The Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife (DIFW) moved quickly on Friday to rescind a policy that the Trump Administration flagged as a discriminatory violation of federal civil rights rules, according to emails obtained by the Maine Wire.
The Trump administration threatened Thursday to cut off all federal funding to the MDIFW, claiming the agency is violating civil rights law by requiring sex-based quotas in its hiring process.
The policy adopted in Jan. 2020 required the department to meet a quota based on sex when assembling hiring panels, a policy nominally aimed at boosting the number of women working in such roles at DIFW.
In a May 8 letter obtained by The Maine Wire, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Regional Director Paul Souza told MDIFW Commissioner Judy Camuso that all federal grant funding from the Department of the Interior would be suspended by May 15 unless the agency changes its hiring practices.
“The MDIFW’s policy discriminates in the composition of hiring panels by requiring a quota based on sex,” Souza wrote.
Souza said MDIFW is violating Title IX, the federal law that bans sex-based discrimination by agencies that receive federal funds. He also cited federal regulations that require all recipients of grant money to comply with civil rights laws.
According to MDIFW’s official policy, all hiring panels must be made up of 50% women. “In the event there is an uneven number of panelists organizers shall make every effort to include more women,” the policy states.
Souza said MDIFW still has time to avoid losing its funding. “MDIFW has an opportunity to comply with applicable federal law before further action is taken,” he wrote.
MDIFW Commissioner Judy Camuso quickly rescinded the policy in order to avoid funding cuts or a more high-profile confrontation with the Trump Administration, such as the current legal fight over Gov. Janet Mills continued insistence that female athletes be compelled to play high school sports against male athletes.
“Rather than jeopardize our federal funding, we chose to officially rescinded (sic) policy B1.9, and I am emailing you to notify you that the policy is rescinded, and to let you know that I will notify the US Fish and Wildlife Service that the policy is rescinded today,” Camuso wrote in a May 9 email to all DIFW employees.
The hiring rule was added to MDIFW’s internal policies in January 2020, shortly after Camuso became commissioner. She is the first woman to lead the agency and previously served as the Director of the Bureau of Wildlife.
State payroll records show Camuso earned more than $207,000 in taxpayer-funded salary and benefits in 2024. Her pay has nearly doubled since 2018, when she earned just over $102,000.
