Department flags fiscal and data risks as committee hears testimony on electronic deer tagging

The joint standing committee on Inland Fisheries and Wildlife heard testimony on LD 22 17, a department bill that would permit electronic registration of deer beginning in 2027 and remove in‑person registration fees for bear, deer, moose and wild turkey.

Nate Webb, wildlife division director for the Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife, testified neither for nor against the bill and outlined operational concerns. Webb said the department supports offering a self‑registration option but warned that eliminating registration fees without an alternative revenue source would create a “significant fiscal impact.” He told the committee that, based on recent harvest levels, eliminating the current per‑animal registration fees would result in a revenue loss the department estimated in testimony as approximately "$202,156,000 dollars per year," and that the department would need to identify replacement funding or scale programs.

Webb described three data and enforcement issues he said the department observed in other jurisdictions: (1) potential collection biases if in‑person stations stop collecting biodata (hunters may be more likely to register larger animals in person), (2) increased costs for biodata collection in areas without meat cutters (the department estimated roughly $27,000 a year for additional biodata contractors and $18,000 a year for additional tech support), and (3) enforcement challenges and the need for compliance measures; the department recommended a mandatory one‑year license revocation for false or failed registrations as a deterrent.

Webb and the department proposed shifting the funding mechanism instead of removing revenue entirely: increase resident hunting license fees by $2 and nonresident fees by $4 to replace the lost registration revenues and cover anticipated additional costs for biodata and tech support.

Proponents testified about convenience. John LaMarca, a registered Maine guide speaking from Zoom, described electronic tagging as a major convenience for hunters and guides—particularly during early morning hunts and in areas where tagging stations are closed—and said modest license fee increases would be “perfectly reasonable.”

Opposition testimony centered on removing funding that assists private landowners. Amanda Egan, executive director of Maine Woodland Owners, urged the committee to retain funding for the Maine Deer Management Fund, saying it helps landowners mitigate deer damage and that removing that funding would shift costs to private owners and weaken the state’s partnership with landowners. Egan said Maine Woodland Owners would not support the bill as written unless funding to assist landowners was restored or an alternative funding mechanism was adopted.

Committee members asked for additional data from the department, including geographic breakdowns of where registration stations would likely remain and how self‑registration could affect biodata quality. The department said it has qualitative evidence and prior committee experience with turkey self‑reporting, but no formal hunter‑preference survey on statewide electronic tagging.

Next steps: The committee closed the hearing and directed staff and the department to provide additional materials for the work session. Any fiscal or statutory changes would be specified in committee language or amendments ahead of a formal vote.