HP0995, LD 1399, item 1, An Act To Provide for the Aroostook Band of Micmacs Certain Rights Regarding Hunting, Fishing and Wildlife Management

An Act To Provide for the Aroostook Band of Micmacs Certain Rights Regarding Hunting, Fishing and Wildlife Management

Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows:

Sec. 1. 12 MRSA §11154, sub-§14 is enacted to read:

14. Aroostook Band of Micmacs. Notwithstanding subsections 4 and 6 and section 11102, the commissioner shall issue a moose permit to a member of the Aroostook Band of Micmacs upon written request of the member that allows the member to take one moose per calendar year. A permit issued under this subsection is in addition to the moose hunting permits issued under subsection 2 for each wildlife management district and is not subject to the fee for a moose permit.

Sec. 2. 30 MRSA §7208 is enacted to read:

§ 7208. Regulation of fish and wildlife resources

1. Adoption of ordinances by band. Subject to the limitations of subsection 7, the Aroostook Band of Micmacs has exclusive authority within the Aroostook Band of Micmacs territory to adopt ordinances regulating:

A. Hunting, trapping or other taking of wildlife; and

B. Taking of fish on any pond in which all the shoreline and all submerged lands are wholly within the Aroostook Band of Micmacs territory and that is less than 10 acres in surface area.

An ordinance adopted under this subsection must be equally applicable, on a nondiscriminatory basis, to a person regardless of whether the person is a member of the Aroostook Band of Micmacs; however, subject to the limitations of subsection 7, the ordinance may include special provisions for the sustenance of the individual members of the Aroostook Band of Micmacs. In addition to the authority provided by this subsection, the Aroostook Band of Micmacs, subject to the limitations of subsection 7, may exercise within the Aroostook Band of Micmacs territory all the rights incident to ownership of land under the laws of the State.

2. Registration of wildlife killed within the Aroostook Band of Micmacs territory. The Aroostook Band of Micmacs shall establish and maintain registration stations for the purpose of registering bear, moose, deer and other wildlife killed within the Aroostook Band of Micmacs territory and shall adopt an ordinance requiring registration of bear, moose, deer and other wildlife killed within the Aroostook Band of Micmacs territory to the extent and in substantially the same manner as bear, moose, deer and other wildlife that are killed in the State are required to be registered under the laws of the State. An ordinance requiring registration of bear, moose, deer and other wildlife killed within the Aroostook Band of Micmacs territory must be equally applicable to all persons without distinction based on membership in the band. The Aroostook Band of Micmacs shall report the bear, moose, deer and other wildlife killed and registered within the Aroostook Band of Micmacs territory to the Commissioner of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife at such times as the commissioner determines appropriate. The records of registration of bear, moose, deer and other wildlife killed within the Aroostook Band of Micmacs territory required by this subsection must be available for inspection and examination by the Commissioner of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife.

3. Adoption of ordinances concerning fishing on bodies of water. Subject to the limitations of subsection 7, the Aroostook Band of Micmacs has exclusive authority to adopt ordinances for fishing on:

A. Any pond other than a pond specified in subsection 1, paragraph B if 50% or more of the linear shoreline of the pond is within the Aroostook Band of Micmacs territory;

B. Any section of a river or stream both sides of which are within the Aroostook Band of Micmacs territory; and

C. Any section of a river or stream one side of which is within the Aroostook Band of Micmacs territory for a continuous length of 1/2 mile or more.

In adopting an ordinance under this subsection, the Aroostook Band of Micmacs shall consider and balance the need to preserve and protect existing and future sport and commercial fisheries, the historical fishing interests of other persons, the needs or desires of the Aroostook Band of Micmacs to establish fishery practices for the sustenance of the Aroostook Band of Micmacs or to contribute to the economic independence of the Aroostook Band of Micmacs, the traditional fishing techniques employed by and ceremonial practices of Native Americans in the State and the ecological interrelationship between the fishery regulated under this subsection and other fisheries throughout the State. An ordinance adopted under this subsection may include without limitation provisions on the methods, manners, bag and size limits and seasons for fishing.

An ordinance adopted under this subsection must be equally applicable on a nondiscriminatory basis to all persons regardless of whether a person is a member of the Aroostook Band of Micmacs and may include the imposition of fees and permits or license requirements on users of regulated waters under this subsection other than members of the Aroostook Band of Micmacs.

For an orderly transition of regulatory authority, all fishing laws and rules of the State remain applicable to all waters regulated by this subsection until the Aroostook Band of Micmacs certifies to the Commissioner of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife the adoption of ordinances under this subsection in substitution for laws and rules of the State.

