BAR HARBOR – The dispute over whether licensed wormers and clammers may pursue their prey on the mudflats of Acadia National Park is on hold while state and federal lawyers sort out who controls the intertidal zone.

Several weeks ago, according to John Renwick of the Independent Maine Marine Worm Harvesters Association, park rangers ordered a wormer to dump a bucket of blood worms harvested from flats inside the park or be summonsed for violating ANP rules.

Last week, Kohl Kanwit, director of public health at the Department of Marine Resources, said that one of the agency’s area biologists recently “reported a similar issue with clammers.”

At the request of DMR Commisioner Patrick Keliher, Kanwit contacted ANP Superintendent Sheridan Steele to discuss the issue.

“He was concerned,” Kanwit said.

Kanwit then spoke with ANP Chief Ranger Stuart West about the issue.

“We both agreed this probably had to be handled by the respective lawyers,” he said. “I passed it up to the commissioner and the Attorney General’s Office got involved.”

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