The commissioner may establish wildlife refuges, closed areas or safety zones on public lands or waters or, providing he first obtains the necessary written consent, on private lands and waters. The commissioner may close any such area, or portion of any such area, to hunting, trapping, fishing, other public use, or trespassing, when he determines such closure to be necessary for the management of any wildlife or plant species or for public safety. The commissioner shall cause notice of such closure, including the length of any such closure, to be posted near the boundary lines or near any area, or portion of any area, closed pursuant to this section. Any person who uses any area in violation of any such notice of closure shall be guilty of a class D misdemeanor.
(1955, S. 2482d, 2507d; 1971, P.A. 872, S. 287; P.A. 97-250, S. 2; P.A. 12-80, S. 138.)
History: 1971 act substituted references to environmental protection commissioner for references to board of fisheries and game; P.A. 97-250 made technical and grammatical changes, added criteria for closure of areas under this section, required posting of notice of such closure and provided that the penalty under this section applies in the case of a use of an area in violation of such notice; P.A. 12-80 changed penalty from a fine of not more than $200 or imprisonment of not more than 60 days or both to a class D misdemeanor.