|
A joint committee of the Maine legislature this week approved LD820, a ballot measure giving voters the opportunity to forever protect the rights to hunt and fish in Maine’s Constitution. With this 10-2 vote, the measure now heads to the full House and Senate.
“A constitutional right to fish and hunt is a safe, proven, and effective way to ensure the North American Model of Conservation and Maine culture is protected for generations to come; it works with the right to food, protects private property owners, continues the jurisdiction of Maine wildlife agencies, and is widely viewed as an important conservation win,” said Rep. Liz Caruso. “I’m hopeful my colleagues in the legislature will allow Mainers to decide this issue in the fall by putting the Right to Hunt and Fish on our ballot by passing LD 820.
“This vote was a strong, decisive, bipartisan message that the citizens of Maine should be given the chance to vote on a Right to Fish and Hunt this fall,” said Travis Thompson, a chief conservationist with International Order of T. Roosevelt. “We’re proud to stand in the arena alongside Rep. Caruso and the committee and agencies to ensure Maines future continues to be wild.”
“Today I am especially proud to be a Mainer. The committee on inland fisheries and wildlife gave the Right to Hunt and fish a 10-2 bipartisan ought to pass vote. I want to thank Commissioner Caruso for her informed and impartial analysis of the amendment, and the committee for recognizing the need for enshrining these protections in our constitution. I am looking forward to similar votes in the Maine House and Senate.”
View the full bill language here.
| 