4. Horsepower and use of motors. Subject to the limitations of subsection 7, the Aroostook Band of Micmacs has exclusive authority to adopt ordinances to regulate the horsepower and use of motors on waters less than 200 acres in surface area and entirely within the Aroostook Band of Micmacs territory.

5. Sustenance fishing within the Aroostook Band of Micmacs territory. Notwithstanding any other rule or law of the State and subject to the limitations of subsection 7, the members of the Aroostook Band of Micmacs may take fish, within the boundaries of the Aroostook Band of Micmacs territory, for the members' individual sustenance.

6. Posting. Lands or waters subject to regulation by the Aroostook Band of Micmacs must be conspicuously posted in a manner that provides reasonable notice to the public of the limitations on hunting, trapping, fishing or other use of the lands or waters.

7. Supervision by Commissioner of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife. The Commissioner of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife may conduct fish and wildlife surveys within the Aroostook Band of Micmacs territory and on waters subject to the jurisdiction of the Aroostook Band of Micmacs to the same extent as the commissioner is authorized to do so in other areas of the State. Before conducting a fish and wildlife survey, the Commissioner of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife shall provide reasonable advance notice to afford the Aroostook Band of Micmacs a reasonable opportunity to participate in the survey. If at any time the Commissioner of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife has reasonable grounds to believe that an ordinance adopted by the Aroostook Band of Micmacs under this section or the absence of an ordinance creates an adverse condition affecting or likely to affect the stock of any fish or wildlife on lands or waters outside the boundaries of lands or waters subject to regulation by the Aroostook Band of Micmacs, the commissioner shall inform the governing body of the Aroostook Band of Micmacs of the adverse condition and attempt to develop appropriate remedial standards in consultation with the Aroostook Band of Micmacs. If the Commissioner of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife is unable to develop appropriate remedial standards for an adverse condition under this subsection, the commissioner may call a public hearing pursuant to Title 5, chapter 375, subchapter 4 to investigate the adverse condition. If, after the public hearing, the Commissioner of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife determines that the adverse condition is causing or likely to cause a significant depletion of fish or wildlife stocks on lands or waters outside the boundaries of lands or waters subject to regulation by the Aroostook Band of Micmacs, the commissioner may adopt appropriate remedial measures including rescission of an ordinance that is the cause of or that is likely to cause the adverse condition and ordering the enforcement of the generally applicable laws or rules of the State. In adopting any remedial measures after a hearing under this subsection, the Commissioner of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife shall use the least restrictive means possible to prevent a substantial diminution of the stocks in question and shall take into consideration the effect that practices of other persons on the lands or waters not within the Aroostook Band of Micmacs territory are having on such stocks. A remedial measure adopted after a hearing under this subsection may not be more restrictive than a remedial measure the Commissioner of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife could impose if the area in question was not within the Aroostook Band of Micmacs territory or waters subject to Aroostook Band of Micmacs regulation.

In any administrative proceeding under this section, the burden of proof is on the Commissioner of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife, and the commissioner's decision may be appealed pursuant to Title 5, chapter 375, subchapter 7 and be sustained only if supported by substantial evidence.

8. Transportation of game. Fish lawfully taken within the Aroostook Band of Micmacs territory or in waters subject to Aroostook Band of Micmacs regulation and wildlife lawfully taken within the Aroostook Band of Micmacs territory and registered pursuant to ordinances adopted by the Aroostook Band of Micmacs may be transported within the State.

9. Fish and wildlife on non-Indian lands. The Aroostook Band of Micmacs shall undertake appropriate studies, consult with affected landowners and state officials and make recommendations to the Commissioner of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife and the Legislature with respect to implementation of fish and wildlife management policies on lands not within the Aroostook Band of Micmacs territory in order to protect fish and wildlife stocks on lands and waters subject to regulation by the Aroostook Band of Micmacs.

10. Fish. As used in this section, "fish" means a cold-blooded, completely aquatic vertebrate animal having permanent fins, gills and an elongated, streamlined body usually covered with scales and includes inland fish and anadromous and catadromous fish when in inland waters.

summary

This bill provides the Aroostook Band of Micmacs the same authority to regulate hunting, fishing and wildlife management as that of the Passamaquoddy Tribe and the Penobscot Nation and provides upon request each member of the Aroostook Band of Micmacs a moose permit allowing the member to take one moose per year.

HP0995 LD 1399	Session - 126th Maine Legislature		LR 1863 Item 1
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