An Act To Provide for the Aroostook Band of Micmacs Certain Rights Regarding Hunting, Fishing and Wildlife Management
Maine Legislature, Session 126, LD 1399
Committee: Inland Fisheries and Wildlife
Sponsors: WILLETTE, JACKSON, SAUCIER, SHERMAN
Amends: 12 MRSA §11154, 30 MRSA §7208

Legislative Document 
No. 1399 
H.P. 995 
House of Representatives, April 10, 2013 
An Act To Provide for the Aroostook Band of Micmacs Certain 
Rights Regarding Hunting, Fishing and Wildlife Management 
Reference to the Committee on Inland Fisheries and Wildlife suggested and ordered 
printed. 
MILLICENT M. MacFARLAND 
Clerk 
Presented by Representative WILLETTE of Mapleton. 
Cosponsored by Senator JACKSON of Aroostook and 
Representative: SAUCIER of Presque Isle, Senator: SHERMAN of Aroostook. 
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows: 
Sec. 1.  12 MRSA §11154, sub-§14 is enacted to read: 
14.  Aroostook Band of Micmacs.  Notwithstanding subsections 4 and 6 and section 
11102, the commissioner shall issue a moose permit to a member of the Aroostook Band 
of Micmacs upon written request of the member that allows the member to take one 
moose per calendar year.  A permit issued under this subsection is in addition to the 
moose hunting permits issued under subsection 2 for each wildlife management district 
and is not subject to the fee for a moose permit. 
Sec. 2.  30 MRSA §7208 is enacted to read: 
§7208.  Regulation of fish and wildlife resources 
1.  Adoption of ordinances by band.  Subject to the limitations of subsection 7, the 
Aroostook Band of Micmacs has exclusive authority within the Aroostook Band of 
Micmacs territory to adopt ordinances regulating:  
A.  Hunting, trapping or other taking of wildlife; and 
B.  Taking of fish on any pond in which all the shoreline and all submerged lands are 
wholly within the Aroostook Band of Micmacs territory and that is less than 10 acres 
in surface area. 
An ordinance adopted under this subsection must be equally applicable, on a 
nondiscriminatory basis, to a person regardless of whether the person is a member of the 
Aroostook Band of Micmacs; however, subject to the limitations of subsection 7, the 
ordinance may include special provisions for the sustenance of the individual members of 
the Aroostook Band of Micmacs. In addition to the authority provided by this subsection, 
the Aroostook Band of Micmacs, subject to the limitations of subsection 7, may exercise 
within the Aroostook Band of Micmacs territory all the rights incident to ownership of 
land under the laws of the State. 
2.  Registration of wildlife killed within the Aroostook Band of Micmacs 
territory.  The Aroostook Band of Micmacs shall establish and maintain registration 
stations for the purpose of registering bear, moose, deer and other wildlife killed within 
the Aroostook Band of Micmacs territory and shall adopt an ordinance requiring 
registration of bear, moose, deer and other wildlife killed within the Aroostook Band of 
Micmacs territory to the extent and in substantially the same manner as bear, moose, deer 
and other wildlife that are killed in the State are required to be registered under the laws 
of the State. An ordinance requiring registration of bear, moose, deer and other wildlife 
killed within the Aroostook Band of Micmacs territory must be equally applicable to all 
persons without distinction based on membership in the band.  The Aroostook Band of 
Micmacs shall report the bear, moose, deer and other wildlife killed and registered within 
the Aroostook Band of Micmacs territory to the Commissioner of Inland Fisheries and 
Wildlife at such times as the commissioner determines appropriate.  The records of 
registration of bear, moose, deer and other wildlife killed within the Aroostook Band of 
Micmacs territory required by this subsection must be available for inspection and 
examination by the Commissioner of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife. 
3.  Adoption of ordinances concerning fishing on bodies of water.  Subject to the 
limitations of subsection 7, the Aroostook Band of Micmacs has exclusive authority to 
adopt ordinances for fishing on: 
A.  Any pond other than a pond specified in subsection 1, paragraph B if 50% or 
more of the linear shoreline of the pond is within the Aroostook Band of Micmacs 
territory; 
B.  Any section of a river or stream both sides of which are within the Aroostook 
Band of Micmacs territory; and 
C.  Any section of a river or stream one side of which is within the Aroostook Band 
of Micmacs territory for a continuous length of 1/2 mile or more. 
In adopting an ordinance under this subsection, the Aroostook Band of Micmacs shall 
consider and balance the need to preserve and protect existing and future sport and 
commercial fisheries, the historical fishing interests of other persons, the needs or desires 
of the Aroostook Band of Micmacs to establish fishery practices for the sustenance of the 
Aroostook Band of Micmacs or to contribute to the economic independence of the 
Aroostook Band of Micmacs, the traditional fishing techniques employed by and 
ceremonial practices of Native Americans in the State and the ecological interrelationship 
between the fishery regulated under this subsection and other fisheries throughout the 
State.  An ordinance adopted under this subsection may include without limitation 
provisions on the methods, manners, bag and size limits and seasons for fishing. 
