February 28, 2010 — The GPS unit on the dashboard of our hunting truck has gotten us halfway to our new hunting regulation destination in Maryland. However, it is programmed to be on the alert for detours.

Our trip to the hunting regulations that will govern our days afield from August 2010 through July 2012 began in Annapolis earlier this year when the Maryland Wildlife and Heritage Service issued concepts for new rules.

They were:

• Reduce the northern bobwhite quail hunting season by ending it Jan. 15 and drop the daily bag limit from six to three.

• Extend hunting hours until sunset for the final two weeks of the spring gobbler season.

• Separate the fall and spring turkey seasons, allowing hunters to kill one turkey of either sex in the autumn and two bearded turkeys in the spring for a total of three.

• Extend the hunting season for captive upland birds and mallards on regulated shooting areas.

• Expand the Region A deer management area — currently Garrett and Allegany counties — by including a portion of western Washington County.

Our GPS then took us to Owings Mills where, on Feb. 18, agency officials met with hunting stakeholders. Out of that meeting came some additional concepts for new regulations that are now on the table.

• Open the statewide archery season Sept. 5 instead of Sept. 15.

• Permit the use of crossbows at any time by any properly licensed hunter during the entire archery season for deer.

• Extend the shooting season for red and gray foxes until Feb. 15.

There is still a journey ahead of us. It may be time to assure that our GPS is in proper working order.

All of the proposals are now on the agency’s Web site, where interested people may make comments via their keyboards. See www.dnr.state.md.us.

Not too long from now, March 9 in fact, we need to punch Hagerstown into our GPS unit. On that evening, at 7 p.m., in the hallowed halls of South Hagerstown High School, a public meeting will take place where hunters and others may have their say about regulations. A similar meeting will have already taken place March 4, 7 p.m., at Annapolis Senior High School.

Pete Jayne, coot and critter spokesman for the wildlife agency, said, “Our history is we will receive extensive input from the public and we typically make changes as a result of that input.”

Finally, well almost finally, the GPS takes us back to Annapolis where the massaged regulations will be presented to the Maryland Wildlife Advisory Commission.

Then, finally for real, the new rules will be pushed forward.

My take on the concepts as they now exist is that they are all good.

I am giddy about the changes dealing with turkey hunting and I think the legalization of crossbows throughout the archery season is overdue.

And 10 more days or so of bowhunting on the front end of the season? I’ll take it, even if others don’t like gnats and sweat when they bow hunt. Doesn’t bother me a bit. Might be a buck still in velvet that gets close enough. Anybody out there have a used crossbow for sale cheap?

I would have liked to have seen a proposal allowing late season Canada goose hunters to shoot until 30 minutes past sunset out here in the hinterlands.

I note that the biologists are not proposing any change to the bag limits for deer hunters in Region A. I can see why. The harvests in Garrett and Allegany counties have been amazingly stable under the existing regulations. Sure, you are always going to see a dip here or a rise there, but none of the dips and/or rises in recent years has been statistically significant.

One last thought, deer trails are evident in the woodlands again now that the snows have compacted some.

The deer I have seen in the past week or so look to be in great shape.

Also, turkeys are walking on the snow again, appearing to sink in only an inch or two.

Finding something to eat might still be a little tough, though.

Oh yeah, special note to all you folks in places such as Hancock and Indian Springs: Welcome to Region A. Welcome to Almost Maryland.

Contact Outdoor Editor Mike Sawyers at msawyers@times-news.com.