The Maryland Departments of Natural Resources, Transportation, and Agriculture, along with the Chesapeake Bay Trust, are partnering to accept applications for this year’s Keep Maryland Beautiful Grants program. About $327,000 is available for this year’s grant round. These grants are offered annually to volunteer groups, nonprofit organizations, communities, and land trusts in Maryland to support Read the Rest…
More than 125,000 acres permanently preserved throughout Maryland Maryland’s Rural Legacy Program is celebrating 25 years of active land preservation across the state this year. Since its inception, the program and its partners have protected more than 125,000 acres of ecologically valuable properties, productive farms, and forests, representing a public investment of more than $405 Read the Rest…
The Maryland Sport Fisheries Advisory Commission and Maryland Department of Natural Resources are proud to recognize Dr. Ray Morgan as the 2024 recipient of the annual Maryland Sport Fisheries Achievement Award. The commission and department recognize Dr. Morgan for his longstanding commitment to Maryland fisheries as an educator, researcher, and for his strong stewardship of Read the Rest…
June is Great Outdoors Month, and this year the month kicked off with National Trails Day. The Maryland Department of Natural Resources offers thousands of miles of great trails for hiking, biking, horse riding and other activities. These marked paths can be found for any skill level or terrain, within the hundreds of thousands of Read the Rest…
Rehabilitated eagles are ambassadors for environmental action and the Endangered Species Act Two winged representatives from the Maryland Park Service attended the White House this month. Rehabilitated bald eagles Buck and Mo, along with a contingent of Maryland Park Service Rangers, were invited to the White House to celebrate the anniversary of the Endangered Species Read the Rest…
Recognition for conservation, education, and sportsmanship The Maryland Department of Natural Resources and Sport Fisheries Advisory Commission are seeking nominations for the annual Maryland Sport Fisheries Achievement Award, a celebration of conservation, education, and sportsmanship. This prestigious honor recognizes an individual who has provided sustained efforts in habitat management, conservation, education, research, or other meaningful Read the Rest…
The Mobile Mussel Propagation Trailer cultivates mussels to restore populations in the Susquehanna River basin A new Maryland Department of Natural Resources project is aiming to raise imperiled freshwater mussels and restore them to waters of the Susquehanna River basin—all from the back of a trailer. DNR’s Mobile Mussel Propagation Trailer began operations this October. Read the Rest…
The top predator, once abundant and later endangered in the state, is now at a healthy level Black bear populations have risen in Maryland in recent decades and are now at a level that state biologists consider healthy. To maintain a large enough black bear population that enables bears to sustainably reproduce while mitigating potential Read the Rest…
Environmental conditions are likely influencing reproduction in Chesapeake Bay, scientists say Environmental factors such as warmer, drier winters and decreased spring water flow rates are likely driving forces behind the diminished spawning success of striped bass in the Chesapeake Bay, according to Maryland Department of Natural Resources scientists. Striped bass, or rockfish, have had low Read the Rest…
The Maryland Department of Natural Resources today announced results of this year’s juvenile striped bass survey, which tracks the reproductive success of Maryland’s state fish in the Chesapeake Bay. The 2023 young-of-year index is 1.0, well below the long-term average of 11.1.
