Everyone at the Scarborough Downs clubhouse last Thursday night hoped that a little luck might be in the air. As name after name was read from a randomly, computer generated list those entered in the lottery anxiously waited to hear who would win and who would wait another year.
They weren’t waiting to win millions, a new car, an exotic vacation or even anything worth very much money. These were hunters gathered in Scarborough and they were waiting for the chance of a lifetime: permission to hunt Maine moose.
In order to regulate the moose population, the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife holds a yearly lottery to determine how many moose permits will be issued. The lottery system is necessary due to the huge demand and small supply. This year some 70,000 hunters applied for a permit and come this fall only 2,825 lucky hunters will be out in the woods searching for that perfect moose.
The odds are in no one’s favor. For a resident it’s about a 1 in 126 chance and it’s even worse for a nonresident at 1 in 697. Applying each year since 1998 helps to decrease the odds to about a 1 in 9 chance. In that year a system of preference points was introduced to help those who had been waiting for years, some since the lottery began in 1980. For each consecutive year after 1998 that hunters entered, they received one more preference point to boost them just a little higher on the list.
But with such big odds come those who are inexplicably and incredibly lucky.
For example, take the Oeser family. Charlie Oeser has won three times. His father, David Oeser, who’s been in the lottery since the 1980s, has won once and so have both his mother and his uncle.
With the exception of 2003, a family member has won each year since 2002.
On Thursday, they all sat around a table in the clubhouse waiting to see if David Oeser, the only family entry, would win yet again.
“What can I say,” said his son. “This is just the table to be at. It’s tremendous.”
The family’s luck doesn’t end with winning permits. Not once have they trekked out of the woods empty handed, including mom Lauren Oeser’s 725-pound moose from last season.
She held up a picture with her smiling face framed by giant moose antlers.
“That’s mine,” she said proudly.
Twelve-year-old Dakota Bartlett can’t wait to feel the pride of having a moose of his own, and this fall he will get his first chance. Bartlett and his stepfather, Larry Butera, drove down from Brewer to see if Bartlett would win in his first lottery – he did.
Bartlett is not only excited by the idea of hunting moose. “I like being able to just ride around and spend time with my family,” he said.
Sharon Elwell of Buxton, is no stranger to winning the lottery. He’s won three times, but was still surprised to hear his name called.
“I don’t know what the story is,” he said tightly gripping the green baseball cap each winner receives as though someone might take it back. “I guess I’m just lucky.”
He hopes some of that luck will follow him out on the hunt. One year the moose completely eluded him and the next he shot “just a small one” at about 500 pounds.
To make sure of success this year, he plans to get out and “scout around” for a few weeks before the season begins.
“It’s pretty exciting,” he said. “I just love the moose meat.”
On Thursday night luck was certainly following Gene Bishop of Windsor.
His brother, who was at home watching the results on the Web, was drawn about two hours into the lottery.
“I called him up and he was just screaming on the phone,” said Bishop.
His brother’s screams came after 25 years of waiting, and patience for all those years was about to be rewarded twice more.
About 15 minutes after he hung up Bishop’s best friend’s wife was drawn as well.
Odds are, it should have stopped there. But minutes later Bishop was on his way down to the front to collect his hat and shake hands with congratulators.
“I just can’t believe it,” he said after his quarter decade wait. “This is incredible.”
For the remaining 67,175 hunters who didn’t share Bishop’s luck, there’s a saying to be used in times of annual disappointment that New Englanders are very familiar with – there’s always next year.
Sharon Elwell holds up the hat each permit winner receives from the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife.
Twelve-year-old Dakota Bartlett and his stepfather Larry Butera can’t wait to hunt moose on Bartlett’s first permit.
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