ME LD95

Renames "special season" deer hunting to "expanded archery season" throughout Maine wildlife statutes and consolidates rulemaking authority under the Commissioner of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife

Automatically includes one antlerless deer permit and one either-sex permit in licenses for eligible hunters during the expanded archery season, applying to seniors 70+, paraplegics, disabled veterans with 50%+ service-connected disability, members of federally recognized Maine tribes, and junior hunters

Grants the Commissioner authority by routine technical rule to open closed hunting areas (with local approval), create special or expanded archery seasons for deer population management, specify weapons and methods, and establish a 2-day youth deer hunting period

Expands confidentiality protections for location information of "species of special concern" in addition to threatened and endangered species when disclosure could threaten the species' survival

Updates language in conservation statutes, changing "nongame" to "threatened and endangered species" and clarifying that regulated taking may occur when population pressures for a given species cannot be otherwise relieved