"Deer season is a tradition rooted deep within the state," game Commissioner Roland "Danny" Martin said. "It is a heritage that is passed on generation to generation."

Throughout the season, more than 200,000 hunters will participate in the hunt, generating more than $450 million in economic activity in Maine, according to the state Inland Fisheries and Wildlife Department.

Weather forecasters said hunters can expect cool temperatures on Saturday, dropping to around freezing by morning and rising to the 40s during the day throughout much of the state. There may some flurries in coastal areas but no accumulations. The greatest chance of rain will be along the coast and Down East.

Game officials said hunters will find the most deer in southern and central areas of the state, but some of the biggest deer in western, northern and eastern Maine.

Department biologists believe that if normal hunting pressure and weather prevail, this year's deer harvest should be about 32,400, higher than last year's total of 30,926. The state issued more than 70,000 permits allowing hunters to shoot deer of either sex for this season. Any-deer permits are issued to manage the deer population.

During the season, state game biologists will again collect samples of Maine deer to see if chronic wasting disease is present in the state. Most of the 750 samples to be taken from hunter-killed deer will be taken in towns that have deer farms or winter feeding sites. The disease causes irreversible damage to brain tissues and leads to death of affected animals.

State officials urged hunters to observe safety rules, such as wearing two pieces of blaze orange, to carry a compass, matches and water, and be certain of the target and what's behind it. Maine recorded one hunting fatality last year.

This is cache, read story here