Maine: NRA Puts the State on Notice of Intent to Sue over Conservation Funding Deficiencies

The National Rifle Association, together with the Sportsmen's Alliance of Maine and Safari Club International, has formally notified the State of Maine of our intent, on behalf of all of our members, to file suit over the State's decades-long misappropriation of wildlife funds. For more than 35 years, these unlawful diversions have deprived wildlife conservation programs of tens of millions of dollars.

The Mills Administration has responded to our notice and is working with the NRA and our partners to resolve these deficiencies in the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife's (“IFW”) budgeting process. If those efforts do not result in an adequate resolution, the NRA is prepared to file suit and pursue all available legal remedies.

Background

In the late 1980’s, while facing budget shortfalls, lawmakers in Augusta raided IFW funds for the State's general fund. In response, the people of Maine voted overwhelmingly in 1992 to pass a constitutional amendment ensuring that "all revenue sources" generated by hunters and anglers would be dedicated to critical conservation efforts and protected from future raids. Immediately before that amendment was adopted, however, Augusta included language in a budget bill that earmarked interest on department accounts for the general fund. That interest income generates as much as $1 million annually, and those earnings have been accruing to the general fund for more than 35 years.

Those funds should have been used to expand the preservation of deer yards in northern Maine, which currently protect thousands of acres of old-growth forest; maintain or expand hatcheries; or reduce fee increases for sportsmen and women, many of whom pay license and permit fees to help feed their families.

Beyond protecting habitat and wildlife populations for residents, Maine is a destination for hunters and anglers from around the world. Its pristine streams and rivers include some of the few remaining waters in North America where brook trout naturally propagate, and its world-class deer and moose hunting opportunities draw sportsmen and women from across the globe. Protecting these natural resources is a concern for Mainers and all Americans.