In Focus: Wildlife Laws And The Reason We Have Them
June 18, 2008
By Tom Remington
Ever wonder what life was like in 1800s? Maybe. It’s safe to say that it was far different then than now. Most of life was surrounded around the trials and tribulations of trying to eke out a living on a farm somewhere in rural America, while cities were beginning to grow and develop becoming a draw for that person who needed a life other than farming dirt.
Hunting, trapping and fishing were a necessary part of the formula for survival for many Americans. As the population grew and the needs, wants and demands of life also grew, without regulation wildlife came to be harvested too much putting many game animal’s populations at risk.
In the state of Maine, which formally became a state in 1820, a few laws existed in an attempt to control hunting, fishing and trapping. In 1880 the Maine Legislature decided that the two Fisheries Commissioners would be responsible to enforce what laws existed regarding wildlife.
