Meeting Minutes

ADVISORY COUNCIL MEETING
March 19, 2026 @ 9:30am
353 Water Street, 4th floor conference room
Augusta, ME
(and virtually via Microsoft Teams)

Attending:
Judy Camuso, Commissioner
Timothy Peabody, Deputy Commissioner
Christl Theriault, Assistant to the Commissioner
Mark Latti, Communications Director
Nate Webb, Wildlife Division Director
Bob Cordes, Wildlife Division Deputy Director
Jen Vashon, Game Research and Management Section Supervisor
Lee Kantar, Moose Biologist
Liz Latti, Fisheries & Hatcheries Division Director
Dakota Stankowski, Aquatic Invasives Coordinator
Samantha Poratti, Aquatic Invasives Biologist
Dan Scott, Warden Service Colonel
MaryEllen Wickett, Director of Information Technology
Katrina Aiudi-Oconnor, Licensing
Becky Orff, Secretary/Recorder

COUNCIL MEMBERS
Eric Ward
Rod Grant
Catherine Gordon
Scott Ireland

Wing Goodale
Joe Powers - Teams
Dave Craven - Teams
Tony Liguori - Teams

GUESTS
In person 1
12 additional public members and staff online

I. Call to Order

Commissioner Camuso called the meeting to order.

I-A. Pledge of Allegiance

II. Moment of Silence

III. Introductions

Introductions were made.

IV. Acceptance of Minutes of Previous Meeting

A motion was made by Joe Powers to accept the minutes as presented and that was seconded by Wing Goodale.

Vote: unanimous in favor - minutes accepted.
V. Rulemaking

A. Step 3
1. Moose Season dates
Nate Webb stated this proposal was to add a September hunting season for antlered moose in all remaining WMDs for which moose hunting permits did not already have that season. The second part of the proposal was adjusting the framework of the October antlered moose season such that there would always be a one-week gap between the two antlered moose seasons. The proposal received a lot of public input and there had been a lengthy discussion with the Council at their last meeting. Based on that input and discussion, the Commissioner was recommending to amend the proposal and not move forward with adding a September season in WMDs 8, 9, 14 and 17, however, with a plan to do public consultation in that area over the next several months with the goal of informing a revised proposal to potentially open portions of those areas to a September season in time for the fall 2027 hunting season.

Wing Goodale stated there were three areas they focused on at the last meeting, it seemed they had added a fourth one?

Nate Webb stated WMDs 14 and 17 were combined so a moose hunter that was issued a permit in either of those districts could hunt in both. The seasons would be the same for those two districts.

Eric Ward asked when the consultation period might start.

Nate Webb stated he would recommend we hire a facilitator to help with the conversation. It would take time to identify the group of people to represent the interests around the issue.

A motion was made by Dave Craven to adopt the proposal as amended and that was seconded by Joe Powers.

Vote: Unanimous - motion passed.

1. Youth hunting days for bear and wild turkey
   Nate Webb stated this proposal was the result of a legislative resolve supporting advancing opportunities for hunting by youth. The proposal was a portion of the direction given by the legislature to the Department in that resolve and directed us to establish a 2-year pilot program to increase youth participation which involves a 2-day youth bear hunting season on a Friday and Saturday as well as a day for youth hunting with dogs prior to the opening of the regular hunting season with dogs and also establish an additional youth day for wild turkey hunters. We received a few comments, some in favor, some that were in favor but suggested a different framework for some of the proposed dates. Based on the input and looking at the statutory boundaries around the bear hunting season framework and biological reasons for timing of the turkey season we were not recommending any changes to the proposal. We felt the proposed dates were the best way to fulfill the direction given by the Legislature. It was a 2-year pilot program and would go away after that. There would be a report back to the Legislature and they may have the option of reporting out a bill to direct the Department to do something different or permanently adopt the rule.
   

Scott Ireland stated he still had concerns with the dates messing up the last day of the bait season.

A motion was made by Joe Powers to adopt the proposal as presented and that was seconded by Tony Liguori.

Vote: 7 in favor; 1 opposed (Scott Ireland) motion passed.

