AUGUSTA — Several bills signed into law by Gov. Paul LePage on Monday are meant to help rebuild whitetail deer populations in parts of the state where they have declined dramatically in recent decades.

David Trahan, executive director of the Sportsman’s Alliance of Maine, said four bills signed by LePage on Monday and another that is expected to land on his desk later this week, are all expected to help the state better protect and manage its deer herd.

A $5 million bonding package for the Land for Maine’s Future and a bill that allows municipalities to use tax incentive financing for habitat protection and restoration projects will also have a positive effect on the deer herd.

LePage has signed LD 1242, Act to Restore  the Deer Herd in Certain Wildlife Management Districts in Maine. The measure does several things, including creating the Maine Deer Management Fund, which will be paid for with donations from hunters buying licenses online or in person.

The bill also sets aside $2 from every deer registration fee for the fund, which will be used for controlling predation on deer and also to help protect deer habitat, largely in northern parts of the state that have seen declining deer populations.

“Those of us who live in Washington County know that the deer herd is under serious stress,” said Rep. David Burns, the bill’s sponsor and a former Maine State Police officer. “These studies make it clear that the same problems are occurring in many parts of the state.”

Burns, R–Whiting, said a healthy deer herd in those areas were important to the state’s heritage and its economy.

Deer hunting and viewing  generate at least $200 million per year in economic activity, Whiting said. That is spread around to guides, outfitting services, hunting camps, motels, restaurants and other businesses.

“Maine has traditionally been famous for its big bucks, but as this number one game animal becomes scarce, hunters will find Maine less desirable,” Burns said.

The measure also sets up a process that would allow the Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife to prohibit the feeding of deer in areas where chronic wasting disease is prevalent. 

The new law also sets up the Deer Management Advisory Council, which will include representatives from a variety of local, state and nationally-based hunting and conservation groups. Trahan said the idea was to bring those with concern and interest in improving the deer population in Maine to the table with government officials to help find solutions.

“The main idea was to include these folks, to reach out to them and invite them to help with this problem,” Trahan said Monday.

Under the law the fund also receives a $38,000 appropriation from the state’s General Fund.

Another bill signed by LePage also gives DIF&W $100,000 a year to help stop deer predation on public and private lands.

Two other measures expected to reach LePage’s desk this week could also help the state’s deer herd, Trahan said.

A $5 million bond, that voters would have to approve in November, helps the Land for Maine’s Future Program acquire land for hunting and fishing. The money is often used as the state’s match in conservation efforts on private lands and is often used for habitat protection and restoration, Trahan said.

A final measure that changes the rules on the use of tax incentive financing by municipalities now allows them to use the tool for habitat conservation. Typically TIF districts are set up to improve infrastructure in a project area where property taxes a developer would have paid are earmarked for specific local public works, like roads and sewers. The law change would allow conservation projects to receive TIF funds, Trahan said.

Trahan said the laws combined take a long-range approach to protecting, conserving and re-establishing critical habitat for hunting and fishing in Maine.

He said SAM was pleased with the results for the latest lawmaking session, which ended last week.

“I think if you said when it started that DIF&W would come out of it with any more funding than what it had when the session started, people wouldn’t have believed it,” Trahan said.

“But in all, it looks like we got six positive bills passed this session. So we are happy with that.”

One other bill signed into law by LePage Monday increases by $1 the amount paid to deer tagging stations for each deer tagged at their location. 

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