Meeting scheduled at Savage River Lodge in Frostburg on March 13 The Maryland Department of Natural Resources (DNR) is scheduled to host an informational meeting on March 13 in Frostburg to take public feedback related to the potential Mid-Atlantic Resiliency Link (MARL) power transmission line project being planned by NextEra Energy that could stretch through Read the Rest…
Funding approved for DNR’s Program Open Space Local and Rural Legacy programs The Board of Public Works today approved more than $1.7 million in grants to local governments and land trusts from the Maryland Department of Natural Resources to improve parks and protect land with perpetual conservation easements. About $226,000 in Program Open Space – Local funding Read the Rest…
The Chesapeake Bay Legacy Act would allow interested processors to use the technique in Maryland A traditional Japanese method for processing fish may be expanding in Maryland. The technique, known as ike jime, results in a high-quality fish product and is considered the most humane way of processing fish. “With traditional practices here in Maryland, Read the Rest…
The Maryland Department of Natural Resources has added a one-week extension to the muskrat trapping season in all counties except Allegany, Carroll, Frederick, Garrett, Howard, and Washington. The revised 2025 season will now close March 22 to make up for unfavorable weather conditions.
Statewide harvest 10% higher than the 5-year average Maryland deer hunters harvested 84,201 deer during the combined archery, firearms, and muzzleloader seasons, from Sept. 6, 2024 through Feb. 4, 2025. The statewide harvest reported to the Maryland Department of Natural Resources included 32,148 antlered and 47,271 antlerless white-tailed deer, and 2,143 antlered and 2,639 antlerless Read the Rest…
Maryland plays host to a robust white-tailed deer population, most recently estimated by the Department of Natural Resources to range between 200,000 and 250,000 deer. The current estimated deer population is down from a high of nearly 300,000. But even with effective management, deer can have an impact on residents and landowners through conflicts such Read the Rest…
Fish reeled in from Marshyhope Creek weighing 20.5 pounds The Maryland Department of Natural Resources recognizes David Confair of Secretary in Dorchester County as a new state record holder for longnose gar – Lepisosteus osseus – in the Chesapeake division. Confair caught the 20.5-pound, 49.5-inch fish on February 8 while fishing in Marshyhope Creek. He Read the Rest…
The Board of Public Works approved the Maryland Department of Natural Resources to purchase a historic property that would become the first Maryland State Park in Wicomico County. The Department will acquire approximately 445 acres of land along Wetipquin Creek from owner Donald Graham for $3.3 million. Wetipquin Creek State Park, currently in the planning Read the Rest…
Funding approved for DNR’s Program Open Space and Local Parks and Playgrounds Infrastructure Program The Board of Public Works today approved Maryland Department of Natural Resources’ items totaling $5.4 million in grants to local governments to acquire land and improve parks. Nearly $5.4 million in Program Open Space – Local was approved for six projects, including the Read the Rest…
Governor Wes Moore today announced the Chesapeake Bay Legacy Act as part of the Moore-Miller Administration’s legislative priorities for the 2025 General Assembly. This legislation builds upon the administration’s historic efforts to improve the Chesapeake Bay’s water quality, introduces comprehensive changes to support regenerative agriculture, and streamlines oyster aquaculture — providing new economic pathways for farmers, and Read the Rest…
Angler fishing the lower Susquehanna River breaks a record held since 1979 The Maryland Department of Natural Resources recognizes Thomas Dembeck Jr. of Hydes as the new state record holder for yellow perch – Perca flavescens – in the Chesapeake division. Dembeck caught the 2.3-pound, 16-inch fish on February 7 while fishing in the tidal Read the Rest…
The Maryland Department of Natural Resources (DNR) has posted the proposed 2025-2026 Migratory Game Bird Seasons for public review. As in years past, DNR is providing an online forum to collect public comment on these proposals now through February 24. The DNR website also includes a presentation reviewing the current status of relevant waterfowl populations, including Atlantic Population (migratory) Canada Read the Rest…
Initiatives will trial ideas aimed at increasing invasive catfish removals in the Chesapeake Bay The Maryland Department of Natural Resources (DNR) is launching two pilot programs in coordination with its Invasive Catfish Advisory Committee aimed at curbing the spread of blue catfish in the Chesapeake Bay and its tributaries. Applications are now open for the Read the Rest…
At Maryland’s Department of Natural Resources, we take great care to protect the state’s fish and wildlife to ensure the state’s unique opportunities are available for the next generation of hunters and anglers. Equally important is that Maryland’s magnificent natural resources are accessible to everyone – and that extends to how we provide licenses. In Read the Rest…
Annual Event Celebrates Mountain Maryland Tradition The Maryland Department of Natural Resources invites everyone to come celebrate the annual Maple Syrup Festival at Cunningham Falls State Park, the weekends of March 8-9 and March 15-16. During this event, held annually for more than 50 years, guests can gather around the Sugar Shack to watch sugarmakers Read the Rest…
Aerial survey teams of pilots and biologists from the Maryland Department of Natural Resources and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service have completed their annual population estimates of ducks, geese, and swans along the state’s Chesapeake Bay, tidal Potomac River and Atlantic coast shorelines. This year, the teams counted about 705,300 waterfowl, which was higher than both the 593,200 birds Read the Rest…
Documenting the journeys of the birds who travel away from the Free State each year In recent summers on Maryland’s “tern raft,” a man-made conservation platform that serves as habitat for state-endangered colonial nesting waterbirds, scientists found a common tern with a distinctive orange tag on its leg. The tag indicated that Argentinian researchers had Read the Rest…
Site on Eastern Shore supports recreation and acts as “big green sponge” filtering water A few years ago, the land around the Holly Tree Trail on Wye Island was all agricultural fields. But now, just a few steps into the trail, visitors can hear the quacks and clamor of hundreds or sometimes thousands of ducks Read the Rest…
