Judge denies order sought by rafting outfitter> Northern Outdoors begins battle with state to end state limits on day trips

SKOWHEGAN — Maine’s largest white-water rafting outfitter has suffered a setback in its challenge to state limits on day trips.

Superior Court Justice Donald Alexander on Tuesday denied a petition by Northern Outdoors for a preliminary injunction barring the state from restricting rafting companies from transporting more than 80 customers a day on any river.

Alexander said he was not persuaded that the company would be able to win its claim that the limits violate antitrust standards.

Wayne Hockmeyer of Northern Outdoors indicated the court challenge would proceed.

“Obviously, I’m disappointed,” he said. “I don’t think the very essence of our case is understood. The law is totally unworkable and against the interests of the public.”

Northern Outdoors asserts that the daily passenger limit has forced it to turn away about 1,000 customers and lose an estimated $212,000 annually.

The company maintained in its lawsuit that the state limit “destroys competition in Maine’s commercial white-water rafting market” and harms customers by “artificially inflating prices, depressing quality and restricting them in their choice of outfitters.”

Recreational use limits restrict the number of commercial passengers on the Kennebec River to 1,000 a day on Sundays and weekdays and 800 on Saturdays; and on the Penobscot River to 560 a day.

Per-company limits apply even if total limits aren’t reached.

In seeking a temporary order, Northern Outdoors asked Alexander to suspend per-day company limits on weekdays and Sundays on the Kennebec.

Assistant Attorney General Jonathan Edwards said Northern Outdoors had been opposed by other major outfitters earlier this year when it unsuccessfully sought to win changes in the Legislature.

Edwards said the other outfitters would be hurt if the injunction were granted.