Maine § 5514. - Intern forester

§ 5514.. Intern forester

1.  Scope of practice.  An intern forester license entitles the holder to perform forestry practices under the sponsorship of a forester.

2.  Professional qualifications.  Each applicant for an intern forester license shall submit evidence of an associate's degree or a bachelor's degree from a curriculum in forestry or of graduation from a postgraduate curriculum in forestry leading to a degree higher than a bachelor's degree in a school or college approved by the board. The board may grant a variance to an applicant who does not hold a degree pursuant to rules adopted by the board. Rules adopted pursuant to this subsection are routine technical rules as defined in Title 5, chapter 375, subchapter 2‑A.

3.  Filing with board.  The requirements for licensure as an intern forester are as follows.

A. The internship may not commence until after the applicant has met the professional qualification requirements of subsection 2.   [PL 2001, c. 261, §4 (NEW).]

B. Applicants shall apply to and be approved by the board for internship prior to beginning their internship.   [PL 2001, c. 261, §4 (NEW).]

C. The applicant shall provide the name of the person who is proposed to serve as the sponsor.   [PL 2013, c. 527, §1 (AMD); PL 2013, c. 527, §9 (AFF).]

4.  Continuing education required.  As a prerequisite to renewal of an intern forester license, the applicant must complete continuing education as set forth by rules adopted by the board.

5.  Renewal.  Licenses expire annually on December 31st or on a date the commissioner determines. The board shall issue a renewal license, subject to the limitations set forth in subsection 6, upon receipt of the written request for renewal, the renewal fee as set under section 5507 and evidence of satisfactory completion of continuing education as set forth in subsection 4. Licenses may be renewed up to 90 days after the date of expiration upon payment of a late fee as set under section 5507 in addition to the renewal fee. A person who submits an application for renewal more than 90 days after the license has expired is required to pay an additional late fee as set under section 5507 in addition to the 90-day late fee and renewal fee.

6.  Limited license term.  Intern forester licenses may only be renewed for 5 annual terms. If after the 5th annual renewal term the intern forester has not qualified for licensure as a forester, the intern forester may reapply to recommence the internship process, but may not receive any credit towards completion of the new internship for work performed during the prior internship.

7.  Endorsement of documents.  Plans, maps and reports issued by the intern forester must be endorsed with the intern forester's name and license number during the life of the intern forester's license. By endorsing a document, the intern forester is representing that the document has been reviewed by the sponsor.