§199-7  Search and seizure; forfeiture ofproperty.  (a)  Any police officer or agent of the department of land andnatural resources upon whom the board of land and natural resources hasconferred powers of police officers, shall have the authority to conductsearches on probable cause as provided by law and to seize any equipment,article, instrument, aircraft, vehicle, vessel, business records, or naturalresource used or taken in violation of the provisions contained in chapters 6D,6E, and 6K, or title 12, or any rules adopted thereunder.  For purposes of thissection, "natural resource" includes any archaeological artifacts,minerals, any aquatic life or wildlife or parts thereof, including their eggs,and any land plants or parts thereof, including seeds.

(b)  Any equipment, article, instrument,aircraft, vehicle, vessel, business records, or natural resource seized issubject to forfeiture pursuant to chapter 712A.  Unless otherwise directed bythe court pursuant to chapter 712A, any item, other than a natural resource,seized shall be ordered forfeited to the State for disposition as determined bythe department, or may be destroyed, or may be kept and retained and utilizedby the department or any other state agency.  If not needed or required by thedepartment or other state agency, the forfeited items shall be disposed of asprovided by chapter 712A.  Notwithstanding any other law to the contrary, anylive natural resource seized may be immediately returned to its naturalenvironment or suitable habitat or may be disposed of as determined by thedepartment; provided that if the natural resource disposed of was unlawfullyseized, the department shall be liable to the owner for the fair market valueof the items disposed of.

(c)  The department of land and naturalresources shall compile a list of all equipment, articles, instruments,aircraft, vehicles, vessels, or any natural resource forfeited as provided inthis section and shall publish the list in its annual report.

(d)  Notwithstanding any other law to thecontrary, the department of land and natural resources may sell or take actionsto cause the sale of any perishable natural resource that is seized to preventthe waste of the natural resource and to ensure the economic value of suchnatural resource; provided that the department may not sell or cause the saleof any threatened or endangered species or any other species whose sale isprohibited by law.  The department of land and natural resources may requirethe person or persons who took the natural resources to sell the seized naturalresources at fair market value.  The department of land and natural resourcesmay require any person purchasing any seized natural resource to deliver theproceeds of the sale to the department of land and natural resources or itsauthorized representative.  Any person who refuses to sell the seized naturalresources at fair market value or any person who fails to deliver the proceedsof the sale, as directed by the department of land and natural resources, shallbe in violation of this subsection and punishable as provided by law.  Thedepartment of land and natural resources shall deposit and keep the proceeds ofthe sale in an interest bearing account until such time as the suspectedviolation is settled between the person or persons who took the naturalresource, consignee or consignees, if any, and the department of land andnatural resources.  Should a settlement not be reached, the department of landand natural resources shall submit the proceeds of the sale to the court.  Theproceeds of the sale, after deducting any reasonable costs of the sale incurredby the department of land and natural resources, shall be subject to anyadministrative or judicial proceedings in the same manner as the seized naturalresource would have been, including an action in rem for the forfeiture of theproceeds.  Seizure and sale of a natural resource is without prejudice to anyother remedy or sanction authorized by law. [L 1978, c 171, pt of §1; am L1983, c 99, §1; am L 1985, c 222, §1; am L 1989, c 122, §1 and c 261, §9; am L1997, c 17, §4; am L 1998, c 2, §53; am L 1999, c 233, §1; am L 2004, c 142,§14]