This bill gives the Maryland Department of Natural Resources clearer authority to authorize reducing deer numbers on a single, contiguous property of at least 10 acres when DNR documents "deer damage," and it allows the Department to include Sunday shooting as an authorized method via permits to property owners or their agents, with a 25‑yard safety prohibition around Department equestrian trails. The Department must map areas eligible for these permits and publish those maps.
The bill also repeals the statute’s detailed, county‑by‑county Sunday hunting list and instead directs the Department to adopt statewide regulations allowing Sunday hunting during game bird and game mammal seasons, while preserving at minimum the days and hours that were authorized on June 30, 2027. It specifically authorizes Sunday hunting of migratory game birds under Department rules and requires DNR to allow certain groups (junior, senior, apprentice hunters, and full‑time student licensees) to hunt Atlantic‑population Canada geese on Sundays.
The regulatory change becomes a three‑year program (effective July 1, 2027) and DNR must report on effectiveness and stakeholder input by December 1, 2029.
At a Glance
What It Does
The bill expands DNR’s authority under §10‑206 to authorize deer population reductions on single contiguous properties of 10 acres or more where DNR documents deer damage, and it permits Sunday shooting under permits with a 25‑yard equestrian buffer. It removes the statute’s exhaustive county list for Sunday hunting and requires DNR to adopt statewide regulations allowing Sunday hunting, using the June 30, 2027 allowances as a minimum baseline.
Who It Affects
Private property owners and their employees/lessees/agents on contiguous properties of 10+ acres with documented deer damage; recreational hunters (including those who hunt migratory game birds); the Department of Natural Resources, which gains regulatory and implementation responsibilities; and users of Department trails and public hunting lands who will see changes in Sunday access and restrictions.
Why It Matters
The bill shifts Sunday‑hunting policy from hard‑coded county exceptions to agency rulemaking, creating flexibility and a statewide standard but also creating an implementation burden and temporary regulatory uncertainty. The deer‑damage permit pathway creates a new, localized tool for property owners to address crop, landscaping, and forest understory damage without relying solely on landscape‑scale harvest strategies.
More articles like this one.
A weekly email with all the latest developments on this topic.
What This Bill Actually Does
The bill adds a focused authority to §10‑206 that lets DNR intervene on one contiguous property of at least 10 acres when the Department documents "deer damage," defined to include large‑scale loss of forest understory or destruction of crops and landscaping. For those properties DNR may choose the method for reducing deer numbers, and that choice can include issuing a permit that allows the property owner or the owner’s employee, lessee, or agent to shoot deer on the property on Sundays.
The statute explicitly imposes a 25‑yard prohibition on Sunday deer hunting near Department‑designated equestrian trails and requires DNR to map and publish the areas where these permits may apply.
Separately, the bill removes the statute’s long, county‑by‑county list of where and when Sunday hunting is allowed and replaces it with a directive: DNR must adopt regulations that allow Sunday hunting across the game bird and game mammal seasons. Those regulations must, at a minimum, authorize the same species‑by‑season‑by‑county hours and days that were allowed on June 30, 2027.
The bill also eliminates the explicit statutory bar on hunting migratory game birds on Sundays and instead lets DNR set migratory‑bird Sunday rules, while requiring DNR to allow Atlantic‑population Canada‑goose hunting on Sundays for junior, senior, apprentice, and full‑time student licensees.Two implementation details narrow the move to regulation: the regulation mandate in Section 2 takes effect July 1, 2027, and operates for three years before automatically expiring on June 30, 2030; and DNR must report to the General Assembly by December 1, 2029 on how the changes worked for deer management and stakeholder balance, including input from relevant groups. Existing deer management permits under §10‑206(a) remain available and the bill explicitly preserves DNR’s ability to issue those permits alongside the new deer‑damage pathway.
The Five Things You Need to Know
The Department may authorize reducing the deer population on any single contiguous property of at least 10 acres where DNR documents "deer damage" (which includes elimination of forest understory or destruction of crops/landscaping).
DNR may issue permits that allow the property owner, or the owner’s employee, lessee, or agent, to shoot deer on the property on Sundays; such permits must prohibit Sunday deer hunting within 25 yards of a Department‑designated equestrian trail.
DNR must map the areas eligible for deer‑damage permits and make those maps readily available to the public.
The statutory county‑by‑county list of Sunday hunting allowances is replaced by a requirement that DNR adopt statewide regulations permitting Sunday hunting during game bird and game mammal seasons, with the regulation baseline set to the hours/days authorized on June 30, 2027.
The regulatory change (Section 2) becomes effective July 1, 2027, is limited to three years (sunsets June 30, 2030), and DNR must report to the General Assembly by December 1, 2029 on the Act’s effectiveness and stakeholder input.
Section-by-Section Breakdown
Every bill we cover gets an analysis of its key sections.
