LD 1482
pg. 4
Page 3 of 10 An Act To Revise Certain Provisions of Maine's Fish and Wildlife Laws Page 5 of 10
Download Bill Text
LR 1852
Item 1

 
(3) The Saturday preceding the first day of open season
on deer shall be is an open day for residents of this
State only.

 
Sec. 13. 12 MRSA §7457, sub-§1, ¶H, as amended by PL 2001, c. 690,
Pt. A, §8 and affected by §18, is further amended to read:

 
H. The commissioner may regulate the taking of antlerless
deer within any area of the State, as necessary, to
maintain deer populations in balance with available
habitat if the following conditions are met.

 
(1) The demarcation of each area must follow
recognizable physical boundaries such as rivers,
roads and railroad rights-of-way.

 
(2) The determination must be made and published prior
to August 1st of each year.

 
(4) The commissioner may adopt rules necessary for the
administration, implementation, enforcement and
interpretation of this subsection, except that there
may not be an antlerless deer permit system unless
otherwise specified in this paragraph. Any rules
adopted by the commissioner that provide for permits
to be issued to nonresident or alien hunters must
provide that:

 
(a) The percentage of antlerless deer permits
issued to nonresident and alien hunters may not
exceed the average percentage of applicants for
antlerless deer permits over the previous 3
years who were nonresidents or aliens; and

 
(b) No more than 15% of the antlerless deer
permits issued in any one district or in any one
zone may be issued to nonresident and alien
hunters.

 
(5) An antlerless deer permit system adopted by the
commissioner pursuant to this section may include a
provision giving special consideration to landowners
who keep their lands open to hunting by the public.
Any 2 or more areas of land owned by the same person
that are open for hunting and that would be
contiguous except for being divided by one or more
roads are considered contiguous for the purposes of
determining landowner eligibility for special
consideration under this subparagraph.


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