APPROVED CHAPTER
JUNE 10, 2025 256
BY GOVERNOR PUBLIC LAW
STATE OF MAINE
_____
IN THE YEAR OF OUR LORD
TWO THOUSAND TWENTY-FIVE
_____
S.P. 761 - L.D. 1953
An Act to Ensure Public Access to Conservation Land by Providing
Protections from Liability to Landowners
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows:
Sec. 1. 14 MRSA §159-A, sub-§4, ¶B, as amended by PL 1995, c. 566, §1, is
further amended by amending subparagraph (1) to read:
(1) The landowner or the landowner's agent by the State; or
Sec. 2. 14 MRSA §159-A, sub-§4, ¶B, as amended by PL 1995, c. 566, §1, is
amended by enacting a new subparagraph (3) to read:
(3) The landowner or grantor who grants, and the holder or grantee who accepts,
an easement or other legal instrument that makes an express grant of perpetual
public access over premises for the public to pursue recreational or harvesting
activities; or
Sec. 3. 14 MRSA §159-A, sub-§7 is enacted to read:
7. Perpetual grant of public access. A landowner or other grantor who grants, and a
holder or grantee who accepts, an easement or other legal instrument that includes a
perpetual right of public access over premises for the public to pursue one or more
recreational or harvesting activities, in reliance on the protections from liability established
by this section as they exist at the time of the grant, as evidenced by an instrument recorded
in the registry of deeds for the county in which the premises are located, acquires a
permanent vested property right to those protections for any rights so granted, which runs
to their heirs, successors and assigns.
Page 1 - 132LR2482(03)


Statutes affected:
Bill Text LD 1953, SP 761: 14.159
Bill Text ACTPUB , Chapter 256: 14.159