From the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife

-- Aerial helicopter surveys to count deer in Maine's central and southern Wildlife Management Districts will be made in December and January, a cooperative arrangement with the Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife and the Maine Forest Service.

Information gained from the surveys will provide estimates of deer abundance and be used for managing Maine's deer herd.

Aerial surveys began Dec. 8 with involve low-level flying-approximately 200 feet off the ground-along designated transects, starting in southern Somerset County and parts of western Penobscot County.

The aerial surveys take place when snow conditions are sufficient to cover the ground and wind speeds are low.

Funding for the project, estimated to be $100,000 over two years, has been made possible through the Maine Outdoor Heritage Fund and the Federal Pittman-Robertson Fund.