Committee advances bill to move Maine Natural Areas Program to IF&W with sunset on rule-making prohibition

The Joint Standing Committee on Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry advanced LD 21 18 in a work session, voting 'ought to pass as amended.' The bill would repeal the Natural Areas Program (MNAP) from the Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry (DACF) and transfer MNAP responsibilities into the Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife (IF&W), including the Natural Areas Conservation Fund and related commissioner responsibilities.

Karen Nadeau, analyst with the Office of Policy and Legal Analysis, told the committee the current draft largely mirrors a majority report from a previous session with minor drafting edits. She said the principal remaining point of contention is whether the bill should remove commissioner rulemaking authority related to MNAP features; MNAP director Molly Dougherty testified that the program currently does not exercise rulemaking and primarily collects and shares informational inventories of rare plants and exemplary natural communities to guide planning and permitting.

Representative Bill Plucker proposed a compromise amendment: retain the bill’s transfer language but add a report-back by Feb. 15, 2029, on whether rulemaking remains unnecessary, and sunset the bill’s rulemaking prohibition on Sept. 30, 2029 unless the Legislature acts to continue it. The committee adopted the amendment and put the motion to a roll-call vote. The clerk recorded nine members voting in favor; the motion carried by a majority of those present.

During questions, members probed acreage and program scope, with director Dougherty saying rare-threatened-endangered plant records cover less than one-half of one percent of Maine and explaining national-heritage criteria used for rankings. Members also discussed how moving MNAP between agencies could affect timing and funding for supplemental-budget items tied to MNAP activities.

Next steps: LD 21 18 moves forward with an 'ought to pass as amended' recommendation; analysts will incorporate the committee amendment and the report-back/sunset language in the committee report and follow up on fiscal and implementation details as the bill proceeds.