{"id":23724,"date":"2018-09-01T00:00:21","date_gmt":"2018-09-01T04:00:21","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/dnr\/?p=23724"},"modified":"2018-10-01T06:55:57","modified_gmt":"2018-10-01T10:55:57","slug":"secretarys-message-september-2018","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/dnr\/2018\/09\/01\/secretarys-message-september-2018\/","title":{"rendered":"Secretary’s Message: September 2018"},"content":{"rendered":"

Help\u00a0Celebrate and\u00a0Preserve Maryland\u2019s Historic Beauty<\/em><\/p>\n

\"Photo

Secretary Mark Belton presents a governor’s citation to the Harriet Tubman Organization in Cambridge.<\/p><\/div>\n

Labor Day may be the end of summer vacation, but now is a time when outdoor recreation is getting ready to peak.<\/p>\n

September is a month when the\u00a0Maryland Department of Natural Resources<\/a>\u00a0highlights our state\u2019s spectacular and diverse terrain, and the role it plays in our culture, heritage and living history. Opportunities abound to immerse yourself in the scenic splendor, storied past and bright and prosperous future.<\/p>\n

We invite everyone to an\u00a0open house\u00a0Sept. 9<\/a>\u00a0at the Woodmont Lodge in Washington County. This annual event allows guests to tour the 18,785-square foot building rich in architecture and history \u2013 as well as its surrounding 3,500 acres of woodland and trails \u2014 while hearing vivid tales of this early 20th century hunting lodge\u2019s place in Western Maryland.\u00a0<\/p>\n

North Point State Park<\/a>\u00a0will host a historic commemoration event Sept. 12 to mark a very special Maryland holiday, Defenders Day. It is the anniversary of the successful defense of Baltimore City from a British siege in 1814 \u2014 the event Francis Scott Key documented and immortalized in his poem that would become the Star-Spangled Banner and National Anthem.\u00a0North Point State Battlefield<\/a>\u00a0preserves\u00a09 acres of open land, which represent the last undeveloped parcel from the site of the Battle of North Point, a turning point in that campaign, which tested and proved the resilience of our young republic and the Old\u00a0Line\u00a0State.<\/p>\n

This is also the month we celebrate International Coastal Cleanup Day<\/a>\u00a0Sept. 15 and National Public Lands Day Sept. 29 (is held annually on the fourth\u00a0Saturday\u00a0of September). In Maryland, we will have volunteer cleanup and conservation events almost every weekend. Check out our\u00a0online calendar<\/a>\u00a0for an opportunity near you.<\/p>\n

With about a half-million acres of public lands in our state, we continue to expand our efforts to preserve, protect and provide access to our shared natural resources. Recently, the\u00a0Board of Public Works approved 16\u00a0Rural Legacy Program<\/a>\u00a0grants \u2013 totaling over $25 million \u2013 that will provide funding to permanently protect working farms and forests across the state. The item includes the designation of the 28,300-acre Harriet Tubman Rural Legacy Area in Dorchester County, which will protect the natural land- and view-scape evocative of Tubman\u2019s life, legacy and work, and conserve lands containing and surrounding cultural and historic monuments and sites, including the\u00a0Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad State Park and Visitor Center<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Most importantly, whatever your interest, this is a month to get outside, as the heat and humidity give way to the cool, crisp air of autumn. Be sure to keep an eye out for our Fall Foliage and Festival Report, where we will keep you informed of the growing autumn splendor in our forests and parks, and the many community and cultural events that celebrate our outdoor heritage.<\/p>\n

As always, I encourage you to explore every opportunity to experience Maryland\u2019s vast cultural, historical and natural resources, and I hope to see you outside!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Help\u00a0Celebrate and\u00a0Preserve Maryland\u2019s Historic Beauty Labor Day may be the end of summer vacation, but now is a time when outdoor recreation is getting ready to peak. September is a month when the\u00a0Maryland Department of Natural Resources\u00a0highlights our state\u2019s spectacular and diverse terrain, and the role it plays in our culture, heritage and living history.  Read the Rest…<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":146,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[957,3171,11,1965,3172,23,12,14,33,13],"tags":[2969,2955,3121,2922,3639,4646,4647,4671,3738,3651,3621,3123,2909,4667,3645],"class_list":["post-23724","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-appnews","category-boating","category-fisheries","category-maryland-forest-service","category-hunting","category-land","category-parks","category-nrp-news","category-the-bay","category-wildlife","tag-baltimore-city","tag-board-of-public-works","tag-cambridge","tag-dorchester-county","tag-fall-foliage-and-festival-report","tag-harriet-tubman-rural-legacy-area","tag-harriet-tubman-underground-railroad-state-park-and-visitor-center","tag-international-coastal-cleanup","tag-national-public-lands-day","tag-north-point-state-battlefield","tag-north-point-state-park","tag-rural-legacy-program","tag-washington-county","tag-woodmont-lodge","tag-woodmont-natural-resources-management-area"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/dnr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23724","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/dnr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/dnr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/dnr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/146"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/dnr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=23724"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/dnr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23724\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":23754,"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/dnr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23724\/revisions\/23754"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/dnr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=23724"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/dnr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=23724"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/dnr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=23724"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}