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An Act To Market Maine's Hunting and Fishing Opportunities
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows:
Sec. 1.  12 MRSA §10108, sub-§2-A  is enacted to read:
 
2-A.  Marketing program.     In addition to activities in subsection 2 that the commissioner may implement, the commissioner shall adopt a comprehensive marketing program that ensures the department is responsive to the needs of outdoor recreationists, license and permit price concerns and resource access and awareness issues and that all staff members of the department play an appropriate role in ensuring their respective programs deliver the best marketing approach with the highest value to the public.
 
The commissioner shall establish a dedicated marketing specialist position within the Division of Public Information and Education. The marketing specialist shall lead and coordinate the program. The program must include the following, at a minimum:
 
A.  Collaboration with the Department of Economic and Community Development, Office of Tourism;
 
B.  Annual surveys;
 
C.  Training and education for persons in the outdoor recreation industry, including guides, persons who operate sporting camps and others;
 
D.  Recommendations to create new hunting and fishing licenses that feature new privileges or opportunities in order to attract nonresident hunters and anglers;
 
E.  Aggressive promotion of opportunities to hunt and fish, including information about access to waters and public and private lands for these purposes. This information must be publicized, without limitation, in maps and brochures, on publicly accessible websites and through social media; and
 
F.  Creation of a database of outdoor writers and reporters and efforts to provide these writers and reporters with experiences and information that may be used in their writings.
 
SUMMARY
This bill directs the Commissioner of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife to establish a comprehensive marketing program for the Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife that is led and coordinated by a dedicated marketing specialist, whose position is required to be created within the department's Division of Public Information and Education.