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Beitzel’s hunting license suspension measure stalls in Maryland Senate

Kevin Spradlin
Cumberland Times-News

— CUMBERLAND — It’s not often that you see Delegate Wendell Beitzel team up with Delegate Barbara Frush to support the same side of any legislation.

The fact that it happened on a hunting-related bill is nearly astounding. And the fact that House Bill 636, which would have authorized the Maryland Department of Natural Resources to suspend a hunting license for up to five years for a person convicted of a state or federal hunting violation, passed the House unanimously by a vote of 136-0, but failed to get to the floor in the Senate was, by all accounts, disappointing.

Beitzel is a Republican and an avid hunter representing all of Garrett County and western Allegany County. Frush is a Democrat and represents Anne Arundel and Prince George’s counties. Annually, Frush can be counted upon to introduce legislation that would end Western Maryland’s bear hunt. To counter that, Beitzel offers his “share the bear” bill that would authorize wildlife officials to relocate nuisance bears into jurisdictions other than Western Maryland.

DNR supported the bill. Beitzel said that could have been part of the bill’s downfall in the Senate’s Education, Health and Environmental Affairs Committee, which gave it an unfavorable report on Tuesday.

“I think one senator over there has a problem with giving DNR more authority,” Beitzel said, declining to name the elected official.

Beitzel said the bill even had the reluctant support of the Allegany-Garrett Sportsmen’s Association. The group wasn’t “overly enthused with it” but, Beitzel said, understood the desire to police hunters who couldn’t follow the law. Beitzel also is co-chair of the Maryland Legislative Sportsmen’s Causus, and as a body, “we supported it. Being co-chair, I obviously had to support the bill. It will probably be out again next year.”

In Maryland, officials can suspend a hunter’s license for one year. In other states, Beitzel said, the suspension can last five years.

Frush, Beitzel said, “has always been so anti-hunting and pushing to not allow the bear hunt … We kind of came to a meeting of the minds … This year, she didn’t put the bill in to take away the bear hunt. I didn’t have to put the bill in to share the bear.”

Other legislative updates from the General Assembly’s final full week in session, which adjourns midnight Monday, included:

• Turkey can now be hunted on the last Sunday in April and the first Sunday in May in Allegany County, except in years in which those Sundays fall on Easter. Garrett County was added to HB 245, which passed both chambers.

• Lawmakers approved HB 246, which authorizes a person in Allegany and Garrett counties to hunt for deer on private property with a bow and arrow during open season on the last three Sundays in October and the second Sunday in November.

• Efforts to plan and design an Oakland Baltimore and Ohio Railroad Museum in Oakland will be supported by bond bills totaling $200,000 equally split between the Senate and the House.

• The Allegany County Museum project in downtown Cumberland will receive a combined $150,000, significantly less than the requested $600,000.

• An effort to reduce the distance from a natural gas drilling wellhead from a neighbor’s property to 500 feet from 1,000 feet failed despite its origination from the Maryland Department of the Environment’s Ed Larrimore and the support of Sen. George Edwards. Beitzel said the initiative “wasn’t supported by the administration.” However, “we’ll come back to that one next year,” Beitzel said.

• HB 733, which passed both chambers unanimously, auth-orizes the creation of an Emergency Services Board to assist in the distribution of funds to local volunteer fire and rescue departments.

• Beitzel’s “Made in America” bill, HB 1465, received unanimous support in the House but Senate action by Sunday morning wasn’t available. The bill, requested by Fechheimer Manufacturing in Grantsville, would require state and county government entities, including school systems, to purchase uniforms, furniture and safety equipment from items made in America.

The fiscal note attached to what Beitzel called an important “jobs bill” would have a “potential significant increase in local government expenditures … beginning in Fiscal Year 2012. Expenditure increases may be at least 15 percent of current costs but will vary based on the extent to which local governments do not already purchase or rent American-made items and on the availability of comparable American-made products. This bill imposes a mandate on a unit of local government.”

At least 20 states, including Maryland, already have some form of Buy American purchasing preference.

If you are thinking of buying or selling real estate in Garrett County or Deep Creek Lake, Maryland, call Jay Ferguson of Railey Realty for all of your real estate needs! 877-563-5350

Change to Deep Creek Lake Dock Permits Forthcoming – Railey Blog

Mike Kennedy commented on the Railey blog:

Last fall the Deep Creek Lake Management office sent a letter to all dock permit holders outlining proposed changes concerning the way PWCs (personal watercrafts) will be docked/stored at lakefront sites. These changes to the regulations will essentially get rid of all current PWC racks/stands on the shoreline. The public comment period ended a few months ago and the proposed changes to the regulations are expected to be approved by the State of Maryland in the very near future.

