Date: Thu, 24 Jan 2002 18:11:28 -0500 Reply-To: Maryland Birds & Birding Sender: Maryland Birds & Birding From: Norman Saunders Subject: MOS position Statement, MD House Bill 9, Deer Management Plan MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit The following is a statement presented Wednesday, 24 January at open testimony on House Bill 9 by Karen Morley, President of MOS. Nice job, Karen!!! Statement of the Maryland Ornithological Society, Inc. on House Bill 9, Deer Management Plans - Increased Harvest January 23, 2002 Good afternoon, my name is Karen Morley, and I am President of the Maryland Ornithological Society. The Maryland Ornithological Society (MOS) was founded in 1945 as a nonprofit, statewide organization of people who are interested in birds and nature. Incorporated in 1946, the MOS promotes the study, enjoyment, appreciation, and conservation of birds and their habitats. MOS currently has 15 chapters spread across the state. Our members represent nearly every social and economic group in the state, from students to executives, from families and farmers to internationally recognized ornithologists and ecologists. Maryland Birdlife, the quarterly journal of the MOS, is a scholarly publication covering the status of birds and their habitat in Maryland. The MOS sponsors a research grant program aimed at supporting studies of birds and bird habitats in and around Maryland. An active scholarship program offers educators and others who work with young people the opportunity to attend programs in ornithology and ecology. MOS is active in conservation efforts at the national, state and local levels. We have been active partners for over 9 years in the Maryland Teaming With Wildlife Coalition and have taken a lead role in attempts to get on-going permanent funding for non-game wildlife. We have testified often before the State Legislature on many statewide issues of concern, as I am today, and will continue to do so. First, I would like to emphasize that the MOS is NOT opposed to hunting, in fact we have many members who hunt and who belong to hunting organizations. Nor do we dispute the need to reduce deer populations in the state, which are adversely impacting habitat for birds and other wildlife. In fact MOS is considering opening one of our private sanctuaries to deer hunting to prevent further degradation of the habitat. However, the Maryland Ornithological Society is generally OPPOSED to Sunday hunting of deer or any other game species for the following reasons: ? We are concerned with equal and fair access to public lands and safety. Maryland has a long tradition of not allowing hunting on Sundays. The majority of citizens don't hunt. They wish to walk, hike, go birding, cycle, run, ride horses, or simply enjoy Maryland's abundant natural resources on one day of the week at least without fear for themselves, their families, or the wildlife they encounter. Sunday is the only certain day of the week throughout a good part of the year that can be spent outdoors without encountering hunters. Rightly or wrongly, most of us feel unsafe when sharing the woods with hunters carrying firearms. And if we have learned anything in recent months, it is that perceived risk can significantly alter people's behavior. ? Non-consumptive outdoor recreational activities such as birding, nature study, and hiking, are quiet and unobtrusive and inherently incompatible with simultaneous hunting of forest game birds and mammals in the same location. Birdwatchers especially must be quiet, inconspicuous, and somewhat stealthy, and as such, the issue of safety becomes a real one. ? The non-hunting public far outnumbers the hunting public. Economic impact studies by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service indicate that other wildlife-related activities bring far more money into Maryland's economy than hunters do. The most recent data, from 1996, indicate that hunting of all types, including waterfowl and upland game birds, contributed about $80 million to the economy of Maryland, while in the same time-period, wildlife-watching contributed over $500 million. In the intervening years, bird-watching has been the most rapidly-growing outdoor activity in the nation, according to the USFWS, so we could expect the agency's figures for 2001 (now being compiled) to show a similar pattern. The economic benefits that might accrue from hunting on Sundays for a very limited sector of the population are outweighed by the greater benefits to all sectors from non-consumptive tourism, outdoor recreation, and nature-related activities on the Sundays proposed for deer hunting. ? Extending the firearms season and allowing hunting on Sunday may adversely impact the Christmas Bird Counts, supported by local, state and federal wildlife agencies, as well as the National Audubon Society, the American Birding Association and MOS. These counts, which occur during the period from mid-December to early January, have been in existence for over a century, and provide invaluable long-term data on bird population trends for wildlife managers and scientists. Many Maryland counts have already been moved from weekdays to Sunday to avoid conflicts with hunters, and any further constraints could compromise the data base and may well force cancellation of counts. The MOS recognizes that hunters are our allies in the battle to preserve and protect critical habitat in Maryland and regret that this bill puts us at odds. However, we believe that it is neither desirable nor necessary to constrain Maryland's Department of Natural Resources by mandating deer management policies via legislation. The Maryland Ornithological Society is not unmindful of the serious damage to forest ecosystems, especially ecological damage to birds and bird habitat being caused by an overpopulation of deer in certain areas of our state. MOS is willing to look open-mindedly at any effective, proven solutions to the problems caused by the overpopulation of deer. This might include the expansion of deer season dates and bag limits, and even, perhaps, the notion of allowing certain limited hunting on Sunday if it can be shown to be a proven method to reduce deer overpopulation. However, MOS is not inclined to support HB 9 in its present form. MOS does remain willing to discuss any legislative proposal that would directly address methods to control overpopulation of deer in certain areas of the state if such legislation were specifically written to be for a trial period, with strengthened reporting requirements, and a sunset provision which would terminate the Act unless re-authorized by the legislature after being proven to be needed in the future. Contact: Maureen F. Harvey, Chair, MOS Conservation Committee, 302 Chelsea Court, Sykesville, MD 21784, (410) 795-3117, dahtangara@erols.com ================================= Norman C. Saunders Colesville, Montgomery County, Maryland marshhawk@att.net ======================================================================= To leave the MDOsprey list, send e-mail to listserv@home.ease.lsoft.com with the following message in line 1: signoff mdosprey ======================================================================= =========================================================================