Date: Thu, 24 Apr 2003 03:14:56 -0400 Reply-To: Maryland Birds & Birding Sender: Maryland Birds & Birding From: Norm Saunders Subject: Re: Sunday Deer Hunting? Does anyone know? MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Greg Futral asks: > Today I heard on the radio that legislation has been passed that would allow > deer hunting on Sunday in selected areas. Does anyone know the details > about that? I apologize if I missed it in previous posts. Thanks. Greg, The latest issue of the Yellowthroat has the following information, thanks to Maureen harvey's ever-vigilant eye: SUNDAY HUNTING BILL PASSES IN HOUSE. This bill (HB 679) allows deer hunting by permission on private property, on all Sundays in November (bow hunting) and the first two Sundays in December (firearms), and only in the less-populated counties. Anne Arundel, Baltimore, Harford, Howard, Montgomery and Prince George's counties, the cities of Baltimore and Frederick, and the southeastern portion of Frederick County are excluded. MOS objected to the bill in written testimony to House members. Senate hearings are scheduled for press time, and we will have presented our arguments in writing to key Senators as well. By the time you read this, the bill's fate may be decided. You may check on the internet at www.mlis.state.md.us by entering "HB 679" in the search box. The thrust of our letter, carefully reworded by our V.P. Janet Millenson from a similar letter last year, follows: "The MOS is OPPOSED to allowing Sunday hunting in Maryland. We are not opposed to hunting itself, however. Many of our members are hunters, and we support efforts to reduce the state's deer population. We oppose extending hunting to Sundays for the following reasons: o? Danger to birdwatchers. Maryland has a long tradition of not allowing hunting on Sundays, ensuring at least one day a week to enjoy our state's abundant natural resources without fear for ourselves or our families. But people can't enjoy the outdoors if they're worried about being accidentally shot. Because birdwatchers try to be quiet and inconspicuous, avoiding bright colors and loud noises, hunters and birdwatchers may not notice each other in time to prevent a tragedy. We wish to continue to be able to spend part of our weekends enjoying safe recreation in the outdoors year round. o Economic impact. According to the most recent survey by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, in 2001 wildlife-watchers spent $1.4 billion in Maryland, compared to only $685 million by hunters. Birdwatchers patronize the state's restaurants, hotels, and gas stations. They spend money on outdoor equipment, clothing, books and boat rentals. They bring tourist dollars to rural areas and to resorts in the off-season. Sunday hunting would cause many birdwatchers to change their weekend plans, noticeably harming Maryland businesses. o Obstacles to scientific research. Extending hunting to Sunday would have a devastating impact on bird counts and other seasonal field studies. Already in recent years, many Christmas Bird Counts (held mid-December to early January) have been rescheduled for Sundays to avoid the danger of conflicts with hunters. These century-old counts, sponsored by the National Audubon Society, provide invaluable long-term data on bird population trends for wildlife managers and scientists. If hunting is allowed on Sundays, fewer bird counters will participate, compromising the quality of the database and possibly forcing some counts to be cancelled. The MOS regrets that this bill puts us at odd with hunters, who are our allies in the battle to preserve and protect critical natural habitat in Maryland. However, we believe that it's neither right nor necessary to mandate deer management policies by legislation. We should allow the wildlife managers at the Department of Natural Resources to continue to make such decisions. We do NOT support HB 679, and we call on you to reject any legislation that would allow Sunday hunting in Maryland." ======================================================================= To leave the MDOsprey list, send e-mail to listserv@home.ease.lsoft.com with the following message in line 1: signoff mdosprey ======================================================================= =========================================================================