Committee hears support and caution on moving Maine Natural Areas Program to IF&W
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Summary
Rep. Jim Dill presented LD 21‑18, a department bill to transfer the Maine Natural Areas Program (MNAP) from DACF to IF&W. Commissioner Judy Camuso said the move would align plant and wildlife conservation, reduce duplication and improve data use; stakeholders broadly supported transfer but urged careful limits on any new rulemaking authority.
Representative Jim Dill presented LD 21‑18, a department bill to repeal MNAP provisions in ACF and reassign the program’s functions to the Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife (IF&W). Dill said the move had been discussed for years and that the bill reestablishes the Natural Areas Conservation Fund under IF&W.
Judy Camuso, Commissioner of IF&W, testified that MNAP — established in 1989 to inventory rare plants, natural communities and ecological reserves — is non‑regulatory and provides technical assistance and conservation planning. Camuso argued the transfer would reduce redundant data handling, improve technical assistance for landowners and partners, strengthen habitat conservation planning and increase capacity to leverage federal matching funds. She also said the committee should strike a small drafting error (section 41) that could create a duplicative consistency‑review role for IF&W.
Committee members focused on rulemaking authority. Camuso said the attorney general’s office had confirmed MNAP lacks rulemaking authority; moving the program without clarifying language could unintentionally expand IF&W’s authority, so the bill includes language to preserve the existing rulemaking balance. She emphasized that IF&W would not seek authority to regulate individual plant species unless the change was necessary to protect threatened or endangered wildlife and that the department did not intend to reduce oversight transparency.
Supporters — including the Maine Forest Products Council, Maine Audubon and Maine Woodland Owners — told the committee the transfer would improve coordination and efficiency across plant and wildlife conservation programs and maintain MNAP as a voluntary, non‑regulatory resource for landowners. The Appalachian Mountain Club urged caution on any language that would effectively silence rulemaking or undervalue plant communities that are not tied to listed wildlife.
The public hearing on LD 21‑18 closed with the committee requesting additional materials for the work session, including a clear explanation of current MNAP rulemaking authority under ACF and how that authority would be treated under IF&W if the bill moves forward. The departments and stakeholders offered to return to a work session with more detail.
