[MAIPC] FW: MD 15 year Deer Hunting Master Plan Under Consideration

Tue Feb 5 07:04:30 PST 2019

Forwarding on behalf of Ms. Martin:

Subject:
MD 15 year Deer Hunting Master Plan Under Consideration; Requesting  that those who want a balanced ecosystem testify in person or write emails  to remove bag limits on antlerless doe

Dear MAIPC,

I have attached the letter I am sending to MD DNR since I cannot attend the meetings.  I have also attached a deer study from December, 2012 which M-NCPPC commissioned and was funded as a joint venture with neighbors.  The park under study was Little Falls Stream Valley in the southernmost part of MoCo.  It found 69 deer per square mile; 15-18 is considered appropriate for a balanced ecosystem.  Please feel free to use this study in your face to face testimony and email me with any questions about it.

Dear MD DNR,
I support deer management and oppose the current bow restrictions.

We all know deer populations in Montgomery County are too high, leading to increasing deer-car collisions, the impossibility for our neighborhoods to support native life with native plants, and ecosystem destruction in our parks.  Our local park is the southernmost  in Montgomery County, and has 69 deer per square mile based on a 2014 study; 15 is the limit for a balanced ecosystem.

Our state should utilize a best practices deer management plan.  It is a mistake to apply the same bag limits for all the deer from Washington County to the Atlantic Ocean. The problems in our suburban areas of deer-caused car accidents and native destruction is high, but the number of experienced urban/suburban archers is more limited, and deer can't be managed effectively under current limitations.   Such a 'one size fits all'  limitations practice would suggest that special interests are having outsized influence on our state policies.  I'm sure that is not DNRs or the State's desired image.

To utilize best practices in a permanent deer management program, we should:  restore the unlimited antlerless limit in the Suburban Archery Corridor covering Montgomery, Howard, Prince Georges, Anne Arundel, and Baltimore counties; review and raise the buck limit; remove antler-point restrictions.

Best practices should be used throughout the State, and given the high density of deer in Montgomery County, we need a permanent Suburban Archery Corridor allowing the harvest of unlimited archery antlerless deer.

Thank you for your consideration.
Sincerely,
Celia Martin
MoCo Weed Warrior Supervisor

And this further information from the Director of Animal Connection Deer Management Team:
Subject: Time to Tell MD DNR antlerless deer limits are bad for Montgomery County
We all know deer populations in Montgomery County are much too high, leading to increasing deer-car collisions, lyme disease, and damage to both natural and maintained vegetation. Unfortunately, recent actions by the Maryland Department of Natural Resources have made it harder for us to use archery hunting to reduce the deer population. We can't allow Eastern Shore hunters who aren't seeing enough deer continue to dictate how we control deer populations in Montgomery County.
The Maryland DNR is holding four sessions seeking comment for their next 15 year deer management plan and is open to online comments comments as well.
This is not comments directly on next year's deer regulations. That will come later. However, comments on this plan will influence their planning for next year's limit. Quoting the announcement:
"The Maryland Department of Natural Resources<http://dnr.maryland.gov/Pages/default.aspx> is seeking public comment on the state's management of white-tailed deer. The input will be used to help revise the state's deer management plan<https://dnr.maryland.gov/wildlife/Pages/hunt_trap/Comments/Deer_Management_Plan/How-to-Comment.aspx> for the next 15 years, establishing long-term goals, and identifying specific objectives and strategies for achieving them."
You can read full details at https://news.maryland.gov/dnr/2019/01/28/public-input-sought-on-white-tailed-deer-management/?fbclid=IwAR3vD5dFIpRcJit2Tt9mOiU2FLWCRo1HS4xlO8oNcVKCBAgqOQEeb8CJWvk
This is your opportunity to tell them that the new limits on anterless archery was a bad move for Montgomery County. I limited out (shot all the deer I was allowed) during archery season and came close in the other seasons in just 2-1/2 months of hunting. I shot 31 deer and had to stop hunting! I shot all of the 15 archery antlerless deer I was allowed. I shot all 3 bucks I was allowed. I shot 6 of 10 antlerless during gun season and 7 of 10 antlerless during muzzleloader season. I was unable to hunt during 2-1/2 months of archery season because of reduced bag limits DNR imposed this year.
Please tell DNR to restore the unlimited antlerless limit in the Suburban Archery Corridor covering Montgomery, Howard, Prince Georges, Anne Arundel, and Baltimore counties. We also need a higher buck limit and removal of antler-point restrictions. Make this a permanent part of their deer management plan. It makes no sense to apply the same bag limits for all the deer from Washington County to the Atlantic Ocean - 90% of Maryland's area - as they do now. Either make a permanent Suburban Archery Corridor allowing the harvest of unlimited archery antlerless deer or at least fix it for Montgomery County.
How to tell them:
The best bet is both in person and online.
The closest session will be:
Central Region
Feb. 21 at 7 p.m.
New Town High School
4931 New Town Boulevard
Owings Mills, Maryland 21117
 To provide online comments:
Deer Management Plan Survey
http://www.doit.state.md.us/selectsurvey/TakeSurvey.aspx?SurveyID=l8108m2#<http://www.doit.state.md.us/selectsurvey/TakeSurvey.aspx?SurveyID=l8108m2>

Other in-person sessions are:
Eastern Region
Feb. 20 at 7 p.m.
Chesapeake College
Room 127, Health Professions and Athletics Center
1000 College Drive
Wye Mills, Maryland 21679
Southern Region
Feb. 12 at 7 p.m.
College of Southern Maryland, La Plata Campus
Room 113, Business and Industry Building
8730 Mitchell Road
La Plata, Maryland 20646
Western Region
Feb. 6 at 7 p.m.
Mountain Ridge High School
100 Dr. Nancy S. Grasmick Lane
Frostburg, Maryland 21532

----------------------------------------------------
Mark Eakin
Silver Spring, MD
Director, Animal Connection Deer Management Team
http://acdmt.org<http://acdmt.org/>

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