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Meeting Minutes
April 28, 2026 @ 9:30am
353 Water Street, 4th floor conference room
Augusta, ME
(and virtually via Microsoft Teams)
Attending:
Timothy Peabody, Acting Commissioner
Mark Latti, Communications Director
Nate Webb, Wildlife Division Director
Bob Cordes, Wildlife Division Deputy Director
Jen Vashon, Game Research and Mgmt Section Supervisor
Nathan Bieber, Deer Biologist
Shevenell Webb, Furbearer Biologist
Liz Latti, Fisheries & Hatcheries Division Director
Dakota Stankowski, Aquatic Invasives Coordinator
Samantha Poratti, Aquatic Invasives Biologist
Dan Scott, Warden Service Colonel
Aaron Cross, Warden Service Major
Becky Orff, Secretary/Recorder
COUNCIL MEMBERS
Eric Ward
Rod Grant
Catherine Gordon
Wing Goodale
Jim Andrews
Scott Ireland - Teams
Dave Craven - Teams
Tony Liguori - Teams
Mike Gawtry - Teams
GUESTS
In person 1
2 additional public members and staff online
I. Call to Order
Acting Commissioner Peabody called the meeting to order.
b>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 Wing Goodale 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. 2026-2027 Migratory Bird Seasons
Nate Webb stated this was the annual rulemaking packet to set season dates and bag limits for migratory game birds. There were a couple of changes from the original proposal, which was the proposed adjustment to the north/south boundary line. One was in the western portion of the state to adjust for season timing and ice conditions, etc. The other was to adjust road name references in relation to the I-395 bypass in Brewer. There was also some clarifying language regarding the scoter bag limit. A public hearing was held on March 2nd and those testifying were in opposition to the north/south boundary line change in the western part of the state. During the comment period written comments were split pretty evenly between those in favor and those opposed to the zone line change. Based on that input and the lack of consensus around the boundary change we were recommending removing that from the proposal and leaving the boundary line as is. There was also an error in the initial proposal for duck seasons and that was corrected as well.
There were no further questions or comments.
A motion was made by Jim Andrews to adopt the proposal as amended and that was seconded by Roger Grant.
Vote: Unanimous - motion passed.
B. Step 2
- Bass Tournament Rules
Liz Latti stated we were proposing for inspectors to go from every 5 years to every 3 years and also for each club going from 2 to 4. We defined pre-launching, and we were currently under contract to create our own courtesy boat inspector certification. We were also hoping to have that program used other places. The proposal also included that possibility as the current process was through LEA. We were also proposing they fill out their inspections using DEP's Survey 1-2-3 app. This would prevent duplicate entries. We were creating the ability for certified boat inspectors to also be utilized during a tournament. We received 26 written comments and 3 individuals testified at the hearing. Comments were overall in support. Those that spoke at the hearing, the first was a member of the Cobbossee Lake Association and was in support but had general questions about the proposal. The second was a member of the Maranacook Lake Association also in support of the changes due to concerns over aquatic invasive species. They did submit duplicate written comments. The third person was the president of the Bass Nation who was generally in favor of the proposed rules but wanted clarification on wording and had some suggestions including changing inspector certification frequency and changing the language from pre-fish to pre-launch. He expressed concerns that the requirement to inspect all watercraft would cause traffic flow issues at launches if bass boats only used one single launch for all inspections. Instead, he wanted to continue with on water boat inspections of watercraft launched at other facilities. The intention of the proposal was to allow for less congestion because they could use CBIs and hopefully the new certification program would allow more inspectors to become easily certified. It had always been the case they needed to be inspected before entering the water.
Taking into account the recommendations we were proposing to amend the proposal. The first was rewording pre-fish to pre-launch. Bass Nations comment was they already had their own definition for pre-fishing, so they didnt want to create confusion. Pre-launching really was what we were trying to define. We were also proposing to amend the word "immediately" for pre-launch. It was suggested to define that. We selected within the previous 5-days. If there was a bass tournament coming up on a weekend and someone wanted to put in on Monday, that would still be part of the pre-launching. If they put in during the week they couldnt remove the boat. It would no longer be considered pre-launching. Defining the day would also assist warden service and clarify for the bass club members what immediately meant.
Council Member Comments and Questions
Roger Grant asked how someone could become a certified boat inspector for aquatic species.
Liz Latti stated LEA was providing a service. It was through a webinar only twice a year which was problematic. Our intent was that would still be allowed as a certification, but with our program we were creating people could log in and complete the course similar to our hunter safety courses.
Jim Andrews asked if the clubs had some of their members trained to be inspectors.
Liz Latti stated currently, each club had to have 2 trained inspectors. We had found that often that was not enough at their tournaments. We wanted everyone to be inspected so we were trying to make sure they could be easily certified.
Eric Ward asked about on the water inspections.
Liz Latti stated everyone was inspected when they went in the water. If they were going to stay on the water and fish after the tournament, before there was a common practice and now we have solidified that in rule when they leave they cant transport any weeds so they would have to lean on their own self inspection. As part of the tournament, if they were going to remain on the water there was now something in rule.
