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Maryland spring turkey hunters harvest 2847 wild turkeys

345 total turkeys from Garrett County led the state of Maryland

Baltimore Outdoor Recreation Examiner
Andrew Aughenbaugh

The Maryland Department of Natural Resources (DNR) reported this week that 2,847 wild turkeys were harvested during the 2010 spring season. This spring’s harvest was down only 2 percent from last year’s total of 2,910.

Talk among Maryland turkey hunters, before the spring season, was filled with concern of a possible winter kill from the deep snows of last winter. As the season came to a close, these fears turned out unfounded based on the harvest results.

“Many hunters were concerned that the exceptionally cold temperatures and deep snows this past winter might have harmed the turkey population,” stated Bob Long, DNR’s Upland Game Bird Biologist. “Based on the harvest numbers, the impacts were minor, even in western Maryland where snowfall amounts were very high.”

The 2010 numbers are similar to the 10-year average of 2,927, showing that Maryland’s turkey population remains healthy despite the extended inclement weather this past winter. Only 17 percent of the harvest was comprised of young gobblers, called jakes. This is well below average and supports DNR survey results that documented low reproductive success throughout most of the state last summer. Depending on the reproductive success of this spring, hunters could possibly see another slight decline in the turkey population during next hunting season.

If you are thinking of buying or selling real estate in Garrett County or Deep Creek Lake, Maryland, call Jay Ferguson of Railey Realty for all of your real estate needs! 877-563-5350 Deep Creek Lake Info, Business Directories, Classified Ads, Events & more! Advertise on http://www.deepcreekalive.com/!

McHenry Cove Views

If you are thinking of buying or selling real estate in Garrett County or Deep Creek Lake, Maryland, call Jay Ferguson of Railey Realty for all of your real estate needs! 877-563-5350

Deep Creek Lake Info, Business Directories, Classified Ads, Events & more! Advertise on http://www.deepcreekalive.com/!

Ocean City eyeing end to unemployment benefits for seasonal workers

http://ifawebnews.com:

Ocean City (Md.) Council members are considering asking the state to eliminate unemployment benefits to seasonal workers, a change that could affect a number of businesses across the state, according to advocates.

The council has until July 2 to present to the Maryland Municipal League, a lobbying organization, what items it would like the Maryland General Assembly to consider in 2011, according to the Daily Times newspaper.

Councilman Joseph Hall told the newspaper halting unemployment benefits for seasonal workers might force employers to raise wages for all seasonal workers.

But Town Attorney Guy Ayres said Deep Creek Lake and other resort areas of Maryland, and Baltimore City might benefit from the change.

State replenishing Savage River Reservoir fish

Thousands of largemouth bass, crappie fingerlings added to reservoir
Michael A. Sawyers
Cumberland Times-News

BLOOMINGTON — The Maryland Fisheries Service dumped 12,000 largemouth bass fingerlings and 18,000 black crappie fingerlings into Savage River Reservoir Tuesday in a continuing effort to return game fish to the impoundment that was drained this past winter.

Dave Sein, who works at the Manning Hatchery in Brandywine, drove the fish from Prince George’s County to their new Garrett County home. It wasn’t the first trip.

“We had already stocked 800,000 walleye fry and 25,000 walleye fingerlings along with 25,000 bluegill fingerlings, 9,000 red-ear sunfish fingerlings and 3,850 adult rainbow trout,” Alan Klotz, regional fishery biologist, said Tuesday.

“We will be stocking fingerling warm water fish for the next three years to replenish the fishing in the reservoir,” Klotz added.

Klotz said anglers should not expect much in the way of fishing for the warm water species for a few years. “But once the fish start growing, the fishing will come back quickly, usually peaking about five years after stocking in reservoirs that have been drained. The trout, though, are ready for catching right now.”

The reservoir has returned to full pool, having been drained so that repairs could be made to faulty release gates in the dam.

Klotz said he was surprised that dead fish from the reservoir were not found downstream in the Savage River.

“I expected to find thousands,” he said. “I think they must have washed on down into the North Branch (of the Potomac). We certainly didn’t see dead fish lying on the drained reservoir surface.”

In addition, Klotz said some yellow perch, largemouth bass and smallmouth bass moved upstream in the Savage River during drainage and have likely returned to the impoundment.

Klotz said that initial news about survival of trout downstream of the reservoir is good.

“We had a crew do a quick electrofishing sample and found adult brown and brook trout just about everywhere,” he said. “We probably lost a year of reproduction, but the adult fish seem to have done better than anticipated. When I watched the high flows coming down the river during the draining I didn’t think any trout would survive.”

Klotz said a thorough survey of the lower Savage River will take place in July and will tell the full post-drainage story.

Black bears of Maryland – Carroll County Times

Posted: Sunday, June 6, 2010 1:05 am
By Andy Augenbaugh, Times Outdoors Writer

Possibly for the first time in almost a hundred years a black bear has been seen in Carroll County. As reported in the Carroll County Times on May 26, a yearling bear was seen in the Union Mills and Westminster area.

History of Maryland black bears

When settlers arrived in Carroll County, black bears roamed statewide across Maryland. However, by the late 1800s and early 1900s, the black bear population had dropped dramatically. Settlers cleared the landscape for agriculture, industry, and timber production, resulting in