An Act To Encourage Landowners To Allow Hunting
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows:
Sec. 1. 12 MRSA §11152, sub-§4, as enacted by PL 2003, c. 414, Pt. A, §2 and affected by c. 614, §9, is amended to read:
4. Landowner drawing. 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 subsection. must allocate by a drawing no less than 30% of the permits issued under this section to landowners who: A. Apply for the antlerless deer permit in a wildlife management district that contains that landowner's property;
B. Keep that landowner's property open to hunting by the public, including hunting by permission;
C. Meet requirements established by the commissioner by rule pursuant to this section, including but not limited to the minimum acreage requirements to qualify for the drawing; and
D. Are not otherwise ineligible to hold an antlerless deer hunting permit.
Only one permit may be issued under this subsection for a single parcel of land open to hunting, which includes land open to hunting by permission. Two or more areas of land owned by the same person that are open for hunting by the public, including hunting by permission, and that would be contiguous except for being divided by one or more roads are considered contiguous for the purposes of this subsection.
summary
This bill requires the Commissioner of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife to allocate at least 30% of any antlerless deer permits issued to landowners that meet certain requirements and keep their land open to hunting by the public.