321 CMR 7.01 - Wildlife Sanctuaries- General
(1)
Purpose. 321 CMR
7.01 governs the administration of wildlife sanctuaries and prohibited acts
within the geographical boundaries of such areas. These provisions incorporate
the philosophy of the Division that proper management of the wildlife resources
of the Commonwealth necessitates the preservation of all life forms in order to
maximize the ecological balance and genetic diversity of the
environment.
(2)
Definitions. As used in 321 CMR 7.01:
(a)
feeding and nesting
environment means the habitat of a species, including all animal
and plant life of the ecological communities of which the habitat is
comprised.
(b)
make use
of means any action affecting or involving a wildlife sanctuary
which the Director determines is necessary or appropriate to carry out the
purposes for which such sanctuaries are established.
(c)
protecting means
the conservation, preservation, replenishment, restocking, rehabilitation,
research, habitat protection, education, and any other means of attempting to
ensure the survival and/or proliferation of a species or ecological
community.
(d)
useful
fish, birds, or mammals means all species of animal life, whether
vertebrate or not, which the Director deems necessary or appropriate to
preservation of the ecological balance and/or genetic diversity of the natural
world.
(e)
wildlife
sanctuary means any lands, waters, shores, and interests therein
administered by the Director for protecting any species of useful fish, birds,
or mammals, and for aiding the propagation thereof, and in which activities are
governed by M.G.L. c. 131, §§ 7-10.
(3)
Sanctuaries.
Wildlife sanctuaries are maintained for the primary purpose of protecting
species of useful fish, birds, or mammals, and for aiding in the propagation
thereof. In order to carry out this purpose, the Director is authorized, among
other powers, to make use of the sanctuaries as he deems best for improving the
feeding and nesting environment of birds or mammals, including the adoption of
management plans for and the prohibition of certain acts in such
sanctuaries.
(4)
Prohibited Acts:
(a)
No person, except as authorized in M.G.L. c. 131, § 4, shall hunt, trap or
take any mammal, bird, reptile, amphibian, fish, or invertebrate within the
bounds of any wildlife sanctuary, nor shall any person enter such sanctuary
with a rifle, shotgun, firearm, bow and arrow, trap, snare, or other device of
any kind or description adapted to killing, taking or injuring of any mammal,
bird, reptile, amphibian, fish, or invertebrate, nor shall any person take,
molest, harass, remove, or destroy any nest, eggs, spawn, larvae, or young of
any mammal, bird, reptile, amphibian, fish, or invertebrate.
(b) No person, except with the written
permission of the Director of the Division of Fisheries and Wildlife or his
authorized representative, shall cut, pick, break down, dig up, or otherwise
alter, damage, or destroy any plant or part thereof within the bounds of any
wildlife sanctuary. Further, no person shall remove or dig up any soil, stones,
or minerals from any wildlife sanctuary.
(c) No person, except governmental employees
in the performance of their duties, or with the written permission of the
Director of the Division of Fisheries and Wildlife or his authorized
representative, shall drive, operate, or possess, within the bounds of any
wildlife sanctuary, any motor vehicle, snow vehicle, or recreational vehicle,
except on roads maintained by a governmental agency and designated for the
express purpose of permitting public vehicular traffic.
(d) No person, except with the written
permission of the Director of the Division of Fisheries and Wildlife or his
authorized representative, shall deface, damage, molest, remove, or cause to be
removed any sign, fence, gate, building, monument, structure, or equipment upon
or within the bounds of any wildlife management area.
(e) No person shall dump or discard or cause
to be dumped or discarded, any container, papers, garbage, brush, stumps,
leaves, solid or liquid wastes, tires, or other materials within the bounds of
any wildlife sanctuary.
(f) No
person, except with the written permission of the Director of the Division of
Fisheries and Wildlife or his authorized representative, shall camp within the
bounds of any wildlife sanctuary. "Camping" shall mean the utilization of any
piece of equipment for sleeping in or upon, including, but not limited to, a
sleeping bag, hammock, tent, tarp, motor vehicle, recreational vehicle,
trailer, or watercraft, for the purpose of occupying a piece of land or water
for transient and temporary outdoor living.
(g) No person shall build, maintain, or cause
to be built or maintained, any fire within the bounds of any wildlife
sanctuary, except with the written permission of the Director of the Division
of Fisheries and Wildlife or his authorized representative, and the written
permission of the town (city) fire chief or the district fire warden.
(h) No person shall illegally consume, use,
cultivate, or possess any controlled substance of any schedule or class or any
counterfeit substance within the bounds of any wildlife sanctuary. For the
purposes of 321 CMR 7.01, the definition of "controlled substance" and
"counterfeit substance" shall be those definitions contained in M.G.L. c. 94C,
§ 1.
(i) No person shall
consume, use, or possess any alcoholic beverage within the bounds of any
wildlife sanctuary. For the purposes of 321 CMR 7.01, the definition of
"alcoholic beverage" shall be that definition contained in M.G.L. c. 138,
§ 1.
(j) No person, except a
governmental employee in the performance of his duties, or except by written
permission of the Director of the Division of Fisheries and Wildlife or his
authorized representative, shall be present within the bounds of any wildlife
sanctuary between ½ hour after sunset and ½ hour before
sunrise.
(k) No person, except with
written permission of the Director of the Division of Fisheries and Wildlife or
his authorized representative, shall, within the bounds of any wildlife
sanctuary, dig, excavate, remove, disturb, or cause to be dug, excavated,
removed, or disturbed, any archaeological or paleontological artifacts,
remains, ruins, sites, fossils, or other objects of unusual historical or
prehistorical antiquity.
Notes
Regulatory Authority: M.G.L. c. 131, § 8.
Last Revised: 3-17-89
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