The commissioner is authorized to acquire for the use of the state, by gift, lease, purchase or agreement, fishing, hunting, trapping or shooting rights or privileges on any land or water in this state, with necessary rights of ingress thereto and egress therefrom, or, with the approval of the Governor, to purchase land or water for the purposes of such rights or privileges. The commissioner may, by regulation, open or close any of such land or waters for the purpose of regulating hunting, shooting, trapping, fishing, dog training, field dog trials or other public use. The commissioner may, by regulation, govern and prescribe the maximum number of persons or boats that may use such land or waters and may require that a permit be obtained from the commissioner or his agent to enter upon such land or waters for the purposes described in this section, and said commissioner may further require that such permit be returned to him or his agent with an accurate report of all fish or wildlife taken under such permit. The commissioner may, by regulation, govern and prescribe the use of such lands and waters, the open and closed seasons, the method of taking, the legal length and the daily creel or bag limits for all species of fish and wildlife thereon. He may furnish or supply at a reasonable fee, on such lands or waters, boats or other facilities for use by fishermen or hunters. Portions of such lands and waters may be posted by the commissioner as a closed area and, when they are so posted, no person shall enter thereon for the purpose of hunting, shooting, trapping, fishing, dog training, field dog trials or other public use, and no person shall allow any dog in his charge to enter upon such land or water. No person over the age of sixteen years shall fish, hunt or trap on such land or water without a license; provided the owner in fee of any land or water who conveys to the state fishing, hunting, trapping or shooting rights by gift, lease or agreement, or the wife or husband of such owner, or his lineal descendants, may sport fish, hunt or trap on such land or water during the prescribed open seasons without a license. The owner of any such land or waters shall not be liable for any injury to any person who may be thereon for the purpose of hunting, fishing or trapping. Any person who violates any regulation adopted pursuant to this section shall have committed an infraction and may pay the fine by mail or plead not guilty under the provisions of § 51-164n.

Terms Used In Connecticut General Statutes 26-16

  • Gift: A voluntary transfer or conveyance of property without consideration, or for less than full and adequate consideration based on fair market value.
  • Hunting: means pursuing, shooting, killing and capturing any bird, quadruped or reptile and attempting to pursue, shoot, kill and capture any bird, quadruped or reptile, whether such act results in taking or not, including any act of assistance to any other person in taking or attempting to take any such animal. See Connecticut General Statutes 26-1
  • Lease: A contract transferring the use of property or occupancy of land, space, structures, or equipment in consideration of a payment (e.g., rent). Source: OCC
  • Taking: means shooting, pursuing, hunting, fishing, killing, capturing, trapping, snaring, hooking and netting any species of wildlife and attempting to shoot, pursue, hunt, fish, kill, capture, trap, snare, hook, net or catch any species of wildlife or any act of assistance to any other person in taking or attempting to take such wildlife whether or not such act results in the capture of any such wildlife. See Connecticut General Statutes 26-1
  • Trapping: means pursuing, killing and capturing by use of any trap, snare, net or other device any bird or wild or domestic quadruped, excluding rats, mice, moles and reptiles, whether such act results in taking or not, including any act of assistance to any other person in taking or attempting to take any such animal by any such method. See Connecticut General Statutes 26-1
  • Wildlife: means all species of invertebrates, fish, amphibians, reptiles, birds and mammals which are ferae naturae or wild by nature. See Connecticut General Statutes 26-1