BANGOR DAILY NEWS • May 28, 2025
Last week, the federal government advised Maine’s fish and wildlife commissioner, Judy Camuso, that one of her “social barrier” initiatives in the hiring process was discriminatory. Significant amounts of grant funding for the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife from the U.S. Department of the Interior would be terminated, unless the policy was withdrawn. The policy at the center of the controversy reads: “All hiring panels assembled for the review and selection of IFW employees will be comprised of 50% women. In the event there is an uneven number of panelists, organizers shall make every effort to include more women.” Nowhere in statute does it say the commissioner is responsible for social activism or breaking social barriers. Her job is technical, managerial and regulatory. ~ V. Paul Reynolds