The Secretary is responsible for conservation and management of wildlife and wildlife resources of the State. The Secretary shall provide for a statewide system of assistance to local political subdivisions regarding the disposition of wild animals. Assistance may include field services, training, or payment to local political subdivisions for wildlife control in accordance with procedures and plans agreed to between the Department and the local political subdivisions.

The Secretary shall develop, adopt, and implement a comprehensive nutria management plan to eradicate the species Myocastor coypu (nutria) from the State. In addition to any funding provided under § 10–308.1 of this title, the Department shall seek funding from federal, private, and other sources to implement fully the nutria management plan until nutria are eradicated from the State.

Every right, power, duty, obligation, and function previously conferred upon or exercised by the Department of Game and Inland Fish or the Fish and Wildlife Administration is transferred to and may be exercised by the Department. Every reference to the Department of Game and Inland Fish or the Fish and Wildlife Administration which appears in the Code, in any other State law, or in any ordinance, resolution, regulation, legal action, directive, or document means the Department.

There is a Wildlife Advisory Commission in the Department. Notwithstanding any other provision of this article, a member of the Fish and Wildlife Commission as of June 30, 1972, may serve the unexpired remainder of the member’s term as a member of an advisory commission created by law.

Having a due regard for the distribution, abundance, economic value, and breeding habits of wildlife, the Secretary may adopt regulations to enlarge, extend, restrict, or prohibit hunting, possessing, selling, purchasing, shipping, carrying, transporting, or exporting wildlife. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the Department may use a lottery–based system to issue hunting licenses, permits, or stamps.

The Department may reduce the wildlife population in any county, election district, or other identifiable area of the State after a thorough investigation reveals that protected wildlife is seriously injurious to agricultural or other interests in the affected area. The method of reducing the wildlife population is at the Department’s discretion, except that trapping is preferred whenever feasible. The Department shall dispose of wildlife taken pursuant to the provisions of this section as the Department deems advisable. In this subsection, “deer damage” includes: Widespread damage caused by deer, including the elimination of forest understory, tree regeneration, and native plants; and The destruction of agricultural crops caused by deer. The Department may authorize the reduction of the deer population on any single, contiguous property of at least 10 acres where the Department has documented deer damage. The method of reducing the deer population: Is at the Department’s discretion; and Subject to subparagraph (ii) of this paragraph, may include the issuance of a permit to a property owner, or the property owner’s employee, lessee, or agent, to shoot deer on the property on Sundays. A permit issued under subparagraph (i)2 of this paragraph: May not authorize hunting on Sundays in: Baltimore City; Baltimore County; Howard County; or Prince George’s County; and Shall prohibit deer hunting on Sundays during deer firearms season within 150 yards of a Department trail designated for bicycling, hiking, equestrian use, or other active or passive recreational use. The Department shall: Map areas of the State to which a permit may apply under this subsection; and Make the maps readily available to the public.

The Department may not pay bounties for any wildlife.

The State assents to the provisions of the act of Congress entitled “An Act to provide that the United States shall aid the state in wildlife-restoration projects, and for other purposes”, approved on September 2, 1937, Public Law 415, 75th Congress, 50 Stat. 917. The Department shall perform every act necessary to conduct and establish administrative cooperative wildlife-restoration projects as defined in this act of Congress in compliance with this act of Congress and regulations the United States Secretary of Agriculture adopts pursuant to this act of Congress.

In this section, “Fund” means the State Wildlife Management and Protection Fund. There is a State Wildlife Management and Protection Fund in the Department. The purpose of the Fund is to finance the scientific investigation, protection, propagation, and management of wildlife. The Department shall administer the Fund. The Fund is a special, nonlapsing fund that is not subject to § 7–302 of the State Finance and Procurement Article. The Treasurer shall hold the Fund separately and the Comptroller shall account for the Fund. The Fund consists of: Any money received for a license, stamp, application, or permit fee under this title, unless otherwise provided; Any investment earnings of the Fund; and Fines and restitution paid for violations relating to wildlife trafficking under Subtitle 2B of this title. The Fund may be used only for: The scientific investigation, protection, propagation, and management of wildlife; and Administrative costs calculated in accordance with § 1–103(b)(2) of this article. The Treasurer shall invest the money of the Fund in the same manner as other State money may be invested. Any investment earnings of the Fund may not be transferred or revert to the General Fund of the State, but shall remain in the Fund. Expenditures from the Fund may be made only in accordance with the State budget.

In the planning of sampling methods and the compilation of estimates of the number of wild waterfowl in the State, the Department shall take advantage of other surveys made by reliable organizations including, but not limited to: The Grand National Waterfowl Hunt, Incorporated; and The Maryland Outfitters Association.

The Department shall establish a program to control the population of the nonnative bird species known as the mute swan. The program established under this section, where appropriate, may include: The managed harvest of adult mute swans; and The solicitation of licensed hunters to participate in the managed harvest of adult mute swans established under this subsection.

The General Assembly finds and declares that: Hunting is an important and traditional activity in which 14,000,000 Americans who are at least 16 years old participate; Hunters have been and continue to be among the foremost supporters of sound wildlife management and conservation practices in the United States; Hunters and hunting organizations provide direct assistance to wildlife managers and enforcement officers of federal, state, and local governments; Fees for hunting licenses, permits, and stamps, and taxes on goods used by hunters, have generated billions of dollars for wildlife conservation, research, and management; Hunting is an essential component of effective wildlife management, as it is an important tool for reducing conflicts between people and wildlife and provides incentives for the conservation of wildlife, habitats, and ecosystems on which wildlife depends; Hunting is an environmentally acceptable activity that occurs and can be provided for on State public lands without adverse effects on other uses of the lands; and Poaching, as defined in § 10–101 of this title, is not only a violation of the public trust doctrine, but also violates the tenets of sound wildlife management and conservation practices strictly adhered to by law–abiding sportsmen and sportswomen who deem the act intolerable. The Department shall: Keep land managed by the Department open for hunting unless the Department determines that the land must be closed for reasons of public safety, fish or wildlife management, or homeland security, or as otherwise required by law; Manage land under its authority to support, promote, and enhance hunting opportunities to the extent authorized under State law; and Manage land under its authority to prevent, to the greatest practical extent, any net loss of acreage available for hunting opportunities on land managed by the Department. By October 1, 2006, and each year thereafter, the Department shall submit to the General Assembly, in accordance with § 2-1257 of the State Government Article, a report describing the land managed by the Department that: The Department closed to hunting during the previous year and the reasons for the closures; and To comply with subsection (b) of this section, the Department opened to hunting during the previous year to compensate for the acreage closed as described under item (1) of this subsection.

In this section, “Program” means the Venison Donation Grant Program established under this section. There is a Venison Donation Grant Program in the Department. The purpose of the Program is to provide grants to defray the costs of butchering and processing deer that are donated to venison donation programs in the State. Subject to availability of funds appropriated to the Program, a county, a municipal corporation, or an organization that is exempt from taxation under § 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code may apply for a grant from the Program for the costs of butchering and processing deer that: Are hunted in compliance with State hunting laws and regulations; Are donated to a program administered by the applicant that provides nutritional support or food for low income individuals or the homeless; and Have a dressed weight of at least 50 pounds. The Department shall approve applications for grants from the Program on a first–come, first–served basis.