Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife
Statewide, Maine
How we verified this
As of August 2026 every Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife talkgroup listed on MSCommNet by RadioReference is encrypted, from the five Warden Service division channels ("1507 | DIFW A All | Warden Service Div A Gray | D Enc") through the statewide, talk and admin talkgroups.
Encryption Details
Verified Talkgroup Data
What This Means
Everything this agency transmits is encrypted, dispatch included. For anyone outside the department — residents, reporters, neighbouring responders — the channel is simply silent.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife radio encrypted?
Yes. Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife uses P25 AES-256 encryption. Everything this agency transmits is encrypted, dispatch included. For anyone outside the department — residents, reporters, neighbouring responders — the channel is simply silent.
Can I listen to Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife on a police scanner?
No. Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife has fully encrypted their radio communications using P25 AES-256. No consumer scanner can decode encrypted transmissions.
Why did Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife encrypt their radio?
Agencies cite officer safety and operational security. Those are assertions rather than findings — no local evidence is typically produced — while the effects are concrete and land straight away on anyone who relied on hearing Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife to know what was happening nearby.
Can Statewide County reverse the encryption decision?
Yes — nothing about the underlying radio technology forces this. It's a decision Statewide County officials made and can revisit, and other communities have pushed departments back toward open channels through sustained council pressure and coalition-building.
What can I do about Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife encryption?
Three things carry weight, in this order: a public-records request for Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife's encryption policy and radio recordings, a turn at the microphone during Statewide County budget discussions, and finding the other people locally already asking the same question. Individually these are easy to deflect; together they are not.