Deer‑damage permits for single‑property reduction
This amendment creates a new, property‑level pathway: when DNR documents deer damage, it may authorize reduction of the deer population on any single, contiguous property of at least 10 acres. The statute defines "deer damage" to include loss of forest understory and destruction of crops or ornamental landscaping, which broadens the factual bases for intervention beyond agricultural damage alone. Practically, DNR can choose methods (trapping still preferred when feasible) and may issue permits to property owners or their agents to shoot deer on Sundays, subject to the 25‑yard equestrian trail buffer. Requiring maps of eligible areas forces DNR to define geographic scope in a way that landowners and neighbors can consult.
Authorization to allow Sunday hunting by regulation and migratory‑bird change
The bill abolishes the statute’s long, prescriptive county list and instead directs DNR to adopt regulations authorizing Sunday hunting during game bird and game mammal seasons. The statute sets a minimum baseline: whatever species, season, and county hours/days were authorized on June 30, 2027 must be allowed by the new regulations at a minimum. The amendment also removes the statutory prohibition on Sunday hunting of migratory game birds and gives DNR authority to permit such hunting, while mandating Sunday Canada‑goose access for certain licensee classes. That moves key policy discretion from the legislature into agency rulemaking.
Reporting requirement
DNR must report to the General Assembly by December 1, 2029 on how the Act affected deer management and balancing of stakeholder interests, and that report must include input from all relevant stakeholders. This creates an evidence and consultation checkpoint during the three‑year regulatory window, effectively framing the regulatory change as a timed pilot subject to review.
Three‑year sunset for the regulatory overhaul
Section 2’s requirement that DNR adopt statewide Sunday‑hunting regulations takes effect July 1, 2027 and expires automatically on June 30, 2030. The temporary status gives DNR regulatory power for a defined period while the legislature receives the mandated report, which may inform whether a permanent statutory change follows.
General effective date
Except for the temporary regulatory provision in Section 2 (which has its own effective date and sunset), the remainder of the Act takes effect July 1, 2026. That means the deer‑damage authority and mapping requirement can be operational before the statewide regulatory change begins in mid‑2027.
This bill is one of many.
Codify tracks hundreds of bills on Environment across all five countries.
Explore Environment in Codify Search →Who Benefits and Who Bears the Cost
Every bill creates winners and losers. Here's who stands to gain and who bears the cost.
Who Benefits
- Private property owners (10+ acre contiguous parcels) experiencing documented deer damage — gain a direct tool to reduce local deer impacts, including a permit pathway to allow Sunday shooting on their land.
- Farmers and commercial growers with localized deer crop losses — can seek targeted relief on affected parcels without waiting for broader, landscape‑scale measures.
- Hunters seeking more Sunday opportunities — statewide regulatory authority permits DNR to expand Sunday hunting access, and migratory bird Sundays become possible under DNR rules.
- Licensed junior, senior, apprentice hunters and full‑time student licensees — the bill requires DNR to allow these groups to hunt Atlantic‑population Canada geese on Sundays.
Who Bears the Cost
- Department of Natural Resources — must draft and implement new regulations, create and maintain public maps of eligible permit areas, manage permit oversight, and compile the required report, all of which require staff time and resources.
- Neighboring landowners and communities — may face increased Sunday shooting near property lines and need to monitor safety, noise, and trespass concerns; local safety enforcement and nuisance disputes may rise.
- Local law enforcement and county officials — will likely shoulder enforcement duties for permit compliance, trespass, and public‑safety incidents related to expanded Sunday shooting.
- Wildlife conservation organizations and some game managers — may see increased harvest pressure in areas opened on Sundays and must monitor population and non‑target impacts, potentially creating demand for more monitoring and adaptive rules.
Key Issues
The Core Tension
The bill seeks to reconcile two legitimate aims—giving landowners and managers targeted, rapid tools to address localized deer damage while expanding hunter access via Sunday hunting—yet those goals can pull in opposite directions: localized shooting can reduce property harm quickly but undermines coordinated, landscape‑scale wildlife management and raises safety and enforcement burdens that fall to DNR and local authorities.
The bill hands DNR substantial discretion while creating several practical and legal tensions. Allowing property‑level deer reduction permits (including Sunday shooting) addresses urgent local damage complaints but can fragment deer management across landownerships, complicating population models and harvest reporting.
The 10‑acre threshold is low enough to be meaningful for suburban properties, which raises safety and neighbor‑notification concerns, especially where properties abut residential lots. The 25‑yard equestrian trail buffer is a narrow safety zone and will require clear trail mapping and enforcement resources to be effective.
Replacing the statutory county schedule with a regulatory baseline tied to June 30, 2027 avoids an abrupt rollback of current Sunday access, but it also freezes the status quo into an administrative process that may preserve existing geographic disparities unless DNR proactively standardizes hours. The three‑year sunset for the regulatory overhaul creates policy uncertainty: stakeholders must plan for a temporary regulatory regime, then revisit changes after the DNR report.
Finally, while the bill authorizes Sunday migratory‑bird hunting, DNR must align any such rules with federal migratory bird season and bag limits set by USFWS; the statute does not address the administrative coordination or anticipated monitoring/reporting needed to ensure compliance with federal law.
Try it yourself.
Ask a question in plain English, or pick a topic below. Results in seconds.