LD 497

Vernal pools are essential breeding grounds and habitat for many of Maine’s amphibians, insects, spiders, and crustaceans. With periodic drying and relative isolation from streams, vernal pools attract fewer predators, providing havens for eggs to develop undisturbed. But their temporary nature also puts them at high risk of habitat loss and degradation from development. Recent attempts to weaken federal protections for wetlands made protecting vernal pools an urgent issue and called for establishing better protections for this habitat within our borders. 

LD 497 provides robust and improved protections for state-recognized “Significant Vernal Pools,” protecting this vital breeding habitat for iconic Maine species, like Wood Frogs, Spotted and Blue-spotted Salamanders, and many others. 

Proposals to change vernal pool protections have long been contentious in Maine, and LD 497 was no exception. Led by environmental champion Rep. Sally Cluchey, with strong support from Maine Audubon and other conservation groups, the bill drew opposition after passing out of the Environment and Natural Resources (ENR) Committee from business and development interests, who raised unfounded concerns that this bill would unduly stymie development and growth. Thanks to steadfast support from Rep. Cluchey and ENR Committee Chairs Sen. Denise Tepler and Rep. Vicki Doudera, LD 497 passed both chambers largely along party lines. On June 16, Gov. Janet Mills signed the bill into law.

In many ways, this bill was about undoing rollbacks to vernal pool protections passed under former Gov. Paul LePage’s administration. Many provisions in the bill restored safeguards that existed for over a decade before former Gov. LePage took an ax to them.