Eric Ward stated at the tournaments, there were some comments at the public hearing about only having one launch site. They were verified because they had a piece of flagging on the boats that were involved? Were they really all being inspected?
Liz Latti stated they had to post their roster for the day and put a piece of flagging on the vehicle the roster was in so wardens could look at the roster and names and match that with the boats on the water. Part of using DEPs Survey 1-2-3 we would be able to track that back.
Colonel Scott gave a brief overview of the warden service aquatic invasive species program. At a typical bass tournament people showed up on the morning of the event, there was a long line of boats and they were inspected as they went in the water and when the tournament was over people would go to the take out and measure their fish and leave. There were instances where some boats would show up days in advance. The rule was requiring them, if they wanted to pre-launch, to inspect their boat. Aside from bass tournaments, people were required to inspect their own boats before they launched. Once the tournament was completed, they may head to another launch because the other one was crowded and now we were requiring them to make sure they were inspected when they left the water. It raised the accountability of the tournament participants that just because they didnt go to the standard take out, it didnt mean the rules no longer applied to them. In order to accommodate some of the bigger tournaments we were allowing them to memorialize the primary launch they were going to use on their tournament permit to put down the other launches they may be using. They had to have certified inspectors at those other launches. We were trying to make sure that anybody participating in the tournament was inspected formally before they entered the water, and when they left. Even if they were leaving two days later or launching two days before. It was confusing, but with the communication we had with the bass clubs, and they understood the intent was to make sure all boats were inspected. We were expanding the number of people they could use to inspect the boats and make sure the boats were inspected before they left the water.
Jim Andrews asked about warden staffing at the tournaments.
Colonel Scott stated they were not at every tournament as there were a lot of them. They could not have someone at every tournament. Each warden was required to attend 16-24 hours of bass tournament type activity during the course of the year. They had a new AIS enforcement coordinator position that would coordinate statewide efforts.
Jim Andrews asked how we would notify the clubs about the new rules.
Liz Latti stated their permits were sent to them with the rules. They had been provided a copy of the rule proposal.
A motion was made by Jim Andrews 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 Roger Grant to adopt the proposal as amended and that was seconded by Wing Goodale.
Vote: Unanimous motion passed.
C. Step 1
- Antlerless deer permits and muzzleloader season
Nathan Bieber stated there were three things in the rulemaking proposal. The first was a repeal of language related to the town of Frenchboro. The town was open to hunting so it didnt need to be in the rule. The other two were related to the antlerless permit recommendations and some changes to muzzleloader hunting. During the 2025 deer hunting season we took 55,876 deer. This was the highest overall harvest in Maine in history. Conditions may have contributed to the high harvest. In 2023 and 2024 hunters reported a very high mast crop and last year there was almost nothing. A poor mast crop which was exacerbated by drought conditions probably influenced deer movement and left them more susceptible to harvest. There was also good weather overall. Food prices were also really high so that may have encouraged more people to harvest deer. There was increased harvest nearly statewide. Buck harvest increased about 16% and doe harvest increased by 59% over 2024.
Chronic wasting disease update, it was something we did not have in Maine thankfully. We had been testing for it since 1999 and had collected almost 15,000 samples to date. In 2025 we collected 487 deer samples and 1 moose sample and they all tested non-positive. In 2024, New York detected CWD in a captive deer facility. They had not found it in the wild since then so as far as we were aware there was no CWD in the wild in New York. If it was in the wild there, it would be the nearest wild case to Maine. Pennsylvania was the nearest wild case. It was slowly spreading east.
Overall we had pretty low estimates of winter mortality rates statewide. There really werent any major snowstorms. We had relatively little snow, but what we had stayed due to low temperatures.
Muzzleloader changes, there was a bill in the Legislature asking the Department to have a 2-week season for muzzleloader hunting statewide. We were not comfortable with that but agreed to look at WMDs that currently had a one week season to see which ones could possible accommodate a second week. We studied the issue and the result was proposing to add a second week of muzzleloader hunting in WMDs 14, 27 and 28.
There were two parts of the antlerless harvest, there was harvest with a permit and without. He discussed the process of how the recommendations were developed each year. Staff input was considered from all sides. Ways you could harvest an antlerless deer without a permit, you could do that during the regular archery season in designated WMDs, during the youth hunt or in WMDs designated as either sex hunting. For this year, we recommend statewide antlerless harvest without a permit during the regular archery season and youth days. Similar to last year, we recommend antlerless harvest without a permit in all seasons in WMDs 21-25 and 29. The permit numbers we were recommending for WMDs 21-25 and 29 were listed as unlimited permits. That would not increase removal rates but just communicated our intent more clearly which was to meet the amount of demand for permits rather than achieve a precise level of removal. In the past, alternatively we would issue 15,000 permits and not sell them all or 25,000 and not sell them all. It became meaningless when there were more permits than demand so in those cases we were listing the permits as unlimited.
