Why It Matters: Hunters in Maryland can continue to use the ammunition of their choosing for hunting game species in the “Old-Line State”. Maryland House Bill 741 (HB 741) and Senate Bill 634 (SB 634) contained a provision that would require the Maryland Department of Natural Resources (DNR) to create a lead hunting ammunition phase-out plan on or before July 1, 2029. The Congressional Sportsmen’s Foundation (CSF) actively lobbied against this provision, encouraging the legislature and the Department of Natural Resources to work together to implement incentive-based programs for the use of non-lead hunting ammunition by hunters, provided there exists demonstrable scientific evidence that such an effort is needed to address population-level impacts of lead exposure in specific wildlife species.
Highlights:
- As previously reported, HB 741 and SB 634 would have required that all hunters in Maryland use non-lead ammunition while hunting through a “phase-out” process on or before July 1, 2029.
- CSF testified in person in the House Environment and Transportation Committee as well as in the Senate Education, Energy, and the Environment Committee, in addition to submitting written testimony (SB 634 & HB 741) in opposition to this unnecessary legislation in the “Old-Line State”.
- Maryland’s legislative crossover date was March 18, requiring all legislation be sent to the opposite chamber to continue through the legislative process. SB 634 and HB 741 never received a vote in their respective committees, thus they were ineligible for crossover and were killed for the year.
Hunters are boots-on-the-ground conservationists that continue to provide the most efficient and cost-effective method of managing wildlife populations. In addition, Maryland sportsmen and women are the primary funders of the DNR. As of 2024, there were 113,460 certified paid hunting license holders in Maryland that generated $6,379,820 in hunting license sales and $9,217,537 in USFWS Wildlife Restoration dollars (self-imposed manufacturer-level excise taxes on firearms, ammunition, and other sporting products), totaling more than $15.5M for wildlife conservation.
The effects of a statutory ban on lead hunting ammunition would likely have negatively impacted conservation funding, which is directly funded and supported by sportsmen and women. As an alternative, there are numerous examples of proven, successful, voluntary and incentive-based programs run by other states to encourage hunters to switch to lead alternatives that avoid these unintended, but foreseeable consequences. CSF strongly suggested that Maryland establish a similar program that could be managed by the DNR, which would have allowed them to meet their management objectives without compromising their funding stream.
The eventual ban of lead hunting ammunition through this legislation would have ultimately eliminated sufficient opportunity for hunters to take game, as they would not have been able to hunt if they could not readily access affordable non-lead ammo. The proposed lead ammunition ban would have ultimately resulted in the legislature creating a new barrier for hunters to keep wildlife populations, such as white-tailed deer, within acceptable biological and social carrying capacities. Further, the loss of hunters in the field would have likely had profound impacts on conservation funding in the state – both from the lost license revenue, as well as from the state’s subsequent reduced capacity to access federal match dollars through the Wildlife Restoration Program.
CSF looks forward to working with the Maryland Department of Natural Resources to address the concerns of some members of the legislature around lead hunting ammunition and will continue to encourage incentive-based programs for the use of non-lead hunting ammunition by hunters rather than statutory bans, provided there exists demonstrable scientific evidence that such an effort is needed to address population-level impacts of lead exposure in specific species. The Congressional Sportsmen’s Foundation also further recommends that such a program be developed and tested prior to any further consideration of a statutory ban on lead ammunition with its attendant and consequential diminishment of conservation funding.
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