AR-News: Two Articles on ME Bear Baiting/Hunting Agency Scandal

Thu Jul 1 11:45:20 EDT 2004

Thursday, July 1, 2004 

Bear-baiting foes say state's using funds 'improperly'

By DEIRDRE FLEMING, Portland Press Herald Writer 

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Staff photo by John Ewing

Attorney Bruce Merrill said three groups will sue the
state if it continues to spend funds to influence the
Nov. 2 vote. 

FALMOUTH — The major groups supporting a statewide ban
on the use of bait, dogs and traps in bear hunts
accused Gov. John Baldacci and state biologists of
using public funds improperly to work against the
proposal. Attorney Bruce Merrill - speaking for the
Maine Citizens For Fair Bear Hunting, the Humane
Society of the United States and The Fund For Animals
- said state officials are using staff time and
resources to work with opponents of a referendum that
would put limits on bear hunting in Maine.

Merrill said the state Department of Inland Fisheries
and Wildlife is working too closely with the
Sportsman's Alliance of Maine and other groups on ways
to defeat the referendum. He described the work as
"improper," but not "illegal."

"We've purposely used the word 'improper' and in no
cases used 'illegal,' because that implies criminal,"
Merrill said. "What this does is create a situation
where (supporters of the ban) are not getting a fair
shake. It's about good government."

Merrill said Wednesday at a press conference in
Falmouth that the three groups will file suit against
the state if it continues to spend funds to influence
the Nov. 2 vote.

Mark Latti, spokesman for Inland Fisheries, denied
Merrill's accusation of improper use of funds. He said
the information that his department has provided to
the Sportsman's Alliance and the public is based on
scientific data and research.

He is referring to the department's claim that Maine's
black bear population will increase significantly and
intrude on populated areas if the ban goes into
effect.

Latti also noted that the department is
self-supporting through hunting and fishing license
fees, and receives no money from the state's general
fund.

Baldacci also has opposed the referendum in speeches
before hunting groups. Lee Umphrey, his spokesman,
said Wednesday that the governor's office has acted
legally in opposing the referendum.

Umphrey said that under the Federal Hatch Act, the
governor may speak out against a particular referendum
question. 

Maine's black bear hunt draws 15,000 hunters a year,
with 3,000 to 4,000 bears taken annually. The state's
bear population is estimated to be 23,000, the largest
in the Eastern United States. The ban would continue
to allow bear hunts but without bait, dogs and traps. 

Maine is the only state in the nation to continue to
allow traps - steel leg holds - in bear hunts. Several
states allow the use of bait and/or dogs in hunting
bears.

Merrill formally requested Wednesday that the state
cease all work with sportsmen's groups involved in the
referendum and with pollsters.

He also asked that the Department of Inland Fisheries
and Wildlife present both sides of the debate. He
noted that the department has links from its Web site
to the Sportsman's Alliance of Maine, which opposes
the ban, but not to any supporters of the ban, such as
the Maine Citizens for Fair Bear Hunting. 

He also asked that the department "publicly
acknowledge that it spent taxpayer money in a campaign
to defeat the referendum."

Latti said the information the department has given to
voters has not been "one-sided or biased," and
therefore is legal. "We link to (Web sites based on)
whoever asks. They have not asked," Latti said.

"I would say the information we've provided has been
factual, based on 30 years of the best bear experts in
the country."

Anita Coupe of Biddeford Pool, vice-chair of the
Humane Society of the United States board, said it is
"legally unauthorized and improper" for the department
and Baldacci to work with these groups to try to
influence the outcome of the referendum. 

Staff Writer Deirdre Fleming can be contacted at
791-6452 or at:

dfleming at pressherald.com

 ------
Thursday, July 1, 2004 

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By Misty Edgecomb, Of the NEWS Staff e-mail Misty 
Last updated: Thursday, July 1, 2004 

Bear-law backers criticize DIF&W
Officials deny illegal activism 

The Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife denied
allegations Wednesday that state biologists are
illegally stumping for hunting groups against a
proposed ban on bear baiting.Wednesday afternoon,
Citizens for Fair Bear Hunting and Hunters for Fair
Bear Hunting held a press conference to publicize
letters they have sent to Gov. John Baldacci and DIF&W
Commissioner Roland "Dan" Martin, accusing the
department of working hand in hand with a coalition of
groups trying to defeat the November referendum vote
on whether bear trapping and hunting bear over bait
and with dogs should be legal. 

"Government personnel have spent time and money
strategizing how to influence the vote and defeat this
referendum," Citizens for Fair Bear Hunting spokesman
Bob Fisk said Wednesday. "These activities are a
serious threat to the integrity of the electoral
process. They're illegal and we want them to cease." 

DIF&W opposes the referendum on grounds that it would
take bear population management out of the hands of
wildlife biologists, but is not a member of the
coalition. 

Called Maine's Fish and Wildlife Conservation Council,
the coalition is composed of groups such as the
Sportsman's Alliance of Maine and the Maine
Professional Guides Association. 

The letter also specifically accuses Martin, Deputy
Commissioner Paul Jacques, who also at one time was a
SAM lobbyist, and high-ranking wildlife biologists Ken
Elowe and Mark Stadler of impropriety. 

DIF&W spokesman Mark Latti said Wednesday that his
department has followed the very specific
recommendations laid out by the governor's office last
July - which stated that the department could take a
position on the referendum so long as biologists
provided fair scientific information to all. The
guidelines also stated that department personnel may
appear at fund-raising events as long as they do not
actually solicit funds, and in campaign ads as long as
they are not wearing state uniforms. 

"The governor has been strong about complying with the
law, while making sure state employees are able to
exercise their [personal] right to campaign" Baldacci
spokesman Lee Umphrey said Wednesday. 

But Fisk argued that state biologists have spent the
past year raising funds for the council, creating
biased educational materials, and working on the
campaign against the referendum while on company time
and in state offices. 

"They've crossed the line," Fisk said. 

Edie Leary, spokeswoman for Maine's Fish and Wildlife
Conservation Council, said Wednesday that the
department's role in her campaign has been
informational. It just happens that the state's
position, and the science that it is based on, align
more closely with her position than with Fisk's, she
said. 

"The department needs to be able to provide voters
with facts, and that's what they're doing," Leary
said. 

Latti also said that all department activities have
fallen within the bounds of providing information.
"We're following the law," he said. 

A spokesman for the Attorney General's Office added
Wednesday that he was not aware of any efforts to
investigate improper behavior by DIF&W employees with
regard to the bear referendum.

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