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In response to a bad newspaper review, composer Max Reger wrote to the critic: “Sir, I am sitting in the smallest room of my house. I have your review before me. Soon it will be behind me.” That pretty much sums up my thoughts on V. Paul Reynolds’s May 28 column attacking Inland Fisheries & Wildlife Commissioner Judy Camuso.
Reynolds is apparently upset the commissioner seeks gender parity on hiring panels. Despite the fact that half of Mainers are women, he considers equal representation in hiring processes to mean she is “hell bent” on “the creation of a matriarchy.” He also seems to have big feelings about the department’s efforts to introduce new communities to the Maine outdoors, apparently preferring to limit hunting and fishing to people who look and think like him.
These gripes would be silly if they weren’t so shortsighted. While participation in these traditions plummets nationally, Maine is actually seeing growth, especially among women. Under Commissioner Camuso, the number of women purchasing hunting and fishing licenses has increased by hundreds annually. Each represents important revenue for wildlife management and conservation. The department’s outreach to new communities is preserving Maine’s outdoor heritage.
As a hunting and fishing license holder, I’d expect outdoor advocates to applaud initiatives that open these pursuits to Mainers of all stripes. That Reynolds seems to consider them a reason to trash the commissioner is as disappointing as it is weird. When it comes to the voices representing us in the pages of the Bangor Daily News, Maine sportsmen — and women — deserve better.
Jeremy Cluchey
Bowdoinham
