Maryland and Pennsylvania Fail to Act on Sunday Waterfowl Hunting

Advocacy on Sunday waterfowl hunting will continue despite opposition

Proposals to repeal Sunday waterfowl hunting prohibitions in Maryland and Pennsylvania were not adopted for the upcoming season. Delta Waterfowl has been a leading voice on this issue, working for months with hunters, policy makers, and wildlife officials in both states.

“We’re certainly frustrated and disappointed in the outcomes in both Maryland and Pennsylvania,” said Cyrus Baird, Delta’s vice president of government affairs. “Waterfowl hunters continue to be one of the only hunting constituency groups facing active discrimination from partaking in their outdoor recreation pursuit of choice on Sundays, and we will continue to work with elected officials and state fish and wildlife agencies to ensure duck hunters have the opportunity to hunt on Sundays in the future.”

In Maryland, House Bill 1063 was originally introduced to remove the Sunday hunting prohibition for all game species and provide more regulatory authority for the Maryland Department of Natural Resources. After passing the House Environment and Transportation Committee 17-3, pressure from a vocal minority and misguided special interests resulted in the waterfowl provision being stripped from the bill by an amendment on the House floor. Despite overwhelming support from duck hunters in the state, Maryland lawmakers were unable to ensure the Sunday hunting prohibition repeal was included in the final version of the bill.

“We want to thank Delegate Regina Boyce and Senator Jack Bailey for their hard work and leadership on this issue in Maryland over the last year,” Baird said. “The original legislation filed was a result of months of stakeholder meetings to find a common-sense solution to repealing this more than 300-year-old prohibition, and we are committed to continuing this conversation with them and lawmakers in Annapolis.”

Last year, Pennsylvania lawmakers passed House Bill 1431 to allow the Pennsylvania Game Commission to authorize Sunday hunting. Due to the timing of the legislation, waterfowl season dates were already set, and Sunday hunting was not an option for duck hunters during the 2025-26 season, while Sunday hunting dates for other species were set Delta Waterfowl supported this legislation and understood the need to wait an additional year to ensure season framework dates best reflected the need of waterfowl hunters. Despite the legislative intent to allow Sunday hunting for all game species, PGC commissioners recently decided not to move forward with Sunday hunting for waterfowl hunters this year.

“It feels like duck hunters were left at the altar,” Baird said. “Waterfowl hunters were some of the strongest supporters of Sunday hunting in Pennsylvania throughout the legislative process in 2025, and their reward for their years of advocacy efforts is to watch deer, turkey, and bear hunters spending their Sundays in the field while they cannot. Make no mistake, Delta will continue to lead on Sunday hunting and see these opportunities realized for waterfowlers. We are committed to continuing our conversation with commissioners and agency officials in Pennsylvania over the next year, and we will continue to be the voice of duck hunters across the United States and Canada.”

Delta Waterfowl is The Duck Hunters Organization, a leading conservation group founded in 1911 that uses science-based solutions to produce ducks, conserve prairie wetlands, and ensure the future of waterfowl hunting in North America. Visit our website.

For more information, contact Cyrus Baird.