: “It’s healthier than anything we buy at the grocery store,” Mark McKean said.

Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife in conjunction with the Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention, issued two “Do Not Eat” advisories for deer and wild turkey. from areas of eastern Kennebec and western Waldo County, just over a week before the start of firearms deer hunting season for Maine residents. Firearms deer season opens to everyone Monday and runs through Nov. 30; The fall wild turkey season began in September and ends Thursday.

One of the new advisory zones is a 5.4-square-mile area off Highway 139 in northwest Unity and the eastern half of Unity Township. The other is a 4.3-square-mile area off U.S. Highway 202 on the south side of Unity, stretching into parts of Albion and Liberty.

The two new warnings were the first issued since 2021, when state officials issued a similar warning for 25 square miles in parts of Fairfield and Skowhegan. Part of this advisory area remains in place.and state officials say they don’t know how long any of the three current recommendations will last.

The two new “Do Not Eat” zones were designated after testing 54 deer and 55 turkeys at the site for PFAS, an acronym for per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, according to the Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife.

PFAS, found in many types of consumer products, are often called “perpetual chemicals” because they break down slowly and are found in soil, water, plants and animals. These substances are known to increase the risk of cancer and other diseases.

State officials were sampling wildlife in central Maine around new advisory areas to determine the animals’ exposure to PFAS, the Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife said. The advisory zones correspond to areas known to be contaminated with high levels of PFAS from municipal and industrial sludge spread on farms, a practice banned in Maine as of 2022.

Deer are moving, of course, but most will likely remain in areas smaller than the size of the new advisory zones, at least during the summer, according to the data. Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife information. The summer range of white-tailed deer in Maine ranges from 150 to 2,000 acres, or about 0.25 to three square miles, although it is typically 500 to 600 acres, or just under one square mile.

As deer move from areas where they live in the summer to suitable winter habitat, they can move anywhere from less than a mile to more than 25 miles, the department says on its website. About 94% of Maine is considered deer habitat, although winter habitat varies from 2 to 25% in different parts of the state.

Some hunters took a measured approach to considering the PFAS advisory, saying they were considering the specific location they chose to hunt Saturday.

At Tobey’s Grocery on Highway 3 in South China, a popular tagging station a few miles south of the Do Not Eat advisory zones, husband and wife Sarah Squire, 60, and Mark Squire, 62, were weighing deer shot during hunting. their land is in Albion. That’s where they usually hunt, they said.

Sarah Squire said the property is on the south side of Albion, away from the small part of the city that is under advisory control.

“I called the DEP and game wardens,” she said. “And they said we were actually safe.”

Inside Jennifer’s store BernhardtThe 36-year-old Baldwin woman was in line to get a tag for a deer harvested on family land in Vassalboro, where she is from. The Kennebec County city is southwest of the no-eat zones.

Bernhardt, who started hunting when she met her husband and estimates she’s been hunting deer for about seven years, said the PFAS advisory hasn’t impacted her plans.

“It’s not near us,” Bernhardt said. “And we keep an eye on our deer. They were in the same place as they had been all year. They’re there pretty constantly.”

Back in Troy, Brian Seavey, 38, brought in a 10-point buck he caught on his property in Troy.

Seavey, who said he always hunts on opening day of the season, said he wasn’t bothered by the nearby “Don’t Eat” advisory.

“I guess I just don’t care,” he said.

Around the same time as Seavey, Kaylee ClemonsThe 13-year-old Pittsfield woman caught an eight-point buck she shot on her grandfather’s property in Burnham. Last year, Clemons said, she harvested a deer that weighed about the same, about 150 pounds.

Clemons’ grandfather, Paul Woodbury, 69, said he realized the “Don’t Eat” zones were partly in Unity, the next town over from where he lives. But he wasn’t concerned about any PFAS contamination.

“I don’t know,” he said. – I don’t think so.

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