Council Member Comments and Questions
Mike Gawtry asked about the terminology of using unlimited for the permits for whitetailed deer. Was there any precedent for that?
Nathan Bieber stated he did not believe so for whitetailed deer. There were for other species. For expanded archery the antlerless permits there were in effect unlimited.
Mike Gawtry stated a lot of times when something was designated that way it gave the perception there was a real problem and they were overpopulated. Maybe there could be different wording used than unlimited.
Nathan Bieber stated there was a limit in the number of permits that a hunter could get. It was unlimited in terms of the number of permits we were putting out, but a hunter would still be capped at 4 permits as in the past.
Nate Webb stated there was a difference sometimes in the language used in rule vs. the way we communicate that information to hunters. There was still a bag limit in terms of the total antlerless harvest but there was no limit on the number of hunters that could purchase those permits. We could think more about the language as we moved forward.
Dave Craven asked what wording was used for expanded archery permits.
Nate Webb stated he thought it used the phrase, no limit.
Scott Ireland stated he felt if you put unlimited it sounded like a depredation type situation that we had a problem we were trying to get rid of. He offered the recommendation of looking at expanded archery in some of the areas we were not seeing the numbers taken during rifle season.
Jim Andrews stated he thought the concern was it seemed to be focused on larger cities and urban areas. There were a lot of smaller urban areas with skyrocketing populations in town.
Nathan stated it also depended on the issues within the towns. We had different options for commercial growers, etc. and had also recently implemented the DMAP program for additional permits.
- Furbearer Rules
Shevenell Webb stated this was part of the annual rulemaking for furbearers and trapping. The first change was related to the definition for bait. Currently, the definition was animal matter and we were proposing to expand the definition to include objects that mimicked or replicated animal matter. People were making fake fur or fake bones and the intent of the language was to reduce non-target captures. You couldnt set a trap within 50 yards of bait that was not covered from above. If you were to make something that was fake and it was not animal matter, it would not have to be covered from above. The language would provide clarification and be all inclusive for the intent of the definition of bait for animal matter or objects that mimic or replicate animal matter.
The second component was related to opening an early raccoon trapping season. Currently, the raccoon trapping season was with the general trapping season for furbearers. It was two months long and we had the shortest raccoon trapping season of any jurisdiction in the northeast. We were proposing to add an additional two weeks, the last two weeks of October that coincided with the existing early canid trapping season. During the early canid season, you could already keep raccoons that were incidentally captured. This would allow people to target raccoons using the enclosed foothold dog proof traps, or cage traps.
Wing Goodale asked if this was because the population was increasing?
Shevenell Webb stated we felt raccoons were widespread and abundant. We received data from reported human wildlife conflicts and raccoons were at the top of the list. We did a public survey about five years ago and people indicated what species of wildlife they were having problems with and raccoons were at the top of list. Raccoons were number one for rabies cases. We had a lot of indicators that the population was doing well and could sustain additional harvest. Most of the raccoon kill was probably from outside the regulated hunting and trapping season. We would rather see them be utilized during the trapping season. The other benefit to opening the season in late October would be they are more active when conditions are mild.
For beaver closures, we closed portions of towns at the request of landowners. Each year we opened or closed certain areas. There were three towns we were striking, so those would become open in WMDs 5 and 6. We had portions of two towns that would be closed to beaver trapping in WMDs 17 and 18.
The last component was related weasel traps. We allowed rat traps to be set in a wooden box with a 2-inch opening. The original language referenced the original rat trap that had a wooden base. Now, rat traps are being made with plastic and in the future may be made with other material, so we wanted to broaden the definition of a rat trap.
Dave Craven stated he anticipated an uptick in trapping this fall. Fur prices had increased to the highest they had ever been in some cases.
VI. Other Business
A presentation was given by John Perry, Environmental Review Program Manager of an overview of the Environmental Review Program.
Acting Commissioner Peabody gave a legislative update to the Council. The supplemental budget has passed with increased fishing license fee ($2) money going to the fisheries program and the fish hatchery maintenance fund. Exploration for sites for a new hatchery were underway, currently looking in the Dixfield and Madawaska area. A letter had gone to the landowners from the Department and Sportsmans Alliance of Maine.
The Maine Natural Areas Program (MNAP) was moving to IFW from ACF. The program dealt with plants and was part of the habitat that IFW regulates. It would be more efficient to have one agency deal with both.
The bill regarding electronic tagging of deer did not pass. Funding was an issue. The Department proposed to remove tagging fees and increase the hunting license fee to cover costs, but the Committee did not move forward with it.
The FOAA bill passed which will clarify what information can be released to the public from our licensing databases.
Oversized ATVs...forms would be returned to the Department from the dealer. A study group was being established, and the Landowner and Land User Relations Advisory Board would be reviewing the issues.
The moose lodge permit bill was challenging. It was a business practice issue not related to wildlife. There would be more to come on the issue.
Another bill had passed regarding the right to hunt and the constitutional right to harvest fish and wildlife. This was still being analyzed.
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 Wednesday, June 10, 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 11:40am.