An Act To Protect Moderate-value and High-value Bird Habitats
Maine Legislature, Session 121, LD 1234
Committee: Natural Resources
Sponsors: FAIRCLOTH, MARTIN, BRANNIGAN, COWGER, DUDLEY, HUTTON, KOFFMAN, SAWYER
Amends: 38 MRSA §438-A, 38 MRSA §480-B, 38 MRSA §480-I, 38 MRSA §480-V

Legislative Document 
No. 1234 
H.P.908 
House of Representati ves, March 6, 2003 
An Act To Protect Moderate-value and High-value Bird Habitats 
Reference to the Committee on Natural Resources suggested and ordered printed. 
Presented by Representative FAIRCLOTH of Bangor. 
Cosponsored by Senator MARTIN of Aroostook and 
71/~ 
/J7.1l/u;~ 
MILLICENT M. MacFARLAND 
Clerk 
Representatives: BRANNIGAN of Portland, COWGER of Hallowell, DUDLEY of Portland, 
HUTTON of Bowdoinham, KOFFMAN of Bar Harbor, Senator: SAWYER of Penobscot. 
Printed on recycled paper 
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows: 
Sec. I. 38 MRSA §438-A, sub-§I, as amended by PL 1993, c. 315, 
§1, is further amended to read: 
b 
1. 
Land 
use guidelines. 
In 
accordance 
with Title 
5, 
chapter 
375, 
subchapter 
II 
~, 
the 
Board 
of 
Environmental 
Protection shall adopt, and from time to time shall update and 
amend, 
minimum guidelines 
for municipal 
zoning 
and 
land use 
controls that are designed to carry out the legislative purposes 
described in section 435 and the provisions of this article. 
These 
minimum 
guidelines 
must 
include 
provisions 
governing 
building 
and 
structure 
size, 
setback 
and 
location 
and 
establishment 
of 
resource 
protection, 
general 
development, 
limited residential, commercial fisheries and maritime activity 
zones and other zones. 
The board shall establish as resource 
protection districts areas within 250 feet, horizontal distance, 
of the upland edge of freshwater wetlands that are rated moderate 
or high value by the Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife 
~u 
at any time. 
Within each zone, the board shall prescribe uses 
that 
may 
be 
allowed 
with 
or 
without 
conditions 
and 
shall 
~2 
establish criteria for the issuance of permits and nonconforming 
uses, 
land 
use 
standards 
and 
administrative 
and 
enforcement 
procedures. 
These guidelines must also include a requirement for 
a person issued a permit pursuant to this article in a great pond 
watershed to have 
a 
copy of the permit on site while 
work 
authorized by the permit is being conducted. 
The board shall 
comprehensively 
review 
and 
update 
its 
guidelines 
and 
shall 
reevaluate and update the guidelines at least once every 4 years. 
)0 
A. 
Minimum guidelines 
adopted by the 
board under this 
subsection may 
not 
require the 
issuance of 
a 
municipal 
permi t 
for the repair and maintenance of an existing road 
culvert or for the replacement of an existing road culvert, 
as long as the replacement culvert is: 
(2) 
Not more than 25 qb longer than the cuI vert being 
replaced; and 
(3) 
Not longer than 75 feet. 
Ancillary culverting activities, 
including excavation and 
filling, 
are 
included 
~n 
this 
exemption. 
A 
person 
repairing, 
replacing or maintaining 
an existing culvert 
under 
this 
paragraph shall 
ensure 
that erosion control 
measures are taken to prevent sedimentation of the water and 
that the crossing does not block fish passage in the water 
course. 
Page l-LR0603(1) 
Sec. 2. 38 MRSA §480-B, sub-§10, as amended by PL 1999, c. 
401, Pt. BB, §17, is further amended to read: 
10. 
Significant wi1d1ife habitat. 
"Significant wildlife 
habitat" means candidates proposed by staff of the Department of 
() 
Inland Fisheries and Wildlife for designation as high-value and 
mOderate-value 
waterfowl 
and 
wading bird habitats, 
including 
R 
nesting and feeding areas < 
that have a completed Department of 
Inland Fisheries and Wildlife field survey under the ecoregional 
survey for water birds and the following areas to the extent that 
they have been mapped by the Department of Inland Fisheries and 
wildlife or are within any other protected natural resource: 
habitat, as defined by the Department of Inland Fisheries and 
L4 
Wildlife, for species appearing on the official state or federal 
lists of 
endangered 
or 
threatened 
animal 
species; 
high 
and 
1D 
moderate 
value deer wintering areas 
and travel corridors 
as 
defined by the Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife; high 
and moderate value waterfowl and wading bird habitats, including 
nesting and feeding areas as defined by the Department of Inland 
:1) 
Fisheries and Wildlife; critical spawning and nursery areas for 
Atlantic salmon as defined by the Atlantic Salmon Commission; 
" 
shorebird nesting, feeding and staging areas and seabird nesting 
islands as defined by the Department of Inland Fisheries and 
~4 
Wildlife; and significant vernal pools as defined and identified 
by the Department of Inland Fisheries and wildlife. 
For purposes 
/~r) 
of this subsection, "identified" means identified in a specific 
location by the Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife. 