Science is the foundation of the department’s conservation efforts When I took the helm as Secretary of the Department of Natural Resources at the beginning of this year, one of my primary goals was to reaffirm the importance of science throughout the agency. I want to ensure the department’s conservation work, ranging from fisheries management Read the Rest…
The Maryland Departments of Natural Resources, Transportation, and Agriculture, along with the Chesapeake Bay Trust, are partnering to accept applications for this year’s Keep Maryland Beautiful Grants program. These grants are offered annually to volunteer groups, nonprofit organizations, communities, and land trusts in Maryland to support environmental education projects, community stewardship, and the protection of Read the Rest…
Funding will protect 7,400 acres statewide with largest appropriation in program’s history Maryland will provide more than than $34.6 million in Rural Legacy Program grants to county governments and land trusts to purchase conservation easements in designated Rural Legacy Areas throughout the state. The Board of Public Works unanimously approved the funding on August 23. “From Mountain Read the Rest…
Outdoor enthusiasts can donate when buying their licenses The Maryland Department of Natural Resources now has a dedicated source of funding for conservation of Maryland’s largemouth bass and smallmouth bass—collectively called black bass—to which the state’s anglers, boaters, hunters, and others can contribute when purchasing their licenses. Governor Wes Moore signed legislation on May 8 Read the Rest…
Partnership with Lower Shore Land Trust Adds to Chesapeake Forest Lands The Maryland Department of Natural Resources, in partnership with Lower Shore Land Trust, today announced the purchase of the former Bay Club near Berlin, Worcester County, from Carl M. Freeman Companies. Formerly a golf club, this purchase will help conserve 672 acres in the Read the Rest…
Funding Will Protect 7,100 Acres Statewide with Largest Appropriation in Decades The Board of Public Works on October 12 unanimously approved more than $27.1 million in Rural Legacy Program grants for conservation easement acquisitions, reflecting the highest annual amount appropriated since 2002. Funding from these grants will permanently protect 7,100 acres of working farms, forests, Read the Rest…
Award-Winning Program Provides Practical Experience and Skills Training The Maryland Department of Natural Resources is now recruiting members for the Maryland Conservation Corps, an award-winning AmeriCorps program that engages young adults aged 17-25 in extensive conservation, environmental, and natural resources management projects across the state. The department seeks to hire 35 full-time members who will Read the Rest…
Grants Supports Communities, Projects, and Schools Forever Maryland is proud to announce that 85 grants totaling $320,000 have been awarded toward environmental education, community cleanup and beautification projects through the Keep Maryland Beautiful program. These annual grants are funded by the Maryland Environmental Trust, Forever Maryland, Maryland Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD) and Maryland Department of Read the Rest…
Gift to Support Wildlife Education and Upland Habitat Projects The Maryland Department of Natural Resources (DNR) Wildlife and Heritage Service recently received a $1.7 million gift from the estate of longtime employee Marilyn Mause specifically for wildlife education and upland habitat projects. Mause, who worked 34 years for the department’s wildlife unit primarily within the Read the Rest…
Funding Will Protect 6,000 Acres Statewide The Board of Public Works today unanimously approved more than $26.2 million in Rural Legacy Program grants for conservation easements in 17 counties. Funding from these grants will permanently protect about 6,000 acres of working farms, forests, open space, shorelines, and wetlands — plus cultural and historical resources — Read the Rest…
Initiative Funded to Promote Wildlife and Fire Protection, Wood Markets The U.S. Department of Agriculture Forest Service has awarded funding of $280,852 to the Maryland Forest Service to work with the University of Maryland Extension and many public and private partners across the Delmarva Peninsula to establish a new training and outreach program, the Delmarva Read the Rest…
NRP Veteran Officer Assumes Role of Second-in-Command The Maryland Department of Natural Resources (DNR) today announced that 29-year department veteran Robert C. Kersey will serve as deputy superintendent of the Maryland Natural Resources Police (NRP) effective immediately.
