As a public service, the Deep Creek Watershed Foundation is sharing this message from the Maryland Department of Natural Resources.
Dear Deep Creek Lake Citizen Stakeholder:
The Maryland Department of Natural Resources has been managing Canada geese on Deep Creek Lake for many years. The Department’s ongoing efforts include reducing the rate of growth in the local population through non-lethal nest management in addition to administering a long-standing hunting program during the winter season. The current Canada goose management hunt has been operating since 2015, with three sites on the waters of the lake: Deep Creek Lake State Park, Crows Point, and Turkey Neck. These sites are available for reservations during a 5-day hunt in November.
To improve Canada goose management around Deep Creek Lake, the Department is seeking your feedback on a proposal to expand the hunting program. This proposal would:
- Allow buffer strip use permit holders to obtain shore-based waterfowl sites for hunters within their “Area of Use;”
- Allow buffer strip use permit holders to manage the access and permissions for hunters through private property to the “Area of Use;”
- Require all hunters, who are not buffer strip use permit holders, to obtain written permission from the buffer strip use permit holder;
- Subject to the safety zone distances codified in Maryland law and regulations, allow buffer strip use permit holder shore-based waterfowl sites to be hunted during the late resident Canada goose season (December 2023-March 2024); and
- Require all hunters to report daily to the Department with their harvest data.
The Department is accepting public comment on this proposal through October 24, 2023. Please submit comments to Eric Null via email at eric.null@maryland.gov or by writing to Eric Null, Department of Natural Resources, 73 Brant Road, Swanton, MD 21561.