For 
~R 
purposes of this subsection, candidates proposed by the staff of 
the Department of Inland Fisheries and v,lildlife for designation 
ill 
as 
high-value 
and 
moderate-value 
waterfowl 
and 
wading 
bird 
habi tats, including nesting and feeding areas, are deemed to be 
'L 
mapped by the Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife. 
'<± 
Sec. 3. 38 MRSA §480-I. sub-§l. as amended by PL 1991, c. 693, 
II) 
Hi 
§2, is further amended to read: 
1. 
Identification by maps. 
The 
commissioner 
shall 
map 
areas meeting the definition of freshwater wetlands and fragile 
mountain areas set forth in this article and shall periodically 
review and revise the maps identifying these areas. 
The data 
developed under section 546-B may be used for mapping significant 
wildlife habitat. 
Maps of significant wildlife habitats must be 
adopted by rule pursuant to the Maine Administrative Procedure 
Act to the extent that those habitats are identified by the 
Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife, except that maps of 
candidates 
proposed 
by 
staff 
of 
the 
Department 
of 
Inland 
Fisheries 
and 
Wildlife 
for 
designation 
as 
high value 
and 
moderate-value 
waterfowl 
and 
wading 
bird habitats, 
including 
nesting and feeding areas, that have a completed Department of 
Inland Fisheries and Wildlife field survey under the ecoregional 
survey for water birds need not be adopted by rule under this 
section, and such habitats and areas are deemed to be mapped by 
the Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife. 
Sec. 4. 38 MRS A §480-I, sub-§2, as affected by PL 1989, c. 
f) 
890, Pt. A, §40 and amended by Pt. B, §77, is further amended to 
read: 
• 
Procedures. 
identifying freshwater 
fragile mountain areas 
procedures. 
The 
maps 
and 
subsequent 
amendments 
wetlands, significant wildlife habitat and 
sRaJJ--ae are subject to the following 
A. 
Preliminary maps of the affected area or amendments of a 
map sRa;!,;!, must be sent to the municipal officers or their 
designees. 
La 
B. 
Upon 
receipt 
of 
the 
proposed 
maps, 
the 
municipal 
officers of each municipality shall take any action they 
~n 
determine appropriate to increase public participation in 
this identification and delineation, but shall return their 
comments to the commissioner within a 90-day period. 
~4 
This subsection does not apply to maps of candidates proposed by 
staff of the Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife for 
~G 
designation as high-value and moderate-value waterfowl and wading 
bird habitats, including nesting and feeding areas, that have a 
2R 
completed 
Department 
of 
Inland 
Fisheries 
and 
Wildlife 
field 
survey under the ecoregional survey for water birds. 
Sec. 5. 38 MRSA §480-V, sub-§l. ~A. as amended by PL 2001, c. 
232, §16, is further amended to read: 
4h 
A. 
Significant 
wildlife 
habitat 
not 
within 
another 
protected natural resource, unless that significant wildlife 
habi tat is identified on a map adopted by the board-<- exceQt 
that maps of candidates proposed by staff of the Department 
of 
Inland 
Fisheries 
and 
Wildlife 
for 
designation 
as 
high value 
and 
moderate value 
waterfowl 
and 
wading 
bird 
habitats, including nesting and feeding areas, that have a 
completed Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife field 
survey under the ecoregional survey for water birds need not 
be adopted by the board for this article to be applicable. 
SUMMARY 
The purpose of this bill is to clarify the application of 
rules 
adopted 
by 
the 
Department 
of 
Environmental 
Protection 
... 
governing 
the 
guidelines 
for 
municipal 
shoreland 
zoning 
ordinances, 
and 
to 
extend 
currently existing protections 
of 
shoreland 
zoning 
to 
certain 
candidates 
for 
designation 
as 
high-value and moderate-value waterfowl and wading bird habitats. 
I, 
Under current law, the Board of Environmental Protection is 
directed in the Maine Revised Statutes, Title 38, section 438-A, 
H 
subsection 1 to adopt and update guidelines for municipal zoning 
and land use controls, including the establishment of resource 
protection 
zones. 
In 
department 
rules 
governing 
municipal 
shoreland zoning ordinances, 
"resource protection district" is 
L~ 
defined as "areas within 250 feet of. .. wetlands ... which are rated 
'moderate' 
or 
'high' 
value by the Maine Department of Inland 
Fisheries and Wildlife as of January 1, 1973. (emphasis added)" 
This bill codifies language following that rule that suggests 
II, 
that, as significant wildlife habitat continues to be "mapped and 
development 
standards 
are 
established, 
municipalities 
should 
I" 
incorporate such areas and standards into their locally adopted 
ordinances." 
This bill expands the definition of "significant wildlife 
habitat" to include the more than 100 candidates proposed by the 
staff of the Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife for 
>t 
designation as high and moderate value waterfowl and wading bird 
habitats, 
including 
nesting 
and 
feeding 
areas, 
that 
have 
a 
?,; 
completed 
Department 
of 
Inland 
Fisheries 
and 
wildlife 
field 
survey under the ecoregional survey for water birds. 
The bill 
: ,,-{ 
also excludes those habitats and areas from the requirement that 
maps of such areas be adopted by rule by the Department of Inland 
:u 
Fisheries and Wildlife and instead deems those areas to be mapped 
by the department .