Massachusetts · statute · Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 131 · 129 active provisions
Section 1. In this chapter, unless the context otherwise requires, the following words shall have the following meanings and the following rules of construction shall apply:— ''Angling'', fishing with hand line or rod, with a hook baited with natural or artificial bait. ''Assistant'', any assistant to the director of l…
Section 1A. The division of fisheries and wildlife shall be within the department of fisheries, wildlife and environmental law enforcement in the executive office of environmental affairs and shall be under the supervision and control of the fisheries and wildlife board, hereinafter called the board, which shall consis…
Section 1B. Board members may be removed by the governor, with the advice and consent of the council, after due notice and a hearing before the governor, for inefficiency, neglect of duty, misconduct in office or other cause. A copy of the charge against a board member shall be delivered to him not less than twenty-one…
Section 1C. No board member shall hold any other position in the department of fisheries, wildlife and environmental law enforcement while serving as such, nor for a period of one year thereafter.
Section 1D. The board members shall serve without compensation, but shall be entitled to be reimbursed out of any funds available for the purpose, for their actual traveling and other expenses necessarily incurred in the performance of their official duties, but such reimbursement shall not in any fiscal year exceed th…
Section 1E. The members of the board shall meet in the commonwealth, within thirty days after their appointment, and once a month thereafter at such times and places in the commonwealth as they may from time to time determine. They shall at least annually choose a chairman and a secretary from among their members, and…
Section 1F. The director of the division of fisheries and wildlife shall be appointed and may be removed by the board of the division of fisheries and wildlife and the position of director shall not be subject to the provisions of chapter thirty-one. The director, subject to the approval of the fisheries and wildlife b…
Section 1G. The director shall, under the control of the board, have charge of, direct and supervise all matters relative to the division and the employees therein. He shall carry out the policies promulgated from time to time by the board, shall prepare the annual budget of the division, and shall file the same pursua…
Section 1H. There shall be in the division of fisheries and wildlife, under the control of a director, a bureau of wildlife research and management headed by a superintendent, who shall not be subject to the provisions of chapter thirty-one and who shall be appointed by the director, with the approval of the board, and…
Section 1I. It shall be the responsibility of the division to provide technical assistance and advice regarding the control or elimination of damage by moose or deer to property which is deemed to be actively devoted to agricultural or horticultural uses as defined by sections one and two of chapter sixty-one A. The di…
Section 2A. There is hereby established within the Inland Fisheries and Game Fund, a wildland acquisition account which shall be credited monies received from the sale of wildland conservation stamps, the portion of the fees for sporting, fishing, trapping and hunting licenses to be credited under the provisions of sec…
Section 2B. The state treasurer shall receive and deposit all revenues transmitted to him under provisions of sections 2A and 2C in such a manner that will ensure the highest rate of interest available consistent with the safety of the Inland Fisheries and Game Fund, and all interest accrued shall be deposited into the…
Section 2C. Monies received by the commonwealth from license fees, permit fees and from any and all sources pertaining to inland fishing, hunting and trapping from permit fees under section 22A, from any sale authorized in section 6 and sums received by the commonwealth from the federal government as reimbursement, gra…
Section 3. All fines, penalties and forfeitures recovered in prosecutions under the laws relative to fish, birds and mammals shall be equally divided between the county where such prosecution is made and the city or town where the offence is committed; provided, that if the complaining officer is receiving compensation…
Section 4. The director may: (1) destroy from time to time license books, stubs, licenses and license blanks after the same have been properly audited by the state auditor, and such other documents as the director deems advisable after the same have been noted in the official records; (2) notwithstanding any other prov…
Section 5. The director shall declare an open season on fish, birds, reptiles, amphibians or mammals in any county where such open season seems advisable, and may make rules and regulations relating to the time and length of such open season, bag limits, possession limits, methods of taking, time and methods of reporti…
Section 5B. The director shall administer the natural heritage and endangered species program in accordance with clauses (3) and (13A) of section four, and shall promulgate rules and regulations, subject to the procedures established in chapter thirty A, for said program, including criteria for the purchase of lands cr…
Section 5C. No person shall obstruct, interfere with or otherwise prevent the lawful taking of fish or wildlife by another at the locale where such activity is taking place. It shall be a violation of this section for a person to intentionally (1) drive or disturb wildlife or fish for the purpose of interrupting a lawf…
Section 6. The director, with the approval of the fisheries and wildlife board, may:— (1) for the purpose of providing public fishing grounds, acquire by gift, lease, easement, purchase, exchange or license or accept by transfer, fishing rights and privileges or lands or interests therein necessary for such purpose, to…
Section 7. For the purpose of protecting any species of useful fish, birds or mammals and for aiding the propagation thereof, the director may acquire in fee by purchase, gift or devise, or may lease, or with the consent of the owners, may control, any land, water or shore or the right to use the same, including the ri…
Section 8. In respect to any territory mentioned in section seven or fifty-nine, the director, with the consent of the appropriate authorities may make use of the land, water or shore within the territory as he deems best for the purpose of improving the feeding and nesting environment of birds or mammals, and may from…
Section 9. If an order is made by the director establishing a wildlife sanctuary, as provided in section seven, he shall cause a copy of the order to be published once a week for two successive weeks in one or more newspapers published in the counties embracing the territory, and shall cause copies of the order to be p…
Section 10. Whenever such wildlife sanctuary has been established by an order as provided in section nine, no person, except as authorized by the director under clause (2) of section four, shall hunt, trap or take any bird or mammal within said sanctuary, nor shall any person enter such sanctuary with a firearm, trap,…
Section 10A. The executive office of environmental affairs, the department or any other division of the department within said executive office may designate as qualifying as a nature preserve any real property owned by the commonwealth and under the care and control of said department, executive office or any of its d…
Section 10B. A nature preserve council, hereinafter referred to as the council, shall be established and shall consist of seven members who shall be appointed by the secretary of the executive office of environmental affairs, four of whom shall be members of the natural heritage and endangered species advisory committe…