B. Step 2

1. 2026-2027 Migratory Bird Seasons
   

Nate Webb stated this was the annual proposal for season dates and bag limits for migratory game birds. This was similar to the previous year's season but did include modifications to the North/South zone boundary line with the goal of improving the season timing when waterfowl are more prevalent to hunting due to migration patterns and ice conditions. This was also to address some road name changes and references due to the I395 bypass addition. A public hearing was held on March 2nd, there were 15 members of the public in attendance, those that spoke were in opposition to the N/S boundary line change. We received 19 written comments, seven in support of the boundary line change and 8 opposed. Three were NFNA. One comment had 19 signatures associated with it that were opposed to the boundary change. Another comment included an online petition supporting the N/S boundary line change and 39 people had signed on. Essentially, it was split in terms of perspectives for those that submitted comment. This was not a new issue and had been debated in the waterfowl community for years. A similar proposal was not advanced in prior years. This years proposal came forward as a recommendation from waterfowl council members. Since being advertised, a typo was discovered in the south zone dates which had been corrected to include the additional day of hunting.

Wing Goodale stated he felt they needed more time to have the Department work with the community around the issue. Could there be a modification to the proposal to keep with the current line and do some additional work.

Commissioner Camuso stated she could meet with the waterfowl council members to discuss and then move forward based on their feedback.

Eric Ward discussed the survey results, there were three different parts of the survey that went out to waterfowl hunters. To him, it didnt seem very clear from the results on how to move forward.

Nate Webb stated it was an issue that affected a small number of people that hunted in a specific area. It was about finding the right season timing in that part of the state for hunters. There were some differences in opinions and there may be no way to find resolution.

Commissioner Camuso stated the boundary line could only be modified every five years due to federal regulation. If it were modified this year, it could not be changed again for five years.

There were no further questions or comments.

1. Ch. 13 Watercraft rules (visual distress signals)
   

Colonel Scott stated there was a federal requirement to carry visual distress signals (VDS) both daytime and nighttime signals when on coastal waters. Flare guns with flares was a nighttime signal that was required when on coastal waters. If the vessel was under 16 feet you were only required to carry the night signals at night, but if over 16 feet you had to carry a daytime signal and a nighttime signal. An orange flag qualified as a daytime signal. In order to meet our requirements of our coast guard grant our laws and rules had to be equivalent to the federal coast guard laws. Several years ago, the coast guard added the electronic flares as an acceptable nighttime device. The proposal would bring the rule into compliance with the federal law. The electronic flares lasted longer, would float and were safer and came with a daytime signal (orange flag) as well. We did not receive any comments on the proposal and were not recommending any changes.

Rod Grant asked what the shelf life was for the device.

Colonel Scott stated they would last about 20 years; they had an LED light.

There were no further questions or comments.

A motion was made by Scott Ireland to move the proposal to Step 3 for final adoption and that was seconded by Wing Goodale.

Vote: Unanimous motion passed.
. A motion was made by Joe Powers to adopt the proposal as presented and that was seconded by Scott Ireland.

Vote: Unanimous motion passed.

C. Step 1

1. Bass Tournament Rules

Liz Latti stated the proposal was to provide clarity and correct some inconsistencies in the field. Under derbies we would be requiring that all anglers have a valid fishing license. This was the result of many derbies falling on the free fishing weekends. This was spreading staff too thin as it was the busiest weekend with those taking advantage of free fishing weekend and then the addition of derbies there were not enough biologists to collect data or wardens. Also, we currently didnt require derbies and bass tournaments to provide any biological data. We wanted to start taking advantage of that with some online tools. That would help us to track the derbies and identify any invasive species that might show up.

Under bass tournaments we were going to define pre-fishing. In the current rule we talked about pre-fishing but it was never defined. This would assist warden service and the clubs/anglers to know what pre-fishing was. Also, currently we required every club to have two certified AIS inspectors, and that was every five years. We were working to create a Department AIS inspection. Currently, the certification process was through LEA. That could be challenging for club members as the training was only offered a few times throughout the year. We were working with another company to develop online training to work at your own pace targeting invasive species and protocols. We could increase the number of required inspectors for every club from two to four and from five years to three years and that would help us to keep on top of any emerging invasive species. Going from two to four inspectors would help to cover bodies of water with multiple access sites.

