{"id":35928,"date":"2022-04-15T15:10:33","date_gmt":"2022-04-15T19:10:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/dnr\/?p=35928"},"modified":"2022-04-20T14:51:13","modified_gmt":"2022-04-20T18:51:13","slug":"lt-governor-rutherford-kicks-off-maryland-state-park-week-with-sandy-point-nature-center-dedication-ceremony","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/dnr\/2022\/04\/15\/lt-governor-rutherford-kicks-off-maryland-state-park-week-with-sandy-point-nature-center-dedication-ceremony\/","title":{"rendered":"Lt. Governor Rutherford Kicks off Maryland State Park Week  With Sandy Point Nature Center Dedication Ceremony"},"content":{"rendered":"<p style=\"text-align: center\"><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Announced Two New State Parks Will Open During State Park Week, April 15-22<\/span><\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n<div id=\"attachment_35961\" style=\"width: 510px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-35961\" class=\" wp-image-35961\" src=\"http:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/dnr\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/04\/SP-2022-1024x684.jpeg\" alt=\"Maryland State Park Week Kick Off 2022\" width=\"500\" height=\"334\" srcset=\"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/dnr\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/04\/SP-2022-1024x684.jpeg 1024w, https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/dnr\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/04\/SP-2022-300x200.jpeg 300w, https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/dnr\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/04\/SP-2022-768x513.jpeg 768w, https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/dnr\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/04\/SP-2022.jpeg 1280w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 500px) 100vw, 500px\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-35961\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Lt. Governor Boyd Rutherford and Secretary Jeannie Haddaway Riccio Kick Off State Parks Week 2022<\/p><\/div>\r\n\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Lt. Governor Boyd K. Rutherford today joined the Maryland Department of Natural Resources (DNR) to announce the second Maryland State Park Week, with a ribbon-cutting at the Sandy Point State Park Nature Center. The new center features a Chesapeake Bay themed playground and a redeveloped plaza. <\/span><!--more--><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">State Park Week will be held April 15 &#8211; April 22, and concludes on Earth Day with the celebration of two new parks: Bohemia River State Park in Cecil County, and Cypress Branch State Park in Kent County.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u201cAs I continue my journey to visit every park in the state, I invite all Marylanders to join me during State Park Week and enjoy the world class outdoor experiences that our state has to offer,\u201d said Lt. Governor Rutherford. \u201cToday, I am proud to be back at Sandy Point State Park as we open this new nature center and celebrate the nearly $150 million in record funding dedicated to expanding and preserving our state parks.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Sandy Point State Park Nature Center, developed in partnership with the Chesapeake Conservancy and the National Park Service, will provide educational opportunities about flora and fauna native to the Bay. Part of $2.5 million in ongoing investments at the park, the center will offer information on how the public can protect the Bay from the effects of pollution and climate change. Throughout State Park Week, Lt. Governor Rutherford and DNR will highlight critical investments at parks statewide.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><b>During State Park Week, Lt. Governor Rutherford and DNR will visit these parks:\u00a0<\/b><\/p>\r\n<ul>\r\n\t<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><b>April 20:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> Woodmont Natural Resource Management Area and South Mountain State Park\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\r\n\t<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><b>April 21:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> Chapel Point State Park and Mattawoman Natural Environment Area\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\r\n\t<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><b>April 22 (Earth Day):<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> Bohemia River State Park and Cypress Branch State Park\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Maryland State Parks will offer events and opportunities for the public to enjoy the amenities, explore nature, and engage in conservation and cleanup volunteer activities at parks statewide.<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u201cOur incredible team of dedicated professionals has once again readied our parks and state lands to ensure our visitors have a high quality experience, not only during State Park Week, but throughout the year,\u201d said Maryland DNR Secretary Jeannie Haddaway-Riccio. \u201cWe have seen attendance at our parks double in the past decade. Thanks to the strong support from Governor Hogan and Lt. Governor Rutherford, we are also celebrating record funding so that we can continue to care for the lands that have been entrusted to us for generations to come.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Also during the kickoff event, the Maryland Park Advisory Commission presented its annual \u201cLegislative Champion\u201d award to Lt. Governor Rutherford and the late former Speaker of the Maryland House of Delegates, Michael E. Busch. Speaker Busch\u2019s wife, Cindy, and daughter Megan accepted the award on his behalf. The Commission\u2019s Partner of the Year Awards were given to Washington College in 2020 and the Chesapeake Conservancy in 2021, and Wolf Den Run State Park received the Award of Excellence.<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">The Chesapeake Conservancy worked with the Maryland Park Service to outfit the Sandy Point State Park nature center with bilingual interpretive materials.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u201cWe are grateful for the Hogan administration\u2019s leadership in enhancing the visitor experience at Sandy Point State Park, including a bilingual nature center,\u201d said Joel Dunn, President and CEO of the Chesapeake Conservancy. \u201cThis is a great example of how the Maryland State Parks, National Park Service, and nonprofit organizations can work together to engage the next generation in conservation.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">This month, Governor Hogan <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/governor.maryland.gov\/2022\/04\/01\/video-release-governor-hogan-welcomes-winners-of-healthcare-heroes-poster-competition-to-state-house\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">announced<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> that Maryland hospital and healthcare workers can visit any state park free of charge. Healthcare employees will be asked to show their work ID upon arrival to gain admission.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">More information about Maryland State Parks is available on the <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/dnr.maryland.gov\/publiclands\/Pages\/default.aspx\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">DNR website<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> at dnr.maryland.gov. You can follow the Lt. Governor\u2019s state park journey on his <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/governor.maryland.gov\/ltgovernor\/2689-2\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">State Park Bucket List<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> website.\u00a0 <\/span><\/p>\r\n<!-- \/wp:post-content -->","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Announced Two New State Parks Will Open During State Park Week, April 15-22 Lt. Governor Boyd K. Rutherford today joined the Maryland Department of Natural Resources (DNR) to announce the second Maryland State Park Week, with a ribbon-cutting at the Sandy Point State Park Nature Center. The new center features a Chesapeake Bay themed playground<a href=\"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/dnr\/2022\/04\/15\/lt-governor-rutherford-kicks-off-maryland-state-park-week-with-sandy-point-nature-center-dedication-ceremony\/\">&nbsp;&nbsp;Read the Rest&#8230;<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":180,"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":[957,23,12],"tags":[2971,4861,4209,4035,4981,3006,3332],"class_list":["post-35928","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-appnews","category-land","category-parks","tag-anne-arundel-county","tag-boyd-k-rutherford","tag-chesapeake-conservancy","tag-jeannie-haddaway-riccio","tag-maryland-state-parks","tag-nita-settina","tag-sandy-point-state-park"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/dnr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35928","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\/180"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/dnr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=35928"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/dnr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35928\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":35973,"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/dnr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35928\/revisions\/35973"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/dnr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=35928"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/dnr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=35928"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/dnr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=35928"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}