Portland Police Peaks Island

10/28/2014  Ofc Rumery-Taylor

0700- shift change w/Ofc Richardson-PFD shift change

0800- met ferry-patrolled Island
0945- met ferry-patrolled Island-caught up with Islander and passed on info to them from Victim/Witness advocate
1100- met ferry-fueled cruiser
1215- statement from Islander requesting Criminal Trespass and Cease Harassment for a neighbor. Paperwork drawn up
1230- met ferry
1430- met ferry-patrolled Island
1530- met ferry
1600- tagged abandoned vehicle on Herman Ave for towing
1645- met ferry-patrolled Island
1750- met ferry
1930- patrolled Island
2030- met ferry
2130- met ferry-patrolled Island
0630- barking dog complaint called in from Inn on Peaks-dog with owner at cafe quieted

 

From Michelle Brown:

For those of you that are interested in what is going on with the Peaks Island raccoon population but could not make it to the informational meeting last night with the Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife (DIFW) representatives, I am submitting this synopsis of the major points that were talked about at the meeting:

·         The representatives from DIFW were Peter Herring, the Game Warden for this area, and Corrie Sterns, a wildlife biologist knowledgeable about raccoon behavior and natural history,

 ·         Peaks Island has a healthy population of raccoons that do not appear to be carrying rabies or any other diseases,

 ·         Raccoons are native to Peaks Island and would make it to the Island on their own (they can swim) so it is not feasible or legal to rid the Island of all raccoons. They would just repopulate the Island naturally in the near future,

 ·         There are no natural predators of raccoons on the Island except for birds of prey that may take a baby raccoon. However, the greatest mortality factor of raccoons on the Island would be other raccoons because they are highly territorial and would kill other raccoons that are invading their territory, 

·         If raccoons do become more numerous on the Island, they will not become more aggressive, we will just see more of them,

 ·         Raccoons are not strictly nocturnal. They can also be out during the day looking for food, especially if they have kits (baby raccoons) to feed,

 ·         There is some concern that the transfer station open dump containers may be providing food and attracting raccoons. This is an item that could be looked into further,

 ·         It is criminal offense to poison raccoons (or any other wildlife) in Maine. Poisoning is nondiscriminatory and could kill other animals such as dogs, cats, hawks, owls, etc.  It is also a very cruel, painful, and inhuman way to kill an animal,

 ·         Cats and dogs are not on a raccoon diet;

 ·         It is illegal to trap and move or trap and kill wildlife in Maine unless you are permitted to do so by the State. Also, discharging a gun on Peaks Island is illegal. However, if you have an issue with a particular individual animal that is threatening you or your property (e.g. chickens), the local police can be called and are authorized to dispatch the animal from your property,

 ·         The first step for us in solving the raccoon “problem” is to make food unavailable to them on our properties. Actions like locking up your garbage, putting your bird feeders away at night or hanging them on raccoon proof stands, sturdily built chicken coops that prevent raccoons from entering, and not putting pet food outside are simple ways to keep raccoons uninterested in visiting your property. A very good list of how to manage your property and chickens so as to not attract raccoon visits can be found at: http://www.maine.gov/ifw/wildlife/human/lww_information/raccoons.html

Corrie and Peter, as DIFW representatives, would like us to take this first step above to see if that will alleviate the problems we are having with raccoons thereby encouraging raccoons to keep to the natural sources of food found on the Island. For example, there is ample food coming in on each tide for raccoons to forage on Peak’s beaches. Meanwhile, they will take our concerns back to their colleagues at DIFW to determine if a raccoon population study for Peaks would be beneficial at this time. They will also monitor the situation to determine if, sometime in the future, a culling program might be necessary.  They also suggested that if anybody has any other concerns or additional questions, to send them to me at brownmichh@aol.com so that I can contact them to report the concern and/or find an answer to your questions. 

Thanks to all who asked great questions and provided useful information at the meeting last night, to Carol Eisenberg and Kathleen Hayward who brought this issue up originally for discussion, and all who are willing to find a way to live with the wildlife that is sharing the Island with us.     ---Michelle