Aron Semle goes hunting for the memories.

The Buxton resident, who hunts on his parents’ property in Hollis, recalls the beginning of this autumn’s hunting season, when one of his frequent forays into the untouched Maine wilderness provided him an almost Zen-like moment of tranquility: Perched high up in a tree, rifle in hand, Semle watched a deer traipse into a clearing, dash across an expanse of fall-brown grass and fallen leaves, and disappear into the woods on the clearing’s perimeter ”“ a sighting that reminded him of the unpredictable joys of nature’s beauty.

Semle didn’t shoot the deer; there simply wasn’t a clear shot to be had. Better to let the animal go, he thought, than to risk a grazing shot that would leave it wounded and suffering. Still, for someone who makes a living in software design, it was an event that reconnected him to the simple pleasure of the outdoors.

It’s why he hunts. And it’s why he feels that more out-of-state enthusiasts should come to Maine for a hunting and fishing experience that is, in his opinion, second to none.

In his spare time, Semle is the proprietor of youhuntandfish.com, a website that encourages visitors to share photos and stories of their experiences, and he’s recently started attending meetings of the Nonresident Hunter Task Force, a special group established by the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife in Augusta to help spread the hunting gospel.

“One of our goals is to increase the number of people hunting and fishing,” said Semle. “The task force was set up to increase the (percentage) of out-of-state hunters. They’ve been really nice in letting people voice their opinions.”

The task force, co-chaired by Edie Smith, director of Information and Education at IF&W, has been meeting on Sunday afternoons to brainstorm strategies for attracting hunters from the New England region and beyond.

The reason for the push is simple: IF&W is funded in large part by the hunting and fishing licenses it sells, and with interest from out-of-staters dwindling, revenue from those licenses ”“ which cost more that in-state resident licenses ”“ is on the decline.

“It appeals to our bottom line,” said Smith. “We’ve been disturbed by the (low) number of non-resident hunters, and we want to find ways to turn that around.”

To that end, Smith and IF&W have been working closely with Carolann Louellette, director of the Maine Office of Tourism, who is Smith’s co-chair on the Nonresident Hunter Task Force.

What’s good for IF&W is good for the state’s tourism industry in general, said Louellette.

“This is something that has been identified as a concern,” she said of the low numbers of non-resident hunters. “Our job is to get people to come in from out of state, and the most important part is that we need more research on the target market.”

Finding out who hunts, and who is more likely to come in from out of state to hunt, will be a key part of formulating an appropriate advertising campaign, said Louellette.

In the meantime, Smith said IF&W will start focusing on attending more sportsmen’s shows beyond Maine’s borders, as a way of rolling out the red carpet for those outdoor enthusiasts who have a touch of wanderlust.

The push for nonresident hunters may also have something to do with deer population in Maine.

Lee Kanter, a deer biologist with IF&W, said that deer population numbers are low across the state. IF&W exerts some control over that population by adjusting the number of hunting permits that are granted across the state’s 29 hunting districts; the lower the number of deer, the fewer permits the department grants.

That allows the deer population to climb to acceptable numbers once more, but it also means a dip in revenue for IF&W, which can be partially offset by encouraging nonresident hunters to pony up for pricier permits.

It helps, said Smith, that enthusiastic hunters like Semle are offering to help.

Armed with his .44 Winchester lever-action rifle, scope and standard-issue orange hat and vest, Semle paid a quick visit Monday to his family’s Hollis hunting ground, more to reflect on past experiences than to create new ones.

Memories were abundant: Semle grew up hunting with his family, which he said is a common tale among enthusiasts. His efforts to help out the Nonresident Hunter Task Force arose partly out a desire to see the industry thrive, but for Semle, there’s also something more personal at work: He wants more families to share in the bonding experience that hunting can provide, and which permeated much of his own youth.

He also feels it will help instill in more people a healthy respect for nature’s bounty.

“A lot of people think we just come out here and shoot guns and have a good time,” said Semle. “But when you’re actually killing an animal, you learn to respect them a lot more.”

— Staff Writer Jeff Lagasse can be contacted at 282-1535, Ext. 319, or at jlagasse@journaltribune.com.