STATE OF MAINE
DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE, CONSERVATION FORESTRY

 

MAINE FOREST SERVICE
22 STATE HOUSE STATION
PAUL R. LEPAGE MAINE 04333 WALTER E. WHITCOMB
GOVERNOR COMMISSIONER

Dear Municipal Of?cial

Pursuant to 12 MRS. and 9321, the Director of the Maine Forest Service (MFS) is responsible for the
issuance and enforcement of burning permits statewide. The Director may delegate his authority to issue permits to Town
Forest Fire Wardens and their Deputies. 12 MRS. 9321(3). That delegation of authority occurs with paper permits; the
MFS provides paper permits to towns across the state, who in turn issue permits to their residents.

Each year more than 100,000 burn permits are issued in Maine. To make it more convenient for property owners to obtain
a permit, the Legislature authorized the MFS Director to develop an online system through which property owners could
obtain a burn permit for a $7.00 fee. 12 M.R.S. 9326. That $7.00 fee is apportioned between the General Fund, the
municipality, and MFS to offset some of the administrative cost of operating the online service. That system is accessible
at 

The Legislature has not authorized anyone other than the MFS Director to develop an online burn permit system. Over
the last few years several private online fire permit systems, such as WardensReport.com and BurningPermit.com, have
been developed and are used by several towns in Maine. Some of these private systems are provided to towns as a for
pro?t venture, while others have been developed and used within an individual town.

None of these systems were developed or authorized by the MF Director and, consequently, none of the burn permits
obtained from these online sites are valid burn permits. Any resident burning without a valid permit issued or authorized
by the MFS is committing a Class crime and is subject to an enforcement action. 12 MRS. ?9321(6).

Again, the Department does not recognize the validity of these private online systems nor does it consider valid any
permit issued by a private online system. We request that your community immediately discontinue its use of these

systems.

Respectfully,

?ame?

Walter E. Whitcomb

 

Commissioner
E5 9 

Doug Denice

Director, MFS

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DEPARTMENT OF

DOUG DENICO, DIRECTOR Agriculture PHONE: (207) 287-2791 OR 800-367-0223
MAINE FOREST SERVICE Conservation FAX: (207) 287-8422

18 ELKINS LANE, HARLOW BUILDING Forestry