MET Awards $34,054 in Grants
MET Treasurer Jay Plager (L) and Ken Oldham (R), Chief of SHA Landscape Operations, present the Hollmann Award to Elmina Hilsenrath of the Howard Co. Conservancy
Announces recipients of Keep Maryland Beautiful and Jan Hollmann
The Maryland Environmental Trust (MET) awarded $34,054 in grants to school groups and land trusts for State health, beautification and stewardship projects through the Keep Maryland Beautiful and Jan Hollmann programs.
DNR Disability Advisory Council Member Dies at 77
Donald Backe
Longtime and esteemed DNR Disability Advisory Council Member Donald E. Backe passed away on April 12. He served the Maryland Department of Natural Resources (DNR) as a volunteer, subject-matter expert on disability, accessibility, and boating and recreation for more than 20 years. Read more 
Stream Restoration Challenge Kicks Off with Spring Plantings
Program accepting proposals through May 30
Kent County Public School students planting trees at Sassafras NRMA in Kennedyville
This spring, more than 2,000 students from across Maryland got an early start on their Earth Day contributions, planting trees to improve water quality through Governor Martin O’Malley’s Stream Restoration Challenge. The program ─ which is still accepting proposals ─ provides grants for students and groups to carry out projects to improve Chesapeake Bay water quality through service learning and environmental education activities. Read more
Color Maryland Green Contest Names Winners
The Grand Prize Winner, Delightful Nature by Alana Koh, to be featured on the 2013-2014 Maryland Bay Game cover.
From creative collages to pensive poems, this year’s Color Maryland Green contestants made it extremely difficult for the Maryland Department of Natural Resources (DNR) to pick the winners. Eleven champions were chosen from more than 150 students, grades K-12, who submitted original artwork and poetry inspired by their appreciation for the State’s natural resource. Read more
Maryland’s Chesapeake Bay Spring Striped Bass Season to Open
Photo from Shawn Kimbro
With the spring season opener kicking off tomorrow, Maryland’s iconic striped bass, better known as rockfish, has area anglers preparing to get out on the water in hopes of reeling in a big one. Maryland’s Chesapeake Bay spring Striped Bass season opens at 5 a.m. on Saturday, April 20 with a one fish per person per day limit and a minimum size of 28 inches through May 15. Read more
DNR Releases 2013 Chesapeake Bay Blue Crab Numbers
Spawning-age females increased substantially, but low reproduction means fewer crabs
Photo by Kim Cover
The Maryland Department of Natural Resources today released the 2013 Blue Crab Winter Dredge Survey numbers, showing mixed results. The number of spawning-age females increased substantially this year – by 52 percent − indicating that the current management framework to protect adult female crabs is working. However, poor reproduction in 2013 and what appears to be high mortality within the record 2012 year-class resulted in an overall decline in the Bay-wide population. Read more
DNR Receives $1.5 Million for Annapolis City Dock Renovations
Annapolis City Dock
The Maryland Department of Natural Resources (DNR) will receive a $1.5 million federal grant to assist the City of Annapolis with its planned renovation of City Dock. The award, a Sport Fish Restoration Boating Infrastructure Grant (BIG), is the largest of its kind Maryland has ever received, and the maximum allowed under the program. Read more
Citizens Asked to Report Stranded Marine Animals
Loggerhead Sea Turlte
Boaters and beachgoers are reminded to keep their eyes open for sea turtles and marine mammals while enjoying the outdoors this spring. The Maryland Department of Natural Resources asks anyone who sees a dead, visibly injured, entangled or stranded sea animal to call 1-800-628-9944 immediately. The hotline is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Read more
Governor O’Malley Announces Improving Oyster Population and Reproduction
Survival Rate Highest Since 1985
DNR biologists surveying oysters
Governor Martin O’Malley today announced good news regarding the State’s ongoing efforts to restore the Chesapeake Bay’s native oyster population. Results of Maryland’s 2012 Fall Oyster Survey show that oyster population and reproduction increased for the second consecutive year, and diseases, which decimated the oyster population in 2002, remained far below their long-term averages. Read more
DNR Certifies New Clean Marina in Baltimore City
Marks 150th Maryland Clean Marina
The Crescent Marina
The Maryland Department of Natural Resources (DNR) certified The Crescent Marina in Fells Point a Maryland Clean Marina, marking the 150th facility currently fulfilling the initiative’s cleaner, greener standards. Read more
