Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife (IFW) Commissioner Judith Camuso will be resigning at the end of the month, after a tenure pushing Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI)-based discriminatory hiring practices, alienating experienced wardens, and covering up her ex-husband’s alleged cocaine habit.
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“Serving the people of Maine and our Governor as Commissioner of the Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife has been a true honor — an opportunity I will long cherish. I am deeply grateful to Governor Mills, our staff, and our many partners for their support and collaboration,” said Camuso.
“Together, we expanded opportunities for hunters and anglers, conserved tens of thousands of acres for public access and fish and wildlife habitat, and strengthened Maine’s outdoor recreational economy,” she added.
Gov. Janet Mills (D-Maine) announced Camuso’s upcoming resignation in a fawning press release on Tuesday.
Camuso has served as the department’s first female commissioner since her appointment by Gov. Mills in 2019. Mills celebrated the increase in fishing and hunting licenses and conservation work under Camuso.
What Mills failed to mention were the controversies facing the department under Camuso’s leadership.
In May 2025, the Trump Administration announced that it would be cutting funding from the department over the discriminatory sex-based hiring practices promulgated by Camuso.
The IFW previously included a policy that read, “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.”
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service identified that policy as an unlawful discriminatory quota-based hiring policy in violation of Title IX.
In response to the federal threats, Camuso quickly removed her illegal hiring policies in order to avoid the funding loss.
Camuso has a history of politicizing the IFW, including partnering with LGBTQ non-profits and holding events, such as the āTraps+Trails LGBTQAI+ Winter Outdoor Extravaganza,ā aimed specifically at encouraging LGBTQ Mainers to hunt and fish.
One former game warden, Josh Polland, left the department after, he said, he saw the department making hiring decisions based on sex rather than qualifications.
Polland told the Christian Civic League of Maine that he faced false harassment allegations and hostility from Camuso even after those allegations were proven false.
[RELATED: Former Game Warden Calls Out the Political Agenda Taking Hold of Maineās Fish & Wildlife Service…]
Camuso also faced controversy last June when she accidentally confirmed that former IFW Resource Supervisor Stephen S. Walker, who also happened to be her ex-husband, allegedly attempted to use a state-issued device to purchase cocaine.
Camuso was reportedly aware of the incident, but failed to refer it to the Attorney Generalās Office or the State Police, and instead allowed Walker to take paid leave and move into a position as Director of the Land for Maineās Future (LMF) program.
After Camuso’s departure at the end of the month, Deputy Commissioner Tim Peabody will serve as Acting Commissioner.
It is not clear why Camuso has decided to resign now, rather than waiting out the last months of Mills’ time in the Blaine House.