As usual, and until notified otherwise, all Type A dock permit holders will be allowed to dock two (2) power vessels and one (1) non-power vessel (most likely a sailboat) at their dock. If you posses a Special Permit you WILL be allowed to place a PWC that weighs LESS than 500 pounds on a shoreline rack/stand for the meantime – but you will also receive a letter notifying you of forthcoming changes. Under current regulations, any PWC that weighs MORE than 500 pounds is NOT permitted on a shoreline rack/stand. Nearly all PWCs manufactured in the last 10 years weigh more than 500 pounds. Most lakefront homeowners currently store their 500 (+) plus pound PWCs on manufactured stands and racks on the shoreline and not tied up to their boat dock.

Early this summer, DNR is expected to take applications from dock permit holders that will allow them to have 1 PWC permitted at their boat dock. (PWCs are permitted at docks now but since they are more than 500 pounds they are considered a power vessel by definition). If approved, the new permit will then be valid for two (2) power vessels, one (1) PWC, and one (1) non-power vessel. This application will cost an additional $100 on top of the normal $200 paid in the spring. DNR expects to issue these new buffer strip permits for one (1) additional PWC at docks starting sometime later this summer.

It appears that all Type A permits will now have the ability to be granted three (3) power vessels and one (1) non-power vessel at their lakefront home – however, one of the three power vessels will have to be a PWC. This new regulation will benefit the lakefront homeowners who only have 1 power boat at their dock now and 2 PWCs on shoreline stands/racks – or the homeowners who have 2 boats now at their dock and 1 PWC on a stand. This new regulation will basically allow all 3 to be tied up their dock.

However, this new regulation appears to hurt the lakefront homeowner who already has 2 power boats at their dock now -for example, a Cobalt and a pontoon boat – and who also has 2 PWCs stored on shoreline stands/racks. This new regulation is going to force these homeowners to get rid of one of their PWCs – or get rid of one of their power boats. This situation of 2 boats and 2 PWCs is very common around Deep Creek Lake.

Homeowners in lake access communities with common docks may also suffer a bit with these new regulations. For common docks, DNR is going to permit 3 PWCs per every 10 approved boat slips. Therefore, the homeowner who has a power boat in one of the slips in the common dock and a PWC on a shoreline stand may be forced to get rid of either the boat or PWC if there are numerous PWCs in that particular community.

The intent of this change is to get rid of all PWC racks/stands on the shoreline – as DNR viewed these stands as an abuse of the number of power vessels docked/stored at these homeowner sites.

If you are thinking of buying or selling real estate in Garrett County or Deep Creek Lake, Maryland, call Jay Ferguson of Railey Realty for all of your real estate needs! 877-563-5350

DNR Property Renamed Gary Yoder Fish Management Area

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Feb. 25, 2010

Gov. Martin O’Malley and the Board of Public Works (BPW) in Annapolis yesterday honored three Marylanders who devoted their lives to conservation and stewardship. One of those was the late Gary Allen Yoder, a longtime Department of Natural Resources employee and Garrett County resident.
At the request of the governor, the board acted to approve naming of DNR properties in honor Yoder, folk-singer and educator Tom Wisner, and Park Ranger Julie Schweikert.

“Today we honor three individuals who dedicated their lives to helping citizens and visitors better understand and appreciate the beauty and importance of our natural resources,” said O’Malley at a meeting attended by family members, friends and colleagues of the honorees. “Now their work will live on ? not only in the hearts and minds of all they touched ? but also through the land and education programs they loved.”

The Carrie Dixon property in Garrett County will be named the Gary A. Yoder Fish Management Area in honor of the 30-year DNR employee, who was instrumental in efforts to restore and promote fishing opportunities in the region.

Yoder, who passed away suddenly on Nov. 29, 2009, was DNR’s first manager of Deep Creek Lake and later worked extensively in land acquisition and planning. The Carrie Dixon parcel was DNR’s first acquisition for public boating and fishing access on the North Branch of the Potomac River.

“If I know my father as well as I think I do, I know he would be proud of this honor,” said Garrett Yoder, Gary’s 14-year old son. “He put everything into his work, and now I’m happy that there is a way for everybody to know the important work he’s done.”

Read the rest of the article here.

