Mourning dove, early resident Canada goose seasons begin Sept. 1 The Maryland Department of Natural Resources has announced the following dates for the state’s 2026-2027 migratory game bird hunting seasons, which begins Sept. 1. Bag limits, season dates, and shooting hours can be found in the 2026-2027 Maryland Guide to Hunting and Trapping.
The Maryland Natural Resources Police (NRP) has enrolled in the Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies‘ (CALEA) Law Enforcement Accreditation Program. The enrollment begins an approximately three-year process to evaluate and strengthen the agency’s policies, procedures, training, operations, and management practices. Often described as the “international gold standard for public safety agencies,” CALEA accreditation Read the Rest…
Maryland’s forests produce substantially more wood than is harvested each year, but gaps in processing, marketing, and distribution can make it difficult to move that material into construction and consumer markets. Trees removed following storms, development, disease, or routine urban maintenance may also lack nearby processing options, limiting opportunities to recover their wood for beneficial Read the Rest…
Long-term agricultural leases prioritizing regenerative practices and traditions represent part of a new vision for state land The Maryland Department of Natural Resources is opening a 111-acre agricultural property in Montgomery County to farmers using regenerative practices and traditions that improve soil health, the first step in an effort to expand land access while promoting Read the Rest…
The Maryland Department of Natural Resources invites all to Somers Cove Marina in Crisfield for the 79th annual National Hard Crab Derby on Labor Day Weekend, Sept. 3-6. This event, held by the Crisfield Chamber of Commerce and taking place on the state-owned marina, celebrates traditions of the Chesapeake Bay and Eastern Shore; and highlights Read the Rest…
Maryland anglers have been busy fishing for a variety of species this week. Chesapeake Channa is one of the fish that anglers have come to enjoy during the August striped bass closure. The Maryland striped bass closure will end soon, and anglers across the Chesapeake Bay will be able to fish for striped bass September Read the Rest…
Exhibits Open Aug. 27–Aug. 30; Sept. 3-Sept. 7 (Labor Day); and Sept. 10-Sept. 13 Visitors to the Maryland State Fair can join the Maryland Department of Natural Resources as it celebrates the nation’s 250th birthday. Fairgoers are invited to visit the exhibits located inside the Mosner Miller Building at the Timonium state fairgrounds to engage Read the Rest…
The Maryland Department of Natural Resources reopened water access at Hunting Creek Lake and surrounding portions of Cunningham Falls State Park in Thurmont today, after extensive monitoring found no evidence of rabid beavers. Portions of the park closed following two beaver attacks at the lake – a 13-year-old was bitten while swimming on July 26 Read the Rest…
UPDATED Sept. 2: The Maryland Department of Natural Resources has officially opened Savage Highlands State Park, which provides increased access to tens of thousands of acres of state forest and natural areas in Garrett County and the surrounding region. Maryland’s newest state welcomed its first overnight reservation-holders the weekend of August 28 along with Read the Rest…
Maryland anglers have a wide range of fishing opportunities this week from the freshwater areas to the brackish Chesapeake Bay and the salty Atlantic Ocean. In the Bay, recreational crabbing is very good and anglers are enjoying a wide variety of fishing. The Department of Natural Resources (DNR) reminds Maryland recreational anglers that targeting striped Read the Rest…
Board also approves funds to conserve forest for new Natural Environment Area in Rocky Gap State Park complex The Board of Public Works today approved $4.6 million in grants from the Maryland Department of Natural Resources to local governments and a land trust for trails, playgrounds, and land conservation in Baltimore, Caroline, Charles, Dorchester, Montgomery, Read the Rest…
Data collected by the Maryland Department of Natural Resources and Old Dominion University in early and late July 2026 show lower-than-average volumes of hypoxia—waters with less than 2 mg/l of oxygen—in the Chesapeake Bay mainstem of Maryland and Virginia. Hypoxia was slightly below average in early July, and decreased in late July, ranking as the Read the Rest…
Deceased beaver found on Monday confirmed to have rabies; search for additional sick animals is ongoing Updated Aug. 19: On August 13 at about 3:30 p.m., Seneca Creek State Park staff received a report of a beaver that attacked and bit a 10-year-old girl in a creek on park property. On Aug. 17, Maryland Department Read the Rest…
August continues to provide a broad range of fishing opportunities for anglers during the striped bass closure. The Maryland Department of Natural Resources (DNR) reminds Maryland recreational anglers that targeting striped bass in the Chesapeake Bay and its tidal tributaries is prohibited through August 1 through August 31 to protect the species. This month is an Read the Rest…
Governor Wes Moore today announced Maryland has successfully met or surpassed nearly all of its pollution reduction targets set under the 2014 Chesapeake Bay Watershed Agreement to improve water quality. Based on the most recent information from the Chesapeake Bay Program’s pollution model, Maryland achieved 100% of its sediment reduction goal, 100% of the phosphorus Read the Rest…
Lieutenant Colonel Brent Trautman named Deputy Superintendent; other officers honored for new leadership roles at ceremony in Arnold The Maryland Natural Resources Police held a promotional ceremony Wednesday evening where 38 officers were recognized for rising in ranks from corporal through lieutenant colonel at Anne Arundel Community College in Arnold. The event began with the Read the Rest…
Update Aug. 24: Maryland Park Service Reopens Hunting Creek Lake at Cunningham Falls State Park after Removal of Rabid Beavers Original release (revised Aug. 6): The Maryland Department of Natural Resources is closing additional areas of Cunningham Falls State Park around Hunting Creek Lake after a fisherman reported that he was bitten on the leg Read the Rest…
Anglers are enjoying a wide variety of fishing opportunities this week from freshwater streams and ponds to the Chesapeake Bay and Atlantic Ocean. The Department of Natural Resources (DNR) reminds Maryland recreational anglers that targeting striped bass in the Chesapeake Bay and its tidal tributaries is prohibited from August 1 through August 31 to protect Read the Rest…
Funding approved for DNR’s Program Open Space Local, Local Parks and Playgrounds Infrastructure, Community Parks and Playgrounds and Rural Legacy programs The Board of Public Works today approved more than $6.38 million in grants from the Maryland Department of Natural Resources to local governments for tennis courts, trails, and land conservation in Carroll, Frederick, Kent, Read the Rest…
For the month of August, we are giving our striped bass in Maryland’s portion of the Chesapeake Bay a much-needed break. Heat stress is one of the major threats to the species and that stress is exacerbated during the late summer in the Bay when high water temperatures and low dissolved oxygen levels are more Read the Rest…
To avoid serious propeller strike accidents and other preventable boating injuries, the Natural Resources Police is providing an overview of safety steps boaters and other waterway users should follow when spending time underway. “Our top priority is ensuring all boaters make it home safely at the end of the day,” said Col. Orlando Lilly, NRP Read the Rest…
Casselman River Bridge State Park in Garrett County recently joined the National Park Service’s Underground Railroad Network to Freedom, which honors and preserves the history of resistance to enslavement. The landmark earned the designation thanks to its role in the emancipation of author, minister and abolitionist Josiah Henson. When Henson crossed the bridge in 1828, Read the Rest…
Talan Scott Vrabic of Rosedale has earned a Master Angler Milestone Award under the Maryland Department of Natural Resources’ FishMaryland program. The award recognizes recreational anglers who catch ten trophy-sized fish of different species in Maryland. Vrabic is the fifth youth angler (under age 16) and one of two eleven-year-olds to secure the award. Vrabic Read the Rest…