We would like to start collecting data from bass clubs and require they provide information to the Department. This would be indicated on the tournament permit. Certified inspectors through the LEA process, courtesy boat inspectors at boat launches were often inspecting bass tournament anglers going in, but through their permit they were also checking so were sometimes being checked twice. This created duplicate data and was confusing for DEP and slowed anglers when launching. We were proposing that one or the other could do the inspection to make it more efficient. We also described in pre-fishing that they had to be inspected by state approved inspectors. Once they were inspected going in for pre-fishing, they did not have to be checked again until they took the boat out. A lot of anglers would stay and fish after the tournament, but we hadnt defined the expectation if they were going to stay in the water. That was clarified in the proposal.

Under section 2.A., DEP currently used Survey 1, 2, 3, courtesy boat inspectors. We were going to adopt that program. Currently, bass tournament anglers were using a paper copy and not all the information was being completed. Hopefully using the DEP process would provide better data. Right now, we were not having the bass clubs designate their access site, so the permit would now state they had to identify one of their access sites. That would assist warden service in knowing where to go to find the information. In current rule it states that anglers had to identify their boat, but not what that meant. The rule would standardize that with attaching a strand of flagging tape. Many clubs were already doing this. At the boat launch they had to post their roster "conspicuously displayed" but clubs were all doing it differently. The rule would help clarify that.

Eric Ward stated he thought we would want to know any access sites.

Liz Latti stated the club would have to assign that, but we were only asking them to put the one location on the permit. Warden Service could go to that location wherever the fluorescent tape was and their roster would be posted, the rules, and all the other access sites. It was burdensome every time they wanted to make a change to the permit.

VI. Other Business
Commissioner Camuso gave the Council a legislative update. There were three bills currently regarding ATVs to address the size and weight allowed on the trails and a registration process for oversized ATVs. The majority of landowners did not want oversized ATVs on their property. There were complicated rules and processes to keep them in compliance. 93% of ATV trails were on private land. One of the bills would direct the Department and ACF to work with the landowner relations board for ideas on how to move forward and bring it back next session. Another bill was related to electronic tagging. We had started the process with wild turkey. The Legislature directed IFW to come up with a plan for deer. The Department used biological data collected from tagging stations to help determine any-deer permit numbers. We could get the information from meat processors but some individuals processed the meat themselves. We could go door to door or some may still use registration stations. We would need to hire additional staff for biological data collection and customer support for the electronic tagging service and would take additional funding. The Department recommended to eliminate the $5 registration fee and add $2 to the cost of a big game hunting license to cover the cost. Hunters could have the option to register in person or online. The Department also recommended an increased penalty if individuals failed to register their deer. The legislative committee was divided on recommendations so the bill was likely not to pass. Something similar would probably come back next session.

Commissioner Camuso discussed the moose lodge permits bill. This had no biological tie to the Department but we had spent an enormous amount of time on the issue. We had developed a proposal to address concerns but it was unclear if it would pass through the legislative process. As it stood, moose lodge permits consumed all the non-resident permits in some WMDs.

Eric Ward had requested a moose lottery process discussion. Katrina Aiudi-Oconnor from the Licensing Division whose position mainly focused on moose hunting permits and Mary Ellen Wickett, the Departments Director of Information Technology were present to answer any questions.

VII. Councilor Reports

Councilor Reports were given.

VIII. Public Comments & Questions

Claire Perry stated she did not feel Eric Wards earlier statement on the youth hunting days was a smart statement for the Department to be giving out regarding skipping school. That was the childs job to attend school. She was not against kids hunting.

IX. Schedule Date for Next Meeting

The next meeting was scheduled for Tuesday, April 28, 2026 at 9:30am at IFW, Augusta.

X. Adjournment

A motion was made by Wing Goodale and that was seconded by Catherine Gordon to adjourn the meeting. The meeting was adjourned at 11:15am.