JANUARY 10, 2024, MARKS THE BEGINNING OF THE 446TH SESSION OF THE 90-DAY MARYLAND GENERAL ASSEMBLY.
With the 90-day annual legislative Session upon us, the HUNTERS OF MARYLAND, LLC stand steadfast in support of Maryland’s hunting community as State lawmakers debate hunting-related policies of a statutory, budgetary, and regulatory origin. Still too early to know which proposals will be forthcoming; but we do know some of them which will be identified herein. Moreover, the HUNTERS OF MARYLAND, LLC host a legislative luncheon at the start of each Session intended to enhance our standing with decision-makers before the long hours of policy debate begin.
LEGISLATIVE LUNCHEON: On January 18, 2024, the Hunters of Maryland, LLC, and the Association of Forest Industries hosted a legislative luncheon in Annapolis. This legislative luncheon has become a much anticipated and must attend hallmark event. Pictured herein are several State lawmakers, Administration officials and hunters.
DEER MANAGEMENT: The increased hunting license fee legislation enacted in 2023 directed (Chapters 543/544, Acts of 2023), among other things, that DNR and MDA pursue the following:
(a) On or before December 1, 2023, the Department of Natural Resources, in consultation with the Department of Agriculture, shall develop a plan to address the overpopulation of deer in the State.
(b) The plan shall include: (1) the feasibility of implementing a rotational closure hunting strategy on State land, including State park system lands and hunting on State land on Sundays; (2) any legislative, budgetary, or regulatory changes needed to implement a rotational closure hunting strategy on State–owned land; (3) subject to subsection (c) of this section, the feasibility of implementing a rotational closure hunting strategy on locally owned land; (4) proposals the Department of Natural Resources determines are viable for addressing the overpopulation of deer in the State; and (5) suitable uses for any increased federal funding to the State Wildlife Management and Protection Fund.
(c) The Department of Natural Resources shall consult with local governments regarding the feasibility of a rotational closure hunting strategy under subsection (b)(3) of this section.
The Report, issued on time, recommends the following (link provided):
1. Identify a funding source and PINs to hire department staff dedicated to supporting a Deer Management Assistance Program directed towards mitigating deer damage suffered by landowners. This program should have the authority to issue deer management harvest tags outside of the current agricultural/forest damage requirements.
2. Address legislation that prohibits or restricts Sunday deer hunting in order to provide more deer hunting opportunities. This should be addressed at the private and public land level, including state parks.
3. Work with local and county governments to develop county-specific deer management plans.
4. Expand cooperation between agencies, including MDA and UMD Extension.
5. Identify funding to support additional research and management concerning deer damage mitigation.
https://dlslibrary.state.md.us/publications/Exec/DNR/SB327Ch543HB983Ch544(2)(2023).pdf
The fate of the proposed Deer Management Assistance Program in 2024 is uncertain. Why? State lawmakers are facing a structural fiscal deficit whereby projected State revenues are falling short of anticipated State expenditures. Maryland’s Constitution requires adoption of an annual State budget that is balanced, aka revenues match expenditures. According to the General Assembly’s staff agency:
The State’s roughly $63 billion operating budget is projected to have a $761 million structural deficit in fiscal year 2025 (July 1, 2024, through June 30, 2025), up from a previous estimate of $320 million. The shortfall is projected to hit $2.7 billion by fiscal year 2029, up from a previous estimate of $2.1 billion. The long-term spending gap is attributed, in large part, to the State’s roughly $40 billion plan to reform public education systems.
Currently being discussed – separate and distinct from the recommendations in the December 1 Report – is for MDA to designate a handful of farmers in certain counties willing to let certain DNR-selected hunters help reduce the deer population on those farms. Details are being worked out as of this writing. Moreover, one can clearly anticipate the introduction of expanded Sunday deer hunting proposals on private and public lands during the 2024 Session.
MARYLAND’S DUCK STAMP PROGRAM: On the eve of the November 2023 Easton Waterfowl Festival, DNR announced the end of Maryland’s 50-year Duck Stamp Program. Concerned individuals, groups and organizations appealed to the HUNTERS OF MARYLAND, LLC, to keep this Program alive…we anticipate announcement of a favorable outcome within weeks.
SUNDAY WATERFOWL HUNTING: A proposal in 2023 to enact statewide Sunday hunting of waterfowl failed. Whether a similar proposal will be pursued during the 2024 Session is unclear at this time.
IN THE FINAL ANALYSIS, It is important for Maryland’s hunting community to know the HUNTERS OF MARYLAND, LLC, remain the last line of defense in the Halls of Annapolis against those whose questionable well-intentions run contrary to the tradition and legacy of hunting in this great State of ours.