An ordinance adopted under this subsection must be equally applicable on a 
nondiscriminatory basis to all persons regardless of whether a person is a member of the 
Aroostook Band of Micmacs and may include the imposition of fees and permits or 
license requirements on users of regulated waters under this subsection other than 
members of the Aroostook Band of Micmacs. 
For an orderly transition of regulatory authority, all fishing laws and rules of the State 
remain applicable to all waters regulated by this subsection until the Aroostook Band of 
Micmacs certifies to the Commissioner of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife the adoption of 
ordinances under this subsection in substitution for laws and rules of the State. 
4.  Horsepower and use of motors.  Subject to the limitations of subsection 7, the 
Aroostook Band of Micmacs has exclusive authority to adopt ordinances to regulate the 
horsepower and use of motors on waters less than 200 acres in surface area and entirely 
within the Aroostook Band of Micmacs territory. 
5.  Sustenance fishing within the Aroostook Band of Micmacs territory.  
Notwithstanding any other rule or law of the State and subject to the limitations of 
subsection 7, the members of the Aroostook Band of Micmacs may take fish, within the 
boundaries of the Aroostook Band of Micmacs territory, for the members' individual 
sustenance. 
6.  Posting.  Lands or waters subject to regulation by the Aroostook Band of 
Micmacs must be conspicuously posted in a manner that provides reasonable notice to the 
public of the limitations on hunting, trapping, fishing or other use of the lands or waters. 
7.  Supervision by Commissioner of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife.  The 
Commissioner of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife may conduct fish and wildlife surveys 
within the Aroostook Band of Micmacs territory and on waters subject to the jurisdiction 
of the Aroostook Band of Micmacs to the same extent as the commissioner is authorized 
to do so in other areas of the State.  Before conducting a fish and wildlife survey, the 
Commissioner of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife shall provide reasonable advance notice 
to afford the Aroostook Band of Micmacs a reasonable opportunity to participate in the 
survey. If at any time the Commissioner of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife has reasonable 
grounds to believe that an ordinance adopted by the Aroostook Band of Micmacs under 
this section or the absence of an ordinance creates an adverse condition affecting or likely 
to affect the stock of any fish or wildlife on lands or waters outside the boundaries of 
lands or waters subject to regulation by the Aroostook Band of Micmacs, the 
commissioner shall inform the governing body of the Aroostook Band of Micmacs of the 
adverse condition and attempt to develop appropriate remedial standards in consultation 
with the Aroostook Band of Micmacs.  If the Commissioner of Inland Fisheries and 
Wildlife is unable to develop appropriate remedial standards for an adverse condition 
under this subsection, the commissioner may call a public hearing pursuant to Title 5, 
chapter 375, subchapter 4 to investigate the adverse condition.  If, after the public 
hearing, the Commissioner of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife determines that the adverse 
condition is causing or likely to cause a significant depletion of fish or wildlife stocks on 
lands or waters outside the boundaries of lands or waters subject to regulation by the 
Aroostook Band of Micmacs, the commissioner may adopt appropriate remedial 
measures including rescission of an ordinance that is the cause of or that is likely to cause 
the adverse condition and ordering the enforcement of the generally applicable laws or 
rules of the State.  In adopting any remedial measures after a hearing under this 
subsection, the Commissioner of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife shall use the least 
restrictive means possible to prevent a substantial diminution of the stocks in question 
and shall take into consideration the effect that practices of other persons on the lands or 
waters not within the Aroostook Band of Micmacs territory are having on such stocks.  A 
remedial measure adopted after a hearing under this subsection may not be more 
restrictive than a remedial measure the Commissioner of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife 
could impose if the area in question was not within the Aroostook Band of Micmacs 
territory or waters subject to Aroostook Band of Micmacs regulation.  
In any administrative proceeding under this section, the burden of proof is on the 
Commissioner of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife, and the commissioner's decision may be 
appealed pursuant to Title 5, chapter 375, subchapter 7 and be sustained only if supported 
by substantial evidence. 
8.  Transportation of game.  Fish lawfully taken within the Aroostook Band of 
Micmacs territory or in waters subject to Aroostook Band of Micmacs regulation and 
wildlife lawfully taken within the Aroostook Band of Micmacs territory and registered 
pursuant to ordinances adopted by the Aroostook Band of Micmacs may be transported 
within the State. 
9.  Fish and wildlife on non-Indian lands.  The Aroostook Band of Micmacs shall 
undertake appropriate studies, consult with affected landowners and state officials and 
make recommendations to the Commissioner of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife and the 
Legislature with respect to implementation of fish and wildlife management policies on 
lands not within the Aroostook Band of Micmacs territory in order to protect fish and 
wildlife stocks on lands and waters subject to regulation by the Aroostook Band of 
Micmacs. 
10.  Fish.  As used in this section, "fish" means a cold-blooded, completely aquatic 
vertebrate animal having permanent fins, gills and an elongated, streamlined body usually 
covered with scales and includes inland fish and anadromous and catadromous fish when 
in inland waters. 
SUMMARY 
This bill provides the Aroostook Band of Micmacs the same authority to regulate 
hunting, fishing and wildlife management as that of the Passamaquoddy Tribe and the 
Penobscot Nation and provides upon request each member of the Aroostook Band of 
Micmacs a moose permit allowing the member to take one moose per year.