An Act To Clarify the Use of State Lands Designated for Conservation or Recreation Purposes
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows:
Sec. 1. 12 MRSA §598, sub-§5, as amended by PL 2011, c. 278, §4 and c. 657, Pt. W, §5, is further amended to read:
5. Substantially altered. "Substantially altered," in the use of designated lands, means changed so as to significantly alter physical characteristics in a way that frustrates the essential purposes for which that land is held by the State. The essential purposes of state parks, historic sites, public access sites, facilities for boats and the Allagash Wilderness Waterway are the protection, management and improvement of these properties for public recreation, conservation, scenic values, nature appreciation, historic preservation and interpretation, public access and related purposes. The essential purposes of public reserved and nonreserved lands are the protection, management and improvement of these properties for the multiple use objectives established in section 1847. The essential purposes of lands acquired through the Land for Maine's Future Board that are not held by the Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife or by the Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry are the protection, management and improvement of those lands for recreation, conservation, farming, open space, plant and animal habitat, scenic values, public access and related purposes. The essential purposes of state-owned wildlife management areas and game farms are the protection, management and improvement of those properties for fish and wildlife habitat and propagation, hunting, trapping, fishing, recreation, propagation and harvesting of forest and other natural products and related purposes. "Substantially altered" does not mean the conveyance of an access right by easement in accordance with section 1814-A. For the purposes of this chapter, the use of designated lands for the mining of minerals, as those terms are defined in section 549-A, subsections 6 and 7, constitutes a substantial alteration in use.
summary
This bill clarifies that, for the purposes of the Constitution of Maine, Article IX, Section 23, the use of designated lands for the mining of minerals constitutes a substantial alteration in use. Article IX, Section 23 provides that "state park land, public lots or other real estate held by the State for conservation or recreation purposes and designated by legislation implementing this section may not be reduced or its uses substantially altered except on the vote of 2/3 of all the members elected to each House."