If you are thinking of buying or selling real estate in Garrett County or Deep Creek Lake, Maryland, call Jay Ferguson of Railey Realty for all of your real estate needs! 877-563-5350

770 acres of land protected in Garrett County by MET

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The Republican points out that 770 acres of land are currently protected in Garrett County through the Maryland Environmental Trust. There lots of good reasons, including tax incentives, to place land in the program. More details on ‘how it works’ can be found here.

From the DNR Press Release:

The Maryland Department of Natural Resources (DNR), which celebrates its 40th anniversary this year, is the state agency responsible for providing natural and living resource-related services to citizens and visitors. DNR manages more than 461,000 acres of public lands and 17,000 miles of waterways, along with Maryland’s forests, fisheries, and wildlife for maximum environmental, economic and quality of life benefits. A national leader in land conservation, DNR-managed parks and natural, historic, and cultural resources attract 12 million visitors annually. DNR is the lead agency in Maryland’s effort to restore the Chesapeake Bay, the state’s number one environmental priority. Learn more at http://www.DNR.Maryland.gov.

If you are thinking of buying or selling real estate in Garrett County or Deep Creek Lake, Maryland, call Jay Ferguson of Long & Foster Real Estate for all of your real estate needs! 877-563-5350

Friends of Deep Creek seek to protect lake from degradation

OAKLAND — Friends of Deep Creek Lake, a Garrett County watershed organization, submitted a proposal for the creation of a Deep Creek Lake Restoration Fund at the Tuesday meeting of the Board of Garrett County Commissioners.

The proposal came about in response to the aging of the Deep Creek Lake reservoir, which was created by the construction of the Deep Creek Dam in 1923. According to Friends of Deep Creek Lake, as the lake grows older, invasive vegetation and lower water quality lessen its recreational value and use as a natural resource. Friends of Deep Creek Lake believes that federal funding, state assistance and a more active role for Garrett County are necessary to combat this natural degradation.

According to Barbara Beeler, member of the Friends of Deep Creek Lake board, the degradation of the lake will result in economic consequences in impacted areas. The detrimental effects of aging could lead to decreased property and housing values and lower tax revenues for Garrett County. “All of us — county, users, beneficiaries — we’re all going to be impacted by the continuing decline of the lake,” said Beeler.

Friends of Deep Creek Lake’s proposal features three main components. The first is the creation of a Deep Creek Lake Restoration Action Plan. “We need to make a lake policy from the bottom up,” said Beeler. Friends of Deep Creek Lake suggests that the plan include a variety of restoration and maintenance programs for such tasks as fighting the existing impacts of lake aging, eliminating algae blooms, reducing sediment and nutrient runoff, and upgrading septic systems.

The second is a means of funding the restoration. One of the primary obstacles to a restoration project would be the lack of available funds due to the current economic climate. According to Friends of Deep Creek Lake, funding for the Department of Natural Resources’ Lake Management Division comes only from dock permit fees, and the majority of this money is spent paying operating fees and taxes. Friends of Deep Creek Lake believes that federal money is necessary for the project.

“Until the economic crisis goes away, we’re really stifled,” said Commission Chairman Denny Glotfelty. “It’s impossible to get the state to move right now.”

Finally, the proposal includes a call for leadership for the restoration effort. The proposal suggests the formation of a working group that would lay groundwork for the plan, raise funds, and lobby for Deep Creek Lake in state and federal venues.

Along with the lack of available funding, another obstacle to the proposal is the fact that the lake is owned by the state rather than Garrett County. This makes it difficult for Garrett County to create an action plan regarding the lake as Friends of Deep Creek Lake’s proposal intends.

“It’s Maryland’s water. Whether it’s private or state property, it’s their water. That’s the problem,” said Glotfelty, who added that action regarding the lake is necessary. “We’ve got an 85-year-old lady that we’re trying to give a face-lift to right now.”

The commission did not act on the proposal during Tuesday’s meeting. It will be discussed further at the next meeting of the Deep Creek Lake Policy and Review Board, beginning at 6 p.m. on Oct. 26 at the Deep Creek Lake Discovery Center.

If you are thinking of buying or selling real estate in Garrett County or Deep Creek Lake, Maryland, call Jay Ferguson of Long & Foster Real Estate for all of your real estate needs! 877-563-5350

Common Questions about Conservation Easements

From the Maryland DNR website:

How does it work?

Commonly Asked Questions about Conservation Easements
What is a conservation easement?
A conservation easement is a tool for landowners to protect natural resources and preserve scenic open space. The landowner who gives an easement limits the right to develop and subdivide the land, now and in the future, but still remains the owner. The organization accepting the easement agrees to monitor it forever to ensure compliance with its terms. No public access is required by a conservation easement.

