A bull moose crosses a logging road near Kokadjo, just north of Beaver Cove, on the eastern side of Moosehead Lake. (Robert F. Bukaty/Associated Press)

Maine is considering adding another week of moose hunting near Moosehead Lake during peak fall foliage, which has ignited a debate about how to share access to the iconic animal.

People have long visited that area in search of its namesake, whether with a rifle or a camera. The local chamber of commerce used to say in promotional materials that moose outnumbered people 3-to-1. Now, the region is testing the balance between a long hunting tradition and a growing emphasis on fall tourism.

“When you come to Maine, one of the bucket list things for people to do is to see a moose in the wild,” said Jeremy Hargreaves, owner of Northeast Whitewater in Shirley Mills.

The Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife makes rules for when, where and how much hunting can happen. There are two possible weeks in which a hunter can harvest a bull moose in Maine — one in September and one in October — although the state historically restricted some wildlife management districts to one week only.

Last winter, the department proposed opening both September and October hunts in all 20 of Maine’s 29 districts where moose hunting is allowed. Because of a swell of opposition from Greenville, which has especially marketed itself as a place to see rich colors and wildlife, the state ultimately allowed two weeks of bull hunting in 2026 in every district except four near Moosehead Lake. This year, those four districts only got permits for October.

The conversation didn’t end there.

That spring, the state convened a working group for two meetings to discuss possible compromises. Nate Webb, the state’s wildlife division director, said that a proposed rule is expected to be announced at a meeting of the department’s advisory council on Oct. 21.

“Moose hunting is really important for the management of the herd, but the timing of the season, that’s really a social issue,” Webb said. “It’s about what the people of Maine want.”

Looking across Moosehead Lake in August 2021. (Shawn Patrick Ouellette/Staff Photographer)‘THE PICTURE EVERYONE WANTS’

Unlike some companies, Northeast Whitewater doesn’t run rafting trips in late September. Hargreaves said he instead turns his entire focus to moose watching tours in the fall and expects to see 1,000 visitors. The company starts these tours in the spring, Hargreaves said, but this time of year accounts for 25% of his business.

“There’s definitely more opportunity to see bull moose,” Hargreaves said. “They’ve got their full-grown antlers. It is the picture everyone sees, and that’s the picture everyone wants.”

Tour guides, even those who hunt themselves, said they would not operate during weeks in which moose hunting is allowed because they do not want conflict in the woods.

“I don’t want to compete against a hunter,” Hargreaves said. “We’re looking for the same thing for two very different reasons.”

Chris Young, another tour guide based in Greenville, said he is concerned about how an earlier hunt would impact the herd.

“All the businesses rely on the live moose for people to see,” he said.

The hospitality industry has also been vocal in the debate. Jennifer Whitlow has owned the Blair Hill Inn in Greenville since 2022 and said moose watching tours are the most popular activity for her guests. A change in the hunting season, she said, might eventually force her to close the inn a month earlier than she does now.

“We don’t want to put any kind of deterrent in front of people who are considering coming to the Moosehead Lake area,” she said.

Two moose calves stand behind their mother on a logging road north of Moosehead Lake in October 2004. (Dave Sherwood/Staff Photographer)

Whitlow and other opponents said they have worked hard to market Greenville as a fall destination for outdoor recreation of all kinds, and they point to data from the Maine Office of Tourism that says only 3% of visitors at this time of year are coming to the state to hunt. Whitlow believes the potential loss for her business and others in Greenville would be greater than the potential gain for hunting guides and sporting camps.

“Where is the bread buttered right now in Maine?” Steve Levesque, board member of the Moosehead Lake Economic Development Corporation and a former state economic development commissioner, said. “Like it or not, tourism in Maine is our biggest industry.”

SIX DAYS IN SEPTEMBER

As the foliage reaches its peak in late September, Lake Parlin Lodge in Jackman sits empty, owner Joe Kruse said.

The sporting camp sits in Wildlife Management District 8, more than an hour’s drive from Greenville. Because moose hunting is not allowed in his area until October, Kruse sets up camp for the week in another district and guides clients there.

“It’s a big effort,” Kruse said. “It obviously costs more to do all that.”

Justin Burritt owns Northern Pride Lodge in Kokadjo, about 20 miles north of Greenville in Wildlife Management District 9, which also does not have a September hunt. While he guides hunters in another zone in September, his wife stays home to host wildlife photographers who book shorter trips.

“We get a lot of weekend people,” Burritt said. “If someone was coming for a moose hunt, they would be here seven to 10 days.”

An extra week of hunting, officials have said, would not mean more bull tags in the four districts that don’t currently have one in September. For example, Wildlife Management District 9 got 200 bull tags for this October only. That number would be spread between two weeks if the state added a September hunt, Webb said.

Landowners who allow hunting on their properties also said in public meetings that the change would reduce traffic on their roads in October when the conditions are wetter and therefore reduce the cost of maintenance.

Hunting guides said that approach would also appeal to their clients.

“Fewer hunters on the landscape just elevates the experience,” said Christopher Richards of Hermon, a board member of the Maine Professional Guides Association.

September is in the peak of the rut, or the breeding season, when bull moose are more responsive to calling, hunters said. In 2023 and 2024, data show that hunters were more successful in September than in October. In 2025, the rates between the two weeks were more even.

Some said they do not believe that tour operators would need to stop going into the woods during the hunting season.

“They are operating their businesses all summer,” Kruse said. “We want six days to hunt moose.”

A POSSIBLE COMPROMISE

The state’s working group discussed dividing the four wildlife management districts near Moosehead Lake so September hunting would be allowed in some areas and not in others.

During one of two meetings, members drew lines on maps to represent their ideal boundaries.

That possible compromise has been met with mixed reactions on all sides of the debate. Some prefer an all-or-nothing approach. Others see a path forward that meets everyone’s needs.

“This shouldn’t be about hunting versus tourism,” Rick Petrie, Jackman town manager, said. “But the people that come to Jackman have a different priority than the ones that go to Greenville. There’s a mix in both areas, but the reality is that Jackman is more geared toward hunting where Greenville is more hunting with a camera.”