Support Wildlife Conservation in Maine

Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife (MDIFW) is the agency responsible for the stewardship of the State's inland fisheries and wildlife resources. This legislative mandate is extended to all the state's wildlife - moose to mayflies, charismatic and reclusive, predators and pollinators, species at the edge of their range, or species naturally dispersing into the state. As the responsibilities of MDIFW  have evolved over time so has the method of funding wildlife conservation and management activities.

Funding Maine's Wildlife Programs

Funding for Maine's wildlife programs comes from many different sources. Most of our work with wild mammals and birds, many of the salaries, and most of the administrative costs of the Wildlife Division, are funded by hunting license and permit revenues, which are used as matching funds for federal Pittman-Robertson Funds. Since 1937, this funding has been made possible through federal excise taxes paid by the manufacturers of ammunition, firearms, and archery equipment. These funds have been critical to conserving wild mammal and bird species and their habitat as well as fostering public access to areas for outdoor pursuits like hunting and fishing.

Revenues generated from the sales of state waterfowl hunting stamps (duck stamps) have been dedicated to acquisition and development of wetland habitat. Maine also receives funding from State Wildlife Grants, which can support any animal species identified in Maine's State Wildlife Action Plan. This includes at-risk reptile species like turtles, insects like bees and butterflies, and amphibians such as salamanders.

Unfortunately, stable and secure financial support for some species, including endangered and threatened wildlife, has not developed. At the state level, several funding initiatives support nongame and endangered and threatened wildlife programs; some of these funds are used as match to obtain federal funds.

Initiatives you can participate in to help fund Maine’s Wildlife Programs:

Funding from these initiatives has been inconsistent and in many instances has declined because of placement on tax forms or competing check-offs, license plates, and lottery tickets. Revenue generated from the Chickadee Check-off and the Loon Plate has declined nearly 75% and 50% respectively from historic highs.