Let us salute these guys. At a time when callous governments, avaricious carpetbaggers, rapacious bankers, corrupt schemers and cowardly spectators of crime and deception are the norm, these guys reacted from their gut. They saw they could do it and sprang to action. There was once a time when we were wild ourselves. You sound like you've been infected by Homeland Security.

It may have been a foolhearty and a unlawful act, but as noted these men were moved by their compassion for this poor animal, especially in a time were we too often hear of man's senseless cruelty to animals.

Sometimes doing the right thing comes with a cost, let's be thankful there are still those with the moral strength to stand up and do what they know is right regardless of the cost.

But suppose they themselves had drowned in the attempt? Would the potential saving of the deer's life have been worth that? Or if they had gotten in trouble and someone died trying to rescue them? Common sense has to come into play, as well.

It is outrageous that these two men were fined. The ice didn't break, they didn't fall in, the fire department didn't have to go out there and risk their lives, and didn't have to pull them out of the water.

So why are they getting fined for something didn't happen. It's the wrong message to send. Now bystanders might hesitate to save a person because they dont have the "proper flotation device"

The MNR Police should use some judgment, instead of throwing out a fine so 1.) they feel haughtier about themselves, 2.) they prosent more authority than they actually have and 3.) make themselves feel relevant.

DNR is obligated to take life-vest rules seriously. But the "right" thing to do, given the public spotlight, would probably have been to skip on the fine and make the opportunity into a teachable moment. Why collect $180 in fines in a situation that is bound to cause an administrative headache, when you could have put the focus on reminding people who six months later might be out drinking-and-boating that they really should be throwing on a vest?

Beyond that, this is blowing way out of perspective the danger of rescuing deer. (Or any other animal; I don't see why it being a deer made this happen, other than the deer being large enough to fall through.) Yeah, it's dangerous to mess with ice. But at least they used a boat!

Amen to you Anonymous. I'll be happy to pay the fines for these guys. Compassion should be rewarded, not deterred. As to whether saving a deer's life is worth the cost of a human's, well, who are we to determine that?

This article reveals once again, that the left is not the voice of compassion, it is the authoritarian voice of the state.

A man walking on the beach came across a young boy scooping up starfish that had washed ashore and returning them to the water. There were thousands of them along the beach. The man asked "what difference does it make? You can't save all of them." The boy replied "yes, but to the ones I do save, it makes all the difference."

So much for THE SUN"S humanity.
Or is it the $180.00 going to Maryland'general fund?

Your article on the rescued deer was so unusual that it was even picked up by the Washington Post.
While my experiences with the Md DNR over the years has found most quite professional, this situation and the resulting fines is representative of a rapidly changing culture within law enforcement in our country.
As the Post has documented, hundreds of local and federal agencies have now become focused on terrorism, rather than the rational enforcement of state and local laws - their real mission. Along with this new focus has come an insidious reduction of personal rights and freedoms.
The DNR is on the frontline of this change, and has appeared to move further to the "right", as the agency staff attempts to further restrict citizen's actions that DNR officers perceive to be outside the narrowing bounds of the law.
I suspect the DNR officer in this situation was indeed embarrassed by the success of these citizens, and angry enough to send them the message that HE is in charge via the fines.
I am hopeful that the judicial system will bring some sanity to this case and dismiss it, with a caution to the DNR to use more commons sense, rather than testonsterone.

Agree with Chris. Common sense = non story.

Amen, Candy. What these two men did was brave, well-intentioned, and really stupid. What if one of them had drowned? Just imagine the public outcry if the NRP officers had NOT tried to stop them.

The fine was probably a bad move, just for publicity's sake. But the NRP officers were right. Those guys endangered their lives and those of the rescue teams - for what? To save an animal that's extremely overpopulated. Sometimes nature isn't pretty, but we can't intervene every time a wild animal is injured or sick. Then it wouldn't be nature anymore.