SB335 amends Maryland’s Natural Resources law governing hunting bag limits for game birds, specifically Canada geese. The bill requires that, during the migratory Canada goose hunting season, the bag limit for all Canada geese in the State conform to the annual bag limit adopted by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service for Atlantic population Canada geese. The change applies broadly, including geese in both the Atlantic Flyway Resident Population Hunt Zone and the Atlantic Population Hunt Zone, and it overrides the prior state-specific approach for the affected season and species.
The bill also preserves existing geographic exceptions in subsection (C)(1), which exclude Allegany, Frederick, Garrett, and Washington counties, plus part of Carroll County west of Route 31 and Route 97, from the subsection’s application. SB335 takes effect July 1, 2025, and is temporary: it sunsets on June 30, 2030, unless reenacted. In practical terms, it ties Maryland’s Canada goose harvest limits to federal migratory bird management decisions for a five-year period.
Impact
SB335 updates Section 10-409 of the Natural Resources Article by directing state bag limits for Canada geese to match federal migratory bird rules during the migratory Canada goose season. This affects hunters, wildlife managers, and enforcement officials by making the allowable daily take dependent on annual federal U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service determinations rather than a fully independent state limit. The bill does not broadly rewrite hunting law, but it does change how Maryland sets and applies Canada goose limits in the specified season and areas, with a built-in sunset in 2030.
Sentiment
The bill appears to have been noncontroversial and broadly supported. It passed the Senate on third reading by a 47-0 vote and the House on third reading by a 139-0 vote, indicating unanimous approval in both chambers. No committee transcripts were provided, but the voting record suggests consensus around aligning state hunting limits with federal migratory bird management.
Contention
No notable opposition is reflected in the available record. The only potentially sensitive issue is the policy choice to conform Maryland’s Canada goose bag limits to federal annual limits, which may affect hunting opportunity and local wildlife management flexibility. However, the unanimous votes suggest that any such concerns were not significant enough to produce recorded dissent. The bill also retains county-based exceptions already present in the statute, which may have helped limit controversy in regions with different wildlife conditions.