3/15/2019 I own a small horse farm in Frederick County, Maryland. Deer herds often pass through my property, and my horses and I both welcome them as guests. To the extent that the deer population requires management, I would like to see an emphasis on non-lethal methods such as contraception. In addition to my ethical objection to hunting, research indicates that any short- term population reduction from killing some adult deer simply leads to compensatory reproduction among the surviving adults. 3/15/2019 I think that WMA's should be open, in all counties, for Sunday hunting. These lands are purchased primarily by the sale of hunting licenses. Hunters should not be limited during their season, and forced to take time off of work to enjoy the lands they paid for. Leave the state parks closed on Sundays for the general public to ride horses and hike on. The three day muzzleloader season should be pushed further into October and extended for a full week (post bear season). Limit out of state hunters to one whitetail buck and one sika stag, plus does/hinds. Develop a better way for hunters to connect with farmers who need help shooting deer for crop damage. Too many farmers complain of deer damage and when asked, they have only shot a couple does through the entire year. 3/15/2019 As a farmer in MD I feel that it should not be our responsibility to be the ones paying for feeding the deer population. The state says they own the deer then they should pay farmers for the crop damage we suffer from the deer. Anything they eat comes right out of our profit. DNR should also plant food plots on state owned land to help feed the deer. I also feel DNR should loosen standards to help control the population. I feel that if a deer is in a field with an active growing cash crop we should be able to shoot them. Thank you 3/15/2019 The Deer Management Plans for property owners need to be easier to obtain; also, there should be a function and process at DNR to link up property owners that have a DMP with certified hunters willing to help the property owner solve their crop damage problem. 3/14/2019 1. Increase the nonresident hunting license from $130 to $260. Increase the nonresident junior hunting license to $65. Increase the nonresident senior hunting license to $130. Limit all nonresident hunters to two antlered deer. 2. Offer a lifetime resident hunting license, using the VA model. 3. With this increased revenue, increase the pay for DNR officers and purchase more public hunting lands. 4. In the MD GUIDE to HUNTING & TRAPPING, publish the cost for common game violations. 5. Start deer archery season the third Monday in August and end it on the second Saturday in February. 3/14/2019 We need to stop treating deer as a pest or liability and recognize that they are an economic asset that hunters have been paying for, for many years. We need to increase the doe bag limit or perhaps institute an “earn a buck program” which requires 1 or 2 doe to be harvested prior to any buck. This has worked in other states. Additionally we need to reduce the buck bag limit (possibly to 1) which will in turn allow more bucks to reach maturity. The whitetail deer generates a ton of money from lease fees to equipment and deer corn. Additionally the state should recognize that hunters buy tons of deer corn throughout the state. The hunter pays sales tax on this corn. This is tax money which would otherwise be lost if it was sold to grain brokers for livestock & poultry feed which is not taxed. Maryland needs stricter enforcement especially for folks that exceed the bag limit, shoot bucks with crop damage permits and trespass on private property. The state also needs to realize that farmers are getting paid thousands of dollars for leases. Most of this money is in the form of cash which is never talked about. Farmers also get a ton of tax advantages that the average MD citizen does not get not to mention acres of tax free land! It is time for the state to get real about this! Yes, there is crop loss but there is also a lot of untracked money paid for lease fees that offset a lot of the loss. Farmers do nothing to manage deer as an asset yet they reap many of the dollars for hunting them. You can’t have it both ways. The only stakeholder that pays his own way for deer management is the sportsman and the sportsman should have the main seat at the table when it comes to a long term management plan. 3/14/2019 More antler restrictions. 3/14/2019 End the farmer slaughter of deer, (if they want deer numbers down they should allow hunters on their property) put a bounty on coyotes , (they are becoming a problem) I took thousands of trail cam pics last year I did not have one picture of a doe with two fawns ,make the tagging/ license process harder to cheat, and reduce the # of bucks allowed, I think antler restriction is ok to a point, however you can have a very mature six point that may not be allowed to be harvested because he doesn't have enough points. 3/14/2019 Let's face it. Any comment or post about hunting reduction is a one sided political attack. Hunters not only help with herd reduction, but they also provide ample amounts of money with licenses, fees, etc. These nature lovers' would rather have sterilization? LOL! Then you don't know nature. For the deer plan, implement antlerless only seasons, bring back live check in stations, have DNR officers actually ENFORCE whitetail regulations! Hunters care about this issue and want what's best for the herd and farmers alike. The savage approach comes from the agriculture side. 3/14/2019 I live in Montgomery County and there is a wooded section near my house that is populated with deer. Every year, they caused several car accidents in our neighborhood. I would like to see a change in allowing bow hunter to hunt from a Tree stand in those areas, within 50 yards of a dwelling. 3/14/2019 Crossbows and Airguns should be limited to use during rifle and Muzzleloader season and/or require a medical reason if they are allowed during archery seasons. 3/14/2019 Antlered should be full season and not down for antlerless. 2 bucks per season w 3 pt or greater restriction. 3/14/2019 Many of us rely on deer meat. BELIEVE it or not we are financially bound. I BELIEVE ONE BUCK FOR BOW, ONE FOR RIFLE AND ONE FOR MUZZLE LOADER. ALONG WITH YOUR DOES. I SEE THIS ENTIRE THING OF BIGGER BUCK THEORY AS A WAY FOR THE GUIDE MOSTLY HUNTS ONLY...THE GUYS WITH THE DOLLARS ARE LEASING UP ALL THE GROUND NOW. WHEN YOU ASK TO HUNT YOU CAN’T GET PERMISSION... 3/14/2019 As a farmer we get crop damage permits so I see no need for a bounty, point restrictions are in almost all states that have big bucks, the current regulations of youth being able to shoot any size great, we as QDMA members have been working hard for this, farmers who have problems need to let hunters come in during doe season and kill some of their does don't change what some of us have worked so hard to get. 3/14/2019 I hunt in Region A (Hancock) would like to see no bucks less than 3 points taken unless senior over 65 or Junior hunter and no more than 2 bucks per year taken same as current law except the point restriction I have mentioned above. 3/14/2019 Allow antlerless hunting at night with archery equipment on private lands only. They do it for hogs down south and its legal for predators so why not whitetail with archery equipment? Once they go nocturnal they will no longer be safe. 3/14/2019 Recreational deer hunting has already been expanded to a ridiculous length of time considering hunters don't use the days they already have for 5 long months. The last thing MD DNR should be doing is trying to expand Sunday hunting when the majority of Marylanders are against it. Recreational hunters are the ones that make our lives miserable in our neighborhoods. They need no proficiency test and maim too many deer. Hunting is a dying sport and more modern tools need to be used like sterilization. Costs are easily lowered when veterinarians and other volunteers work together. Considering the development that is taking place in Maryland safety zones should not be decreased but increased with all the new weapons that are legal to use during deer hunting. DNR needs to work on more non-lethal solutions for the 98% of Marylanders that do not hunt. I hope you are listening to comments from the non-hunters and not just the hunters who benefit DNR. It is unfair that the majority of the general public doesn't know they can even comment. Thank you 3/14/2019 Allow two (2) antler deer per year and no more than one (1) per weapon. 3/14/2019 Continue to maximize sustainable harvest while maintaining a healthy heard. I trust the biologists when it comes to determining antler restriction benefits and tag allocation based on population and herd health.