Letha Grimes grew up exploring nature. As a young angler, she loved fishing local farm ponds and the upper Potomac River. The outdoor experiences of her childhood inspired Grimes to take an entry level job as a conservation technician at the Albert Powell Trout Hatchery in Hagerstown. At this Maryland Department of Natural Resources facility, Read the Rest…
It’s hard to find a bigger fan of Maryland’s state parks than Ranger Melissa Acuti. As Chief of Interpretation with the Maryland Park Service, she creates and supports statewide park-based programs like First Day Hikes, Junior Rangers, Scales & Tales, Es Mi Parque, and Park Quest. Anyone who has participated in any of these programs Read the Rest…
Maryland Department of Natural Resources employees take pride in the work they do—and they are noted for choosing their profession out of a love for protecting, conserving, and restoring our state’s natural treasures for the benefit of fellow Marylanders.
Editor’s note: As this article was being prepared for publication, Margaret Teresa “Teri” Batchelor passed away in July following a battle with cancer. Acting State Forester Kenneth Jolly completed this profile in her honor. Forty-one years ago, none of Maryland’s Department of Natural Resources Foresters were women. That all changed on June 13, 1979, when Read the Rest…
Born and raised in the Baltimore area, Beth Schlimm has always had an appreciation for Maryland’s wildlife. As a kid and aspiring herpetologist, she loved nothing more than spending days outside on the hunt for slimy and scaly critters like salamanders and snakes.
When Captain Tracy Campbell first joined the Maryland Natural Resources Police in 1995, newly minted officers were assigned to a boat, to which they reported for patrol or response duties.With her assignment in St. Michaels, the Baltimore native quickly felt at home on the Eastern Shore. Those days, officers didn’t have their own state vehicles—or Read the Rest…
Growing up around water in Anne Arundel County, Beth Versak got hooked on aquatic life early. “When I was six, I said to my dad I wanted to go fishing, and so he took me,” Versak says. She never looked back, developing an interest in biology, and she has now spent most of her career Read the Rest…
When Eddie Somers was about seven years old, he saw a large boat approaching his native Smith Island. It was the U.S. Coast Guard buoy tender Barberry, there to remove a navigational beacon. “Boy, that thing looked big to me then,” Somers says. He spent his life surrounded by watercraft and knew he’d work the Read the Rest…
The Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad State Park and Visitor Center, which opened in March 2017, has educated hundreds of thousands of guests on the life and legacy of an incredible Maryland leader. Such a place itself requires passionate leadership, which it has clearly found in Assistant Park Manager Ranger Angela Crenshaw.
After 33 years with the Maryland Department of Natural Resources, John Wilson considers himself “the old man” of land planning. He came on board in 1985 fresh from the National Park Service Rivers and Trails Program. He began writing plans for state parks. His first project was to develop a plan for the south cell of Read the Rest…
A Baltimore City native, Kerry was always outside as a child. When she got on her first bicycle, she was off to Herring Run Park—exploring, investigating, listening—curious about the natural world within the city.
When Kim Hernandez moved to the East Coast after graduating from the University of Kansas, she became known among her Atlantic coast peers as “the girl from Kansas who’s going to save the oceans.” Although she grew up in the landlocked Midwest, Hernandez wasn’t isolated from the water. She frequented the Gulf of Mexico while Read the Rest…
Employees of the Maryland Forest Service perform many roles. Some plant trees, some manage their harvest, some inspect properties. Some even battle wildland fires and educate the public about fire safety. Leading this operation is Fire Supervisor Monte Mitchell. As part of my internship, I sat down with him to ask how it all works.
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