Why put a conservation easement on your land?
Landowners who want to protect a beloved farm and/or their family’s heritage donate conservation easements as a way to prevent their land from becoming developed. There are also tax advantages associated with the donation of an easement.

What kinds of land can be protected by a conservation easement?
Any land whose conservation is in the public interest – woodland, wetlands, farmland, scenic areas, historic areas, wild and scenic rivers, undisturbed natural areas.

Does the Maryland Environmental Trust accept all easement offers?
Easement offers are evaluated on a case-by-case basis. Trust staff members are available to visit potential easement sites and meet with interested landowners. The final decision rests with the Board of Trustees. If a property does not meet the Trust’s guidelines, they will recommend another land trust who may hold the conservation easement.

How long does the easement last?
Trust easements are perpetual, and apply to all present and future owners of the land.

What are advantages of donating an easement?
For people who want to preserve their land, an easement will assure that the land will never be used in a way contrary to their intent. Financial benefits in the form of tax deductions are also associated with easements. Easements often make it much easier to pass the land to the owner’s children without paying large estate taxes.

What are disadvantages of donating an easement?
Because an easement restricts development of a property, the market value of the land may be reduced.

Will an easement grant the public access to my property?
No. Public benefits of an easements are only derived from scenic views of the land from public roads or waterways.

Who owns land that is under an easement? Can it be sold?
The landowner who donated the easement remains the owner of the land. The land can be bought and sold. However, the easement “runs with the land” and applies to all future landowners.

Can property owners still live on and use the land if they donate an easement?
Yes. Easements typically allow for changes and additions to houses, construction of farm buildings, and other normal agricultural practices.

Easements may be drafted in various ways. For example, some landowners decide that, for the protection of the land, all development rights should be excluded, so that the land will always look substantially as it does now. Another might wish to allow the option of adding a limited number of future dwellings.

How much is the gift of an easement worth?
The value of an easement gift varies with each easement. Generally, the more the easement restricts the uses of the property, the higher the value of the gift, and hence the higher the tax deduction.

To determine the easement value, the land must be appraised at both its fair market value without the easement restrictions, and its fair market value with the easement restrictions. The difference between these two appraisals is the easement value, from which the tax deductions are derived.

The Trust does not do appraisals, but maintains lists of known appraisers.

How do future owners of a property know that an easement exists?
The easement is recorded in the Land Records of the county government. Any title search (generally done when land changes hands) will therefore reveal the existence of the easement.

Even if future property owners are unaware of the existence of the easement, they remain legally bound by it. The Trust monitors easement properties regularly to make sure of compliance.

One of the Maryland Environmental Trust’s largest responsibilities is to make sure the terms of a conservation easement are followed by future owners of the easement property. The key to this long-term stewardship is monitoring. MET monitors the easements it holds by inspecting properties on a regular basis. Landowners always receive advance notice of a visit and interiors of buildings are not monitored. If we discover the terms of an easement are not being followed, MET will attempt to work with the landowner to correct the problem. If the problem is still not corrected, MET has the right to enforce the easement through the legal system. When an easement is held jointly with a local land trust, that organization shares the monitoring and enforcement duties with MET.

Can Conservation Easements be donated by will?
Yes. The landowner should contact the Trust in advance, however, to ensure that the Trust will accept the gift. It is often better to donate an easement during one’s lifetime, since otherwise one loses the income-tax benefits of the donation.

Is land, which is subject to an easement, immune from condemnation?
A Maryland Environmental Trust easement will protect from condemnation by a municipal or county government. Legal research indicates that it will also protect from condemnation by the State, barring an express act of the Legislature. The Federal Government, however, can condemn a Trust easement.

Is there a yearly deadline for donating an easement to the Trust?
No. The Trust accepts requests at all times. However, if you wish to donate an easement during a particular calendar year, please contact the Trust no later than September of that year.

For more info, visit http://www.dnr.maryland.gov/met/ce.html

If you are thinking of buying or selling real estate in Garrett County or Deep Creek Lake, Maryland, call Jay Ferguson of Long & Foster Real Estate for all of your real estate needs! 877-563-5350

Category: dnr

Beitzel’s hunting license suspension measure stalls in Maryland Senate

Change to Deep Creek Lake Dock Permits Forthcoming – Railey Blog

DNR Property Renamed Gary Yoder Fish Management Area

770 acres of land protected in Garrett County by MET

Friends of Deep Creek seek to protect lake from degradation

Common Questions about Conservation Easements

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