STRENGTHENING LANDOWNER LIABILITY PROTECTION FOR HUNTING

The HUNTERS OF MARYLAND will be working with the 2022 Maryland General Assembly, et al, on strengthening Maryland’s “Recreational Use Statute” in view of the April 29, 2020 Martinez vs Ross court decision.


A brief explanation.


The 2021 Joint Chairmen’s Report – language in the fiscal year 2022 Budget Bill -- directed DNR to work with Montgomery County officials in mitigating the burgeoning deer population there. The link to DNR’s response is shown below.


Within DNR’s response is the following statement pertinent to this issue:


"Reduce Liability for Landowners: One reason that private landowners may not want to allow hunting on their property is due to liability concerns. Lawmakers should consider a statutory change to reduce those concerns. In Martinez vs Ross, the Court of Special Appeals held that a landowner was liable despite the provisions of Maryland’s recreational use statue (RUS) because the landowner did not open their land to the general public. The court interpreted that as a requirement for landowners to leverage the protection of the recreational statue. This was a great departure from how the statue has been previously interpreted. A clarification that the law does not require a landowner to make their property open to the public-at-large would likely result in more willing landowners providing hunting opportunities on their property."


Below is the link to the actual Court decision in the Martinez vs Ross decision plus a Plain English interpretation from an independent source.


https://law.justia.com/cases/maryland/court-of-special-appeals/2020/2374-18.html


https://www.agrisk.umd.edu/post/maryland-appellate-court-finds-party-on-landowner-s-property-not-covered-by-recreational-use-statute


The 3R’s – recruitment, retention and re-activation – is something we hear about all the time within the hunting community; principal amongst them is lack of access to privately-owned lands for hunting purposes. Until Maryland’s RUS law is changed – in view of the Martinez vs Ross court 2020 decision – hunting on privately-owned lands in Maryland will be restricted.


The HUNTERS OF MARYLAND will work with State lawmakers, et al, in the 2022 Session to remedy via a statutory change.