Code of Maine Rules › 09 - DEPARTMENT OF INLAND FISHERIES AND WILDLIFE › 137 - DEPARTMENT OF INLAND FISHERIES AND WILDLIFE - GENERAL › Chapter 14 - Commercial Whitewater Rafting › Section 137-14-03 - Whitewater Personnel Requirements

Current through 2024-29, July 17, 2024
A.
Prerequisites for Applicant to be Examined for a Whitewater Guide's
				License
1.
[Repealed]
2. Each
				whitewater guide applicant and licensed whitewater guidemust be currently
				certified in American Red Cross National Safety Council Standard First Aid or
				equivalent. Proof of current certification is required.
3. Each whitewater guide applicant and
				licensed whitewater guide must be certified in American Red Cross, American
				Heart Association or National Safety Council C.P.R.
4. Each whitewater guide applicant must
				enroll in and successfully complete a whitewater guide training course
				consisting of the following:
For a Level One License (allows the holder to guide
				  whitewater trips on any Maine river except that portion of the Penobscot River
				  between McKay Station and the Big Eddy and that portion of the South Branch of
				  the Penobscot River from Canada Falls Dam to the bridge on the Northern Road
				  just prior to Pittston Farm at a flow level of 500 cfs or higher):
a. A minimum of 7 days of instruction in
				river etiquette, whitewater safety, general local geography, and
				characteristics of whitewater rivers, and
b. Guide training, to occur on at least two
				of the following rivers: KennebecRiver, DeadRiver, Penobscot River,
				MagallowayRiver, or the RapidRiver, and
c. Five of the seven days of guide training
				must be on river training on the Kennebec River between Harris Dam, Indian
				Stream Twp., and The Forks, or on the Penobscot River between Little Eddy and
				Nevers Corner.
d. Guide training
				shall include at least twenty training runs of the rivers identified in 4(b);
				from Spencer Stream to the Gravel Pit access point on the Dead River; from the
				Gravel Pit to the take-out on the Dead River; from Harris Dam to Carry Brook
				access point on the Kennebec River; from Little Eddy to the Big Eddy on the
				Penobscot River (three runs of Big Ambejackmockamus Falls on the Penobscot
				River is equivalent to one training run, and two runs from Abol Pines to Nevers
				Corner on the Penobscot River is equivalent to one training run).
e. A minimum of five guided training runs on
				the Kennebec River from Harris Dam to Carry Brook, and/or The West Branch of
				the Penobscot River between Little Eddy and Nevers Corner. A guided training
				run must be conducted on every section of the Kennebec and Penobscot Rivers for
				which a guide is licensed to guide, prior to the guide actually guiding a
				commercial trip on the given river section of those rivers.
f. When used in this context, guided training
				run means the applicant conducts a simulated whitewater trip utilizing other
				guide applicants or guides as passengers. Training runs conducted as part of a
				guide training course must be made in whitewater craft used to carry passengers
				as part of a whitewater trip. (Craft capable of carrying only 1 person may not
				be used.)
g. Each whitewater guide
				applicant, while participating in guide training, must comply with current
				whitewater guide PFD Type requirements.
h. The minimum number of watercraft on any
				guide training run shall be two.
i.
				The minimum number of licensed whitewater guides on any guide training run
				shall be two.
j. Safety Equipment
				Requirements listed in Chapter 14.04 shall apply to all guide training
				runs.
For a Level Two License (allows the holder to guide
				  whitewater trips on any Maine river where a whitewater guide license is
				  required):
a. Must possess a Level One
				License, and
b. The applicant must
				have made ten training runs on the Penobscot River; two of the ten training
				runs must include the major rapids between the Big Eddy and Never's Corner;
				and
c. The applicant must have made
				five guided training runs from Little Eddy to Big Eddy. Once access is restored
				at McKay Station, an applicant must have made five guided training runs from
				McKay Station to Liddle Eddy, in order to guide this section of river,
				and
d. The applicant must have made
				at least 6 commercial whitewater trips, as a paid guide.
Applicants must provide the Department of Inland Fisheries
				  and Wildlife with a form, signed by the applicant's trainer, stating that the
				  applicant has taken and successfully completed the above outlined training; and
				  signed by the outfitter, attesting that the candidate is qualified to be a
				  licensed whitewater guide in the state of Maine. Upon receipt of this
				  documentation, a written test will be administered. Applicants failing the
				  written test must wait 30 days before reapplying.