Act No. 54 (H.91). Fish and wildlife; management of wildlife; enforcement; hunting and fishing licenses; posting of land
This act addresses state management of wildlife, how fish and game requirements are enforced, and eligibility for certain fish and game programs. The act declares that the fish and wildlife of Vermont are held in trust by the state for the benefit of Vermont citizens and shall not be reduced to private ownership. The act authorizes the commissioner of fish and wildlife to manage and regulate fish and wildlife.
The act also repeals the transfer of regulatory oversight over one captive cervidae facility from the department of fish and wildlife (department) to the agency of agriculture, food and markets. Upon repeal, the department shall have regulatory jurisdiction over the facility and the white-tailed deer and moose entrapped within the facility. Upon transfer of regulatory jurisdiction to the department, the captive cervidae facility shall be regulated as a captive hunt facility under the fish and wildlife board's (board's) rules governing the importation and possession of animals for hunting, except for the following: the entrapped wild cervidae may remain at the facility but shall be subject to hunt during an open season set by the board; the board shall adopt by rule a process to reduce the number of white-tailed deer or moose at the facility to zero over a three-year period from September 1, 2011, provided that the moose known as Pete shall not be hunted or killed; and the board shall adopt a process and protocol for a disease surveillance program at the facility. The act prohibits the owner of the captive cervidae facility from charging for the right to take white-tailed deer or moose, and no person may knowingly or intentionally allow wild cervidae to escape or be released from the facility.
In addition, the act amends the enforcement authority of the department. Under the act, the department may accept an assurance of discontinuance as an alternative to judicial proceedings. The act also authorizes the department to, in addition to other penalties provided by law, assesses administrative penalties not to exceed $1,000.00 for each violation of fish and game wildlife.
The act amends how a member of the armed forces obtains a license to hunt or fish in the state by allowing a person to certify that he or she is eligible for the license available to members of the armed forces. The act provides that in order for a landowner to be eligible for an antlerless deer permit, the landowner family exception, or the taking of bear or deer doing damage to crops, the land shall not be posted; posting means any signage that would lead a reasonable person to believe that hunting is prohibited on the land.
The act also requires the department to convene a working group on deer doing damage to land managed for the production of marketable forest products. Similarly, the act requires the department to conduct education and outreach regarding forestry practices to address deer damage to land managed for the production of marketable forest products.
Multiple effective dates, beginning May 31, 2011