Accessing private land/ Black Water Refuge

We want to access a piece of privately owned land that is landlocked by Blackwater. It would be easier to walk the woods and then marsh regulated by the refuge instead of using the boat to get to it.
There is a refuge parking area adjacent to the land that is less than a third of the distance that would need to be navigated by water. Satellite mapping also shows some sort of structure that may be a dam or floodgate spanning the creek that seems to be impassable, portage to my knowledge may not be allowed on refuge lands.

Does anyone on this board have experience regarding a similar matter. We just want to go back there and do some hunting and have not been over to the building on Key Wallace drive yet to inquire in person. Not really sure what the reaction will be from the refuge folks for crossing federal lands on foot. Portions of the Blackwater river are also restricted for use certain periods of the year with additional permits required for boating certain portions of the waterway which happen to be regulated by the state.

I'm thinking it's probably not the worth the hassle but you never know. The state seems to have it pretty locked up with the boating regulations. A couple goons back there duck and deer hunting might set them off pretty good.

Is there a deeded right of way through blackwater to this property? If not you’ll need to get permits to go through blackwater, also their hunting season’s aren’t the same as MD and no rifles ( shotguns are ok in season )on blackwater. Also you can’t be on the refuge outside of their hunting season and scout days. Blackwater has Federal Game wardens and they don’t mess around.

xtreme43s10 said:

Is there a deeded right of way through blackwater to this property? If not you’ll need to get permits to go through blackwater, also their hunting season’s aren’t the same as MD and no rifles ( shotguns are ok in season )on blackwater. Also you can’t be on the refuge outside of their hunting season and scout days. Blackwater has Federal Game wardens and they don’t mess around.

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The landowner is going to check the deed for row and if its there Im not worried about it. If it's not, your saying they will issue a permit to traverse? That's what I want to know especially with a weapon. The other thing is if season (s) do not coincide even with weapon cased that could go bad. I have hunted on and up to the refuge my whole life so I know about the wardens, I just never crossed the refuge to get to private property. Its always been just up to their line or on the refuge itself.

About 10 years ago a handful of friends and I leased some Dorchester Lumber Company property off of White Marsh Road near Madison Bay. That property was landlocked by Blackwater as well. In fact, there was at least 2 other private clubs in the same boat we were, and there was a multiple mile long well maintained grass/dirt fire road that went all the way back thru Blackwater to the private clubs, I think criss-crossing the property lines several times. We were all told this was a deeded right of way, and the USFWS Rangers we met there concurred. There was a cable across the road with a Blackwater Refuge sign on it, and “authorized vehicles only”, but we were allowed use of ATV’s to access our respective properties. If you have a road of some kind I’d bet you have a ROW, if you have to cross-country thru the woods I’d doubt it. Blackwater didn’t build those roads, they bought the lands in chunks years after they were privately owned, ROW’s were probably standard at those times. County private land records should show the ROW’s, I doubt anyone at Key Wallace would even know.

AlBeight said:

About 10 years ago a handful of friends and I leased some Dorchester Lumber Company property off of White Marsh Road near Madison Bay. That property was landlocked by Blackwater as well. In fact, there was at least 2 other private clubs in the same boat we were, and there was a multiple mile long well maintained grass/dirt fire road that went all the way back thru Blackwater to the private clubs, I think criss-crossing the property lines several times. We were all told this was a deeded right of way, and the USFWS Rangers we met there concurred. There was a cable across the road with a Blackwater Refuge sign on it, and “authorized vehicles only”, but we were allowed use of ATV’s to access our respective properties. If you have a road of some kind I’d bet you have a ROW, if you have to cross-country thru the woods I’d doubt it. Blackwater didn’t build those roads, they bought the lands in chunks years after they were privately owned, ROW’s were probably standard at those times. County private land records should show the ROW’s, I doubt anyone at Key Wallace would even know.

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Thanks that's a good point. Theirs a logging road that is present heading right back there and that's what I'm looking at via maps. We talked about hunting it for about two years and just never looked in to it enough to figure it out. We also just decided to finally do something tonight. The other way by water is from Madison, it would just be easier to walk back. It's about 3000 feet East and right up to the state rd. I just figured all that belonged to the refuge they have there signs all over the fricken place, even in Wicomico now.

Doco Overboard said:

The landowner is going to check the deed for row and if its there Im not worried about it. If it's not, your saying they will issue a permit to traverse? That's what I want to know especially with a weapon. The other thing is if season (s) do not coincide even with weapon cased that could go bad. I have hunted on and up to the refuge my whole life so I know about the wardens, I just never crossed the refuge to get to private property. Its always been just up to their line or on the refuge itself.

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You would have to get a hunting permit for their season’s and use that to access your property if there is no ROW. But you would only be allowed on blackwater during their season with a weapon that is legal on their property.

xtreme43s10 said:

You would have to get a hunting permit for their season’s and use that to access your property if there is no ROW. But you would only be allowed on blackwater during their season with a weapon that is legal on their property.

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Where can I find that information and read it for myself? I'm just wondering what your basing your statement on so I can follow up.

In Maryland it is not legal to land lock a property. All properties must have a right of way.
The only question is did the feds follow Maryland law?

If you can find out an address or a lot/parcel number you should be able to look it up on mdrealpropertysearch