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Hunting After Sunset Extended

Pickering Commission Bill Enacted

            A long-time goal of the Sportsman’s Alliance of Maine – and a key recommendation of SAM’s Pickering Commission – was achieved this session when the legislature voted to extend the hunting day to 30 minutes after sunset for all species except turkey.

            Many law changes recommended by the Pickering Commission were included in a final bill sponsored on SAM’s behalf by Representative Matt Dunlap.  LD 1083, An Act to Encourage Hunting by Simplifying Hunting Laws, included 14 law changes that will make hunting laws clearer and more consistent.

            An avid group of hunters, including two game wardens, worked for several months last year to formulate their recommendations, all of which can be found in a special Pickering Commission section on SAM’s website.

The Commission was guided by the following principles:  Laws and rules should serve two purposes - management of the resource and safety of the participants and the public.

SAM believes that hunting laws and rules should be consistent across all game animals, as much as possible, recognizing that some rules, such as bag limits, are driven by biology and science and cannot be consistent for all animals.

Currently, depending on the game species, hunters must stop hunting at sunset, 15 minutes after sunset, or 30 minutes after sunset.  SAM’s bill establishes a consistent ending time of 30 minutes after sunset.

Grouse hunters will gain a half hour, while deer hunters will enjoy 15 minutes of additional hunting time.

Actually, your extended hunting time will vary depending on where you hunt in the state, because for the purposes of this law sunset will be established in Bangor, just about the middle of the state.

SAM has been working for the last three legislative sessions to recover the entire the entire 30 minutes after sunset for deer hunters.  In the 119^th legislature, we succeeded in winning back 15 minutes, and this session the task was completed.

Hunters deserve credit for this victory, because there have been no accidents or fatalities in the 15 minute after sunset period.  It is incumbent upon each of us to make sure this exceptional safety record is maintained as the hunting time is extended to 30 minutes after sunset this fall.

DIF&W Praised

            The new leadership at the Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife also deserve praise for this achievement.  At the direction of Commissioner Dan Martin, Deputy Commissioner Paul Jacques and Regulations Officer Andrea Erskine worked closely with SAM to identify the Pickering Commission recommendations that the department could support.  Jacques and Erskine put many hours into this task, and SAM would not have been able to achieve so much with this bill without their help and support.  Jacques was actually a member of the Pickering Commission that prepared the recommendations, and that really helped move the proposals along.

            It was particularly gratifying to see Colonel Tim Peabody explain and defend the extension of hunting time to the legislature’s Fish and Wildlife Committee.  The first time SAM tried to extend the deer hunting time beyond sunset, the warden service opposed the change, and created a video to demonstrate why they thought the law change should not be made.

            That was also the year we began the effort to legalize camo orange.  It has taken three legislative sessions, but we have now won it all.  Camo orange is legal (except for the hat), and hunters have gained back the 30 minutes after sunset.

Other Law Changes

            The Pickering Commission bill made over a dozen changes in laws.  Most were designed to clarify or simplify hunting laws.

            One change will cap the fees that can be charged by DIF&W’s license agents.  Today, agents charge $2 for each license sold to an individual.  If you buy yourself multiple licenses, that can mount up to a significant sum. SAM originally tried to limit the total fee to $2, but strong opposition from the Maine Municipal Association and license agents around the state forced a compromise.  The bill caps fees at $6, no matter how many licenses are sold to a given individual in that person’s name.

            Some of the law changes are designed to save DIF&W money.  For example, the Pickering Commission bill repeals a requirement that DIF&W advertise bear and deer registration stations in one or more of the State’s daily newspapers.  That’s a waste of money that will not continue.

            The bill also repeals the requirement that DIF&W provide bear tags as part of the big game license.  The department intends to provide deer and bear tags on-line through it’s website, so you can print them out at home.  Of course, it is legal today to make your own tag too.  And the deer tag will continue to be available whenever and wherever you purchase a hunting license.

            Another sticky issue that has been examined repeatedly by the legislature is the prohibition against discharging a firearm within 100 yards of a dwelling.  Last session DIF&W tried to extend the definition of dwelling to any building, but SAM led a successful effort to defeat that proposal.

            LD 1083 adds the word “residential” to the definition of dwelling.  In the future, the prohibition will only apply to residential dwellings.

            SAM’s bill also simplifies the law regarding gifts of game.  Current law requires a lot of information on each piece of game meat gifted to someone.  The new law will simplify this requirement by requiring only the name of the person who registered the animal and the year that person registered the animal.

            This legislation also achieved another long-time SAM goal by clarifying that anyone can assist in a hunt, as long as that person does not possess hunting equipment or conduct illegal game driving activities.  This is especially important for turkey and moose hunts, where many individuals participate who do not have turkey permits.  Because the definition of “hunting” is so broad (it covers any activity that includes the “pursuit” of an animal), individuals participating in hunts without the proper permits and licenses are violating the law.

The law change also assures that, after tagging a deer, hunters may continue to participate in the hunting experience with friends and family, as long as they don’t carry a gun.

            For example, you could participate in a three-member deer drive, even after tagging a deer.  The three-member drive was legalized thanks to SAM legislation two sessions ago (another Pickering Commission recommendation).

            These are not all the law changes achieved with this bill, but they are the most important.

            Another very important recommendation of the Pickering Commission – to simplify the game transportation and registration requirements – was achieved in separate legislation sponsored on SAM’s behalf by Senator Bruce Bryant.

            The level of cooperation between SAM, DIF&W, and the Fish and Wildlife Committee was something special on this bill, and the Pickering Commission process continues to deliver significant benefits to all Maine sportsmen.

            “We are grateful to each member of the Pickering Commission for their work, over many months, and the very impressive report and recommendations that resulted from that work,” said SAM President Edye Cronk.  “I am very pleased that we were able to achieve so many of their recommendations during this legislative session.”