The Maine Cave Protection Act was signed by the Governor
on 05/09/2001 and will become law after the waiting period of 90 days.
Sec. 1. 12 MRSA c. 201-A, sub-c. I-A is enacted to read:
§544-I. Short title
This subchapter may be known and cited as the “Maine Cave
Protection Act.”
As used in this subchapter, unless the context otherwise
indicates, the following words have the following meanings.
1. Cave. “Cave” means any naturally occurring void,
cavity, recess, sinkhole or system of interconnecting passages beneath the
surface of the earth or within a cliff or ledge that is large enough to permit
a person to enter. “Cave” includes
natural subsurface water and drainage systems, but does not include any mine,
tunnel or other artificial excavation.
2. Cave life. “Cave
life” means any life- form normally found in a cave.
3. Natural
material. “Natural material” means
stalactite, stalagmite, helictite, anthodite, gypsum flower or needle,
flowstone, drapery, column, tufa dam, clay or mud formation or concretion or
other similar crystalline mineral formation found in any cave.
4. Owner. “Owner” means a person who owns title to
land where a cave is
located.
§544-K. Prior written
consent of owner
A person must obtain the prior written permission of the
owner to excavate or remove an archaeological, paleontological, prehistoric or
historic feature of a cave. §544-L. Field investigations, explorations and
recovery operations All field investigations, explorations and recovery
operations in a cave must ensure that the ability to recover and preserve
historic, scientific, archaeological and educational information is not
impeded. The excavation or removal of an artifact, object, specimen or material
from a cave on state-controlled land, as those terms are defined in Title 27,
section 373-A, is subject to the provisions governing excavation and removal of
state-owned objects and specimens under Title 27, chapter 13.
Recreational caving is a recreational or harvesting
activity for the purposes of limited liability of landowners under Title 14,
section 159-A.
1. Defacing or damaging
cave prohibited. A person may not deface or damage a cave. A person defaces or
damages a cave if the person, without the prior written permission of the
owner:
A. Breaks, breaks off,
cracks, carves upon, writes or otherwise marks upon or in any manner destroys,
mutilates, injures, defaces, removes, displaces, mars or harms any natural
material found in a cave;
B. Kills, harms or
disturbs plant or animal life found in a cave, except for safety reasons;
C. Disturbs or alters
the natural condition of a cave or takes into a cave any aerosol or other
container containing paints, dyes or other coloring agents;
D. Stores, dumps,
litters, disposes of or otherwise places any refuse, garbage, dead animal,
sewage or toxic substance harmful to cave life or humans in a cave;
E. Burns within a cave
any material that produces smoke or gas that is harmful to any organism in the
cave; or
F. Breaks, forces,
tampers with, removes or otherwise disturbs a lock, gate, door, sign or other
structure or obstruction designed to prevent entrance to a cave, whether or not
entrance is gained.
2. Forfeiture. A person
who violates the provisions of this subchapter commits a civil violation for
which a forfeiture of up to $1,000 may be adjudged.
3. Damages may be
collected by landowner. A person who
intentionally defaces or damages a cave on private land in violation of
subsection 1 is liable to the owner of that land for actual damages recoverable
through a civil action.
Further amend the bill by inserting after section 1 the
following:
Sec. 2. 14 MRSA §159-A, sub-§1, ¶B, as amended by PL 1995,
c. 566, §1, is further amended to read:
B. “Recreational or harvesting activities” means
recreational activities conducted out-of-doors, including, but not limited to,
hunting, fishing, trapping, camping, environmental education and research,
hiking, recreational caving, sight-seeing, operating snow-traveling and all-
terrain vehicles, skiing, hang-gliding, dog sledding, equine activities,
boating, sailing, canoeing, rafting, biking, picnicking, swimming or activities
involving the harvesting or gathering of forest, field or marine products. It includes entry of, volunteer maintenance
and improvement of, use of and passage over premises in order to pursue these
activities. “Recreational or harvesting activities” does not include commercial
agricultural or timber harvesting.
Submitted by:
Thomas Lera
Director of Operations
ioWave, Inc.
2100 Washington Blvd.
Suite 1001
Arlington, VA 22204
(voice): 703-302-0803
(fax): 703-979-5710
email: tlera@iowave.com
website: www.iowave.com