Elvers, Trout, and Grouse - Oh My!

Today, I testified for the first time before the Joint Standing Committee on Inland Fisheries and Wildlife - not exactly a committee that hears from the ACLU on a regular basis. We opposed two separate bills that would drastically increase criminal penalties for introducing certain types of fish into Maine waters. Later this week, we will oppose another bill that proposes a new crime for the unlawful possession of ruffed grouse.
 
Why the sudden interest in wildlife? Each of these bills, if passed, would unnecessarily expand Maine's penal code. Criminalizing new behavior does little to solve society’s problems.
 
Incarceration rates across the country have risen as the result of public policy – laws passed by Congress and in 50 state legislatures each year that have collectively driven incarceration rates dramatically upward, so that in 2008 one out of every 100 adults in the United States was behind bars. The United States accounts for nearly 25% of the world’s prison population while having only 4% of the world’s general population. We imprison more people per capita and in total than any other country in the world by far.
 
Protecting Maine's wildlife and natural resources is a noble goal. But, laws that protect wildlife by putting Mainers behind bars have devastating effects on our communities. Unfortunately, one such bill passed the House and Senate today. LD 632 creates criminal penalties for elver license violations - which is likely to have a disproportionate effect on the Passamaquoddy tribe.
 
We hope that the IFW committee will consider other penalties, short of criminalization, as they take steps to protect Maine's wildlife.