Participants Can Support Nature and Win Park Prizes The Maryland Park Service is challenging Marylanders everywhere to join a new tradition — Create Your Own State Park at home! Begun during the pandemic in 2020, this innovative series of activities — with prizes available for participants — teaches Marylanders how to provide their own place Read the Rest…
Maryland Sets New Regulations to Conserve Species The Maryland Department of Natural Resources announces the opening of the Chesapeake Bay summer-fall striped bass season May 16 in most of the Chesapeake Bay and its tidal tributaries. Under the new final regulations, the 2020 summer-fall season in most areas of the Chesapeake Bay and its tidal Read the Rest…
Nominations Accepted Through Jan. 31, 2020 The Maryland Department of Natural Resources and Sport Fisheries Advisory Commission announce the creation of the Maryland Sport Fisheries Achievement Award, a celebration of conservation, education, and sportsmanship. This prestigious honor will recognize an individual who has provided sustained efforts in habitat management, conservation, education, research, or other meaningful Read the Rest…
New Nonprofit Created to Advance Land Conservation Forever Maryland Foundation and Maryland Environmental Trust, a unit of the Maryland Department of Natural Resources, jointly announce the launch of a new statewide venture in land conservation. Forever Maryland has been created to undertake a bold agenda to meet the need for a nongovernmental organization with a Read the Rest…
$200,000 Available for Community Beautification, Greening, and Environmental Initiatives The Maryland Environmental Trust, a unit of the Maryland Department of Natural Resources, is now accepting applications for the Keep Maryland Beautiful grants program. Four different grants are being offered to help volunteer and nonprofit groups, communities, and land trusts support environmental education projects, litter removal, Read the Rest…
Prehistoric Fish Once Thought Gone from Maryland The Maryland Department of Natural Resources has been awarded more than $700,000 in federal funding to study and monitor the endangered Atlantic sturgeon. The money will be used over three years to continue the department’s tagging and tracking of fall spawning Atlantic sturgeon in the Nanticoke River and Read the Rest…
State Expands Conservation Message and Outreach Maryland’s regular striped bass season gets underway on May 16, and the Maryland Department of Natural Resources reminds anglers that conservation regulations put in place last year are in effect through the end of 2019. When fishing in the Chesapeake Bay and its tidal tributaries, anglers must use non-offset Read the Rest…
Department Supports Projects in 19 Communities The Maryland Department of Natural Resources is pleased to announce the award of 19 Community Parks and Playgrounds grants, totaling $2.5 million, to municipalities across the state. The Community Parks and Playgrounds Program provides flexible grants to municipalities to rehabilitate, expand or improve existing parks, create new parks, or Read the Rest…
In 1967, a retired Maryland fisheries manager felt compelled to tell the full history of fishing regulation in the Old Line State. Albert Powell wrote a 369-page report with the weighty title and subtitle, “Historical information of Maryland Commission of Fisheries, with some notes on game: Based on Annual Reports, legislative enactments and personal observations; Read the Rest…
Partnership with Chesapeake Bay Trust Establishes Maryland Outdoor Recreation and Clean Water Fund Anglers, boaters and hunters who purchase their licenses or registrations from the Maryland Department of Natural Resources have a new way to give back to natural resources they enjoy and love. In partnership with the Chesapeake Bay Trust, the department announced today a new voluntary Read the Rest…
Free, Family-Friendly Event in Washington County Anglers, conservationists, hunters and others interested in the great outdoors are invited to take part in the annual National Hunting and Fishing Day celebration Sept. 22. The Maryland Department of Natural Resources and Izaak Walton League of America will host a free, family-friendly event – rain or shine – from 10 a.m. to Read the Rest…
Annual Event Unites Multitude of Stewardship Partners The Maryland Environmental Trust recently welcomed more than 140 people from 83 organizations – land trusts, conservancies, governmental organizations, heritage organizations, members of the agricultural community and other partners – to its 2018 Maryland Land Conservation Conference. The event, held May 17 at the Maritime Conference Center in Read the Rest…
Rates Conservation Benefits and Values Across Maryland The Maryland Department of Natural Resources launched an innovative new tool to evaluate the conservation benefits and ecosystem “value” of every parcel of land across the state. The Parcel Evaluation Tool was designed to identify and prioritize the conservation and protection of ecologically important, sensitive, and valuable land and watershed resources in Read the Rest…
Tournaments Recognized for Best Practices The Maryland Department of Natural Resources announces a new award to help promote black bass conservation. The Director’s Black Bass Conservation Award will recognize bass fishing tournament directors who exemplify conservation with special recognition from the department and eligibility to receive fishing supplies.