Before turkey, goose or duck hunters get a knot in their shorts, a Department of Natural Resources idea to require fluorescent orange on or near blinds would not affect them.
This hunting concept would require 250 square inches of solid fluorescent orange on or near blinds ? with exceptions. It would be designed to protect hunters normally required to wear fluorescent orange but who might be hidden in a pop-up camo blind.
It would only apply to those for whom wearing fluorescent orange is required when hunting. If passed, the proposal would not apply when hunting turkey, wetlands game birds or doves; bow-and-arrow deer hunting during archery season; or hunting on your own property.
The reasoning for this is that small portable hunting blinds have become increasingly popular. However, they limit visibility of fluorescent orange. The concept would require the visible orange to alert others to a hunter?s presence, albeit in a blind.
The big problem here is how to word the regulation to eliminate elevated blinds (exempt), and how and where the orange shall be placed. For example, is an exempt elevated blind one inch, one foot or10 feet off the ground? And for a ridiculous example, 250 square inches of orange could be two inches by 11 feet of tape and technically be legal. That?s foolish, of course. Wrapped a few turns around a bush, it would not be that visible, thwarting the safety intent. The idea of fluorescent orange on blinds is good, but the devil is in the details.
One no-brainer for the Junior Deer Hunt and outlined by DNR deer project leader Brian Eyler is to consider the one-day Junior Hunt bag limit separate from that of the regular season. Right now, a junior hunter taking a buck on Junior Hunt Day can?t take a buck during the following regular firearms season until taking two does as outlined in the deer regulations.
Only then can a junior hunter take a second antlered deer. This concept would separate the Junior Hunt day bag limit from that of the regular season. This makes sense to encourage youth hunting.
To help control deer, another idea would add two days to private land hunting only in Region A ? Garrett and Allegany counties. Weather and mast markedly affect Western Maryland hunting success. The extra two days would give agricultural land owners added hunting opportunities.
One concept with controversy potential would allow the use of crossbows during the entire bow season in the “suburban deer archery zones.” In Anne Arundel, Baltimore, Howard, Montgomery and Prince George?s counties, an unlimited number of antlerless deer can be taken by bow hunters.
A wider use of crossbows over a longer season might help thin deer population in these problem areas. That?s good. But while suburban deer are a big concern, some residents might wrongly fear crossbows.
The truth is that traditional bows and crossbows have a similar effective range, according to the experts. Also, some traditional archers are not enthused over crossbow hunters being in the field.
Some black bear problems often arise from feeding ? either intentionally or unintentionally. An idea explained by DNR game mammal section leader Harry Spiker would prohibit unintentional feeding of bear. The current regulation prohibits “overtly” placing feed for bears, but not for deer, turkey or other wildlife.
This regulation change would prohibit any feeding that bear might take advantage of and which might create a nuisance. The regulation would allow citizens to remove food attractants and stop feeding activities to prevent being charged by Natural Resources Police. First-time violators would receive a warning rather than a citation.
The one problem here is that many people stock bird feeders, which bear also scavenge. How to allow Western Maryland bird lovers to continue bird feeding and prevent bears from creating a nuisance or citizens from getting ticketed could be a problem hopefully solved by judiciously written regulations. Perhaps some education as to when and how to feed birds ? and not feed bear ? would go a long way to solving this one.
C. Boyd Pfeiffer is an internationally known sportsman and award-winning writer on fishing, hunting and the outdoors. He can be reached at [email protected]
