Maine Warden Service Provides Statewide Search and Rescue Services

(Media-Newswire.com) - AUGUSTA, Maine – The Maine Warden Service, the lead agency for search and rescues in Maine’s woods and inland waters, has been called out to 116 search and rescues since April 1, putting it on track to reaching its annual average of 480.

Yesterday, game wardens searched for a missing boater in Weston whose body was recovered in Deering Lake, 5 miles north of Danforth. Unfortunately, the boater was not wearing a pfd ( personal flotation device ) and drowned. The wearing of pfds is an issue wardens educate boaters about throughout the spring and summer.

Since April 1, the Maine Warden Service has received 38 calls for lost or distressed boaters, 14 calls for missing children, and 10 calls for lost or injured hikers.

Lt. Kevin Adam, Maine Warden Service search and rescue coordinator, stated when the weather is nice – usually spring and fall – the number of calls to search for people suffering from an illness increases. This spring, wardens searched for 8 people with Alzheimer’s, 7 people who were despondent, 6 people with Autism, and 8 people who were planning to commit suicide.

“Those categories typically will have more activity in the nice spring and fall weather and diminish in the heat of summer and cold of winter,” Lt. Adam said.

Maine has a new “Silver Alert” system, activated statewide when an elderly person suffering from dementia, Alzheimer’s or other illness and has access to a vehicle or public transportation is reported missing.

Silver Alert was used recently in two cases – the search for a missing 87-year-old Smithfield man who was found deceased approximately 24 hours after he was last seen by his family, and earlier this week when a 83-year-old Starks man who had been missing for almost a day was found alive.

A search-and-rescue effort typically begins when a dispatch center receives information that a person is lost or injured in the woods or waters of Maine. The Maine Warden Service then responds utilizing its trained staff, certified volunteers, K-9 units and equipment such as aircraft and ATVs, to find and bring loved ones home to their families.

Search and rescue costs to the Maine Warden Service and Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife average approximately $300,000 annually, and have been as high as $400,000 depending on the number of cases and their complexity.

Camoplast Tatou 4S track kit - Yamaha Grizzly ATV Forum

Up where i live, we had a very wet year. There was tons of water and the ground was so saturated. The main reason i bought the kit was that i own a hunting cabin that is ONLY accesible by ATV in the summer and sled on winter. Over the past couple years, it has gotten wetter and the trails have gotten much worse. Everyone keeps getting bigger bikes with big tires, so the ruts and holes get deeper and deeper. The solution was very apparent. The tracks have a steel frame with a plastic drive sproket and plastic wheels or rollers. The plastic drive sproket doesn't break at all. I have had it in -30 celcius weather with no issues. The front tracks are about 94 inches long while the rear tracks are 98. They take two 14mm wrenches to adjust the track tension which takes only about 5 minutes. There are limiter straps that prevent complete roation of the track frame, but there is some rotation. Advantages: The tracks are absolutely awesome in the mud and snow. You basically go straight through holes rather than going around. You have about 16 inches of ground clearance. They just keep pulling and won't dig down in the mud like a tire. It probably triples the amount of pull your bike has. Instead of a person winching out, you just hook a cable to them and pull them out. If you cant go forward anymore, you can back out easily. If you use common sense, you shouldn't get stuck. Disadvantages: The pros of tracks far outweigh the bad. There are two main cons of them. The first is your fuel economy goes to the toilet. I have gotten anywhere from 15 miles to a tank to 30 miles. It all depends on the conditions. The second con is the steering. A tracked bike doesn't turn as tight or manuever as good. The steering is much tougher even with EPS. Other things i have found is that they aren't as slow as you think. I can still go 90km on the speedo ( 60 km actual). You have way better stability in uneven ground an there are few instances where a track has left the ground. You would have to be a retard to roll or flip a tracked ATV. Watch out for logs, large stones, and sudden holes as these will cause damage if driving fast. I've been runing Camoplast Tatou 4s for 2 winter seasons now. Here in Northern Montana they will go anywhere. They inreased by pulling power and I usually pull snowmobile out that are stuck. I use my to pull 1500 lbs round bale of hay out to my wife's horses through the deep snow drifts.

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