AUGUSTA, Maine — Greg D’auteuil loves moose hunting, so it was no surprise that he decided to spend the afternoon of his 80th birthday at the annual Maine Moose Permit Lottery.
D’auteuil was among a throng of hopeful hunters who gathered Saturday afternoon at Mill Park, along the banks of the Kennebec River, to hear representatives of the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife and other state agencies read aloud the names of the lucky winners.
At stake was the chance to participate in the state’s premier hunting opportunity later this year. The state received 72,531 applications, the most since 2003. That included a record 26,204 nonresident hunters.
Thousands of people gathered in and around the big tent on the former site of the Edwards Manufacturing Mill that once drove the economy of the capital city.
Dozens of attendees shouted with joy and leapt from their chairs when their hometown and name came through the speakers, meaning they would own one of 4,106 permits for the 2023 season.
D’auteuil was seated one row from the back of the tent when his name was said and a handful of people in the vicinity broke into celebration.
D’auteuil actually had been sitting directly in front of Michelle Bridges of Manchester, a friend who had been announced only a few minutes earlier.
A friend ran over from the nearby beer garden and jubilantly hoisted D’auteuil into the air, to his apparent discomfort, to show his enthusiasm.
“That’s what we wait for all year. It’s our favorite time of the year,” D’auteuil said as a small crowd of friends gathered around him. “At 80 years old, I’m glad I can still do it.”
It will mark his fourth hunt as a permit holder, but he said it’s about the best birthday present he could possibly receive. The best part, he said, is having the chance to share the experience with family and friends who have bonded while in the moose woods.
“It’s an honor. I’m very excited,” D’auteuil said. “We have a really good crew.”
There were several first-time permit winners who attended the event. Among them was Gary Ferrill of Clifton, who jumped out of his seat when his name was read only a minute or so into Saturday’s event.
He couldn’t contain his excitement, especially after 21 years of entering the lottery while piling up 90 bonus points.
“I’ve been subpermittee four times, but I’ve never had my own permit,” Ferrill said, admitting that he wasn’t willing to accept an antlerless permit. “I haven’t waited this long to go shoot a cow.”
Had he not been drawn this year, Ferrill would have been guaranteed a spot in 2024 because he is a Maine resident who would have reached age 65 and had at least 30 bonus points. Now it’s moot.
“I’ll have my season, I’ll have my zone and I’ll be going with some very capable people,” Ferrill said. “I’m experienced at it, I’ve just never had my own permit.”
Mike Coslet of Durham also ended a long lottery losing streak when he was selected for a moose permit. He had applied for 25 years but had never been drawn.
“Both of my sons have been drawn twice, my daughter-in-law put in her first year and got drawn, so I’m jazzed,” said Coslet, who has been on several moose hunts. “We’re all pretty excited I finally got drawn.”
Jessica Hisler of Somerville shouted with delight when her name was called over the public address system. She was previously selected in 2014.
Her excitement had little to do with her desire to go hunting.
“It’s gonna fill my freezer,” Hisler said. “It’s been a very rough year, so I really need that meat.”
Bruce Cooper of Chelsea, who is likely known to Maine sports fans as the head girls basketball coach at Lawrence High School in Fairfield when phenom Cindy Blodgett was taking the state by storm, is another first-time permit winner.
“I put in a bunch of times. This is the first time to ever get drawn,” said Cooper, who was pleased that good friend Mark O’Brien, the mayor of Augusta, was the one who read his name.
Cooper, who boasts a couple of 200-pound deer to his credit, will finally have the chance to lead a moose hunting party. His subpermittee will be former longtime high school football and basketball coach Jim Marascio.
Ashley Tibbetts of Bowdoinham got up close and personal during the drawing, planting herself right in the front row. Nearly an hour and 45 minutes into the announcements, her name was read.
She screamed and bolted out of her chair, before running across the compound to celebrate with her brother Adam Tibbetts, who was manning the National Wild Turkey Federation booth.
“This is my first moose festival I’ve come to and I was right in front. Oh my God, I’m shaking,” Ashley Tibbetts said.
She’s no moose hunting rookie, though, having shot a moose in 2020 while serving as the subpermittee for her father, Greg Tibbetts.
Ashley Tibbetts, who had trouble containing her enthusiasm, will have her father as her subpermittee in the fall.
“It’s definitely the most amazing feeling ever,” she said. “How many people put in for it? You’re a lucky person if you get drawn.”
