Shoreline Licenses Protect Broadneck Homeowners

Far down Shore Acres Road on the waterfront side of Magothy Avenue and looking out into the Magothy River, Maribeth Kalinich does not want the peace of her view interrupted by waterfowl hunters.

So even though Kalinich’s waterfront only measures about 50 linear feet along the river, she is one of more than 400 Anne Arundel County residents so far this year who have secured a shoreline license to prevent hunting on or near her property.

“I am controlling my own shoreline,” Kalinich said. “Any riparian landowner can get this license to keep waterfowl hunters away from their property.”

Issued by the Maryland Department of Natural Resources’ Wildlife and Heritage Service, a shoreline license allows waterfront owners to protect their property from waterfowl hunters. Individuals, groups of homeowners with a contiguous shoreline as well as community associations that own their waterfront, can apply for the licenses. The license protects a property owner out 450 feet from any dwelling on a property.

“Hunters can still get pretty close, but it is better than nothing,” Kalinich said. “You can still hear the hunters if everyone in the area is not licensed.”

Beginning several years ago, Kalinich worked tirelessly to try and get Maryland hunting regulations changed to better protect properties in what are now more densely populated areas. The current laws, she added, date back to the 1950s when there “were more duck blinds than piers here.”

Kalinich also worked to get all of her neighbors to license their shorelines along with her. Some did, but many did not, she said. It is a program that is more effective when more shoreline property owners do it together.

The license costs $20 per year, or $60 for three years, said Lena Pajewska with DNR’s shoreline licensing program. That cost is per individual property or a group of contiguous properties.

“A group of neighbors with an unbroken shoreline can go in together for a single license as well,” Pajewska said. And according to the DNR website, “Once a stretch of shoreline is licensed, no other person may receive a license for the same shoreline.”

Statewide, 2976 shoreline licenses were issued this year up to the June 1 deadline. Of those, 421 are in Anne Arundel County.

The licenses or license renewals are available by application each year until June 1. Once a property is licensed, the state automatically sends out renewals, however, said Pajewska because “people sometimes forget to relicense so they come back in August for the open lottery.”

Each August, the state holds a two-day open lottery for licensing. For area residents, one of the sites for this year’s lottery is Broadneck High School on August 2 from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. After that licensing will take place at DNR headquarters at the Tawes Office Building in Annapolis.