Laws & Regulations

Maine Landowner Immunity Law Information

Maine’s landowner immunity law was written to provide landowners with broad protection from liability for recreational users.  The actual law can be read here:

• Recreational Use Statute 159-A. Limited liability for recreational/harvesting activities

The following documents provide additional detailed information:

• Maine Landowner Liability Explained

• Landowner Liability: This is a summary of recreational use liability in general

• Mountain Bike Liability Primer: Recreational use statutes, particularly applied to trails

The following links provide information about railroad & utility right-of-ways:

• LD 1611: An Act To Clarify That Certain Maine Landowner Liability Protection Laws Apply to Certain Railroad Properties, Railroad Rights-of-way and Utility Corridors

• Maine Legislature Summary of LD 1611: Bill status at the State of Maine’s website

Below are links to Supreme Court cases upholding the landowner liability immunity law:

• Hafford v Great Northern Nekoosa

• Jordan v HC Haynes

• Robbins v Great Northern Paper

• Stanley v Tilcon

How do landowners react to this immunity? Plum Creek, owner of more than 900,000 acres of Maine  woodland, allows essentially unrestricted public access to his land:

• Plum Creek Maine Access Policy

Thanks to Tony Barrett (East Coast Greenway), Julie Isbell (National Park Service, Rivers, Trails and Conservation Assistance), and Karin Marchetti Ponte (Maine Coast Heritage Trust) for help in providing this information