New trail camera law angers hunters

Many hunters have reacted negatively to the new law that requires the written permission of private landowners for the placement of trail cameras. The law also requires that each camera be labeled with the owner’s name and contact information.

There is some good news.  North Maine Woods, that manages 3 million acres of private land, and several large private landowners, are working on ways to expedite this process and make it easy to obtain their permission for the placement of cameras on their lands.

I have asked for information on their process, as soon as it is available, and will report that information here. I am also trying to find out how the Maine Warden Service intends to enforce this new law. My hope is that enforcement will occur only when a landowner complains about a camera on his or her property, but we’ll see.

The placement of cameras on public lands is still permitted without permission, although you must abide by the rules of the Bureau of Parks and Lands, which prohibit cameras in some places, such as in and around campgrounds and restrooms.

Stay tuned for more information!

George Smith

About George Smith

George stepped down at the end of 2010 after 18 years as the executive director of the Sportsman’s Alliance of Maine to write full time. He writes a weekly editorial page column in the Kennebec Journal and Waterville Morning Sentinel, a weekly travel column in those same newspapers (with his wife Linda), monthly columns in The Maine Sportsman magazine, two outdoor news blogs (one on his website, georgesmithmaine.com, and one on the website of the Bangor Daily News), and special columns for many publications and newsletters. Islandport Press published a book of George's favorite columns, "A Life Lived Outdoors" in 2014. In 2014, George also won a Maine Press Association award for writing the state's bet sports blog. In 2016, Down East Books published George's book, Maine Sporting Camps, and Islandport Press published George and his wife Linda's travel book, Take It From ME, about their favorite Maine inns and restaurants.