PORTLAND, Maine - The Maine Supreme Judicial Court will hear arguments in a lawsuit that pits a hunting reform group against the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries & Wildlife about the agency's role in defeating proposed changes to the state's bear hunt.
Maine residents shot down changes to the bear hunt at polls in 2014. Mainers for Fair Bear Hunting and allies wanted to ban the use of bait, dogs and traps to hunt bears. The wildlife department campaigned against the initiative.
Mainers for Fair Bear Hunting sued the state before the election to prohibit the campaigning. A state superior court dismissed the lawsuit as moot after the election and the group appealed.
The case is scheduled before the high court Feb. 10. The group maintains the state's campaign activities were illegal.