Eleven people were cited for violating state regulations following Maryland’s annual black bear hunt, including for illegally using bait to target bears, hunting without proper permitting and hunting while being prohibited from possessing firearms.

The Maryland Department of Natural Resources said Monday that officers cited 11 people from Anne Arundel, Baltimore, Carroll, Frederick and Washington counties for black bear hunting violations that could cost offenders thousands in fines.

Matthew David Green, 61, of Middle River, faces four charges and up to $6,000 in combined fines, the most of anyone cited this year. DNR officials said in the news release Green had a crossbow and hunting revolver and told police officers he was hunting deer.

He now faces fines for possessing a firearm while hunting with a bow and not wearing daylight fluorescent orange or pink, a requirement for hunter safety.

He’s set to appear in court on Dec. 8. An attorney listed for Green in online court records could not immediately be reached for comment.

Green is also accused of hunting without a black bear permit and aiding his hunt with bait. It is illegal to bait bears for hunting in Maryland. Of the 11 Marylanders who were cited, nine were accused of “illegally hunting over bait,” which is the same number of people as last year, DNR spokesperson Hunter Dortenzo said in an email.

Essex’s Edward McDowell Rose IV, 28, was cited for hunting bear with the aid of bait, online court documents show. Rose, who was hunting in Allegany County, could be fined $1,500 if charged. He’s set to appear before an Allegany District Court judge on Dec. 3. He did not have an attorney listed in online court records at the time of publication.

Online court documents show Aidan William Pelino, 20, of Anne Arundel County, was cited for baiting as well as failure to obtain a license, and faces up to $3,000 in fines. In Monday’s news release, the Natural Resources Police said Pelino had a valid bear permit, but not an active 2025 hunting license.

Pelino is set to appear before a judge in Frederick County, where he was hunting, on Dec. 17, and did not have an attorney listed in online court records.

Online court documents show Mark Wayne Boone and Scott Alan Harris, both of Frederick County, face charges of illegal possession of ammunition and having a rifle or shotgun as a disqualified person.

The DNR news release said two men are licensed to hunt bears, but both have previous convictions that bar them from having firearms, which police confiscated when they were cited on Oct. 21.

Boone and Harris could be looking at up to $4,000 in fines or four years in prison, the DNR said. They both are due in court on Dec. 3. Neither of them had any attorney listed online at the time of publication.

Maryland’s black bear hunt was from Oct. 20-25 in Allegany, Frederick, Garrett and Washington counties. Those interested in participating in Maryland’s bear hunt must purchase a license for, and enter, the Maryland Department of Natural Resources’ black bear hunt lottery.

Dortenzo, the department’s spokesperson, said there were 4,410 black bear hunt lottery participants this year, but only 1,050 permits were issued.

Maryland has a breeding population of over 2,000 adult and juvenile black bears, Dortenzo said, mostly confined to Allegany, Frederick, Garrett and Washington counties. Still, the department acknowledged that they’ve received sightings and complaints of bears wandering to other counties, including in Baltimore County this September.

In mid-May, a black bear was spotted in Baltimore and Howard counties. The bear was found in Prince George’s County, sedated and moved to an area in Silver Spring. By June the bear escaped again and, this time, made its way to Virginia.