The Hunters of Maryland are glad to report that a very contentious public hearing on House Bill 911 (Waterfowl Hunting – Susquehanna Flats) has been cancelled in order for all impacted stakeholder groups to reconcile their differences outside the court of public opinion, aka public hearing scheduled for February 19, 2021 before the House Environment & Transportation Committee.
FIELD AND STREAM MAGAZINE rated waterfowl hunting on the Susquehanna Flats in November 2019 as the #1 coolest place to waterfowl hunt in America.
https://www.fieldandstream.com/story/hunting/coolest-waterfowl-hunts-in-america/
And guess what happens when die-hard waterfowlers aggregate to a particular area to hunt? That’s right, aka user conflicts may result. And, the Flats have not been spared as evidenced by the introduction of House Bill 911 for consideration by the 2021 Maryland General Assembly. The bill would not allow waterfowl hunting “from a boat that is drifting or being sculled in areas designated for hunting waterfowl while standing in water on the natural bottom…” In short, body booters would have their own DNR-designated areas to hunt on the Flats b/c they need areas that average 3 foot or less.
http://mgaleg.maryland.gov/2021RS/bills/hb/hb0911F.pdf
The Hunters of Maryland (“HOM”) were asked to help mitigate the dilemma before House Bill 911 was scheduled for a public hearing on February 19, 2021. HOM helped coordinate a discussion amongst the various impacted stakeholder groups a week before the hearing. When the dust settled, the well-intentioned sponsor – the Honorable Mary Anne Lisanti – agreed to ask the House Environment & Transportation Committee to cancel the hearing with an understanding it would not be rescheduled during the 2021 Session.
Clearly, this was the right decision and afforded all parties sufficient time to reconcile their differences outside the legislative hearing process, aka court of public opinion. HOM was grateful to have helped facilitate a cooling off period without having engaged in a contentious public hearing. Our ranks are too few and it is imperative we all work together to resolve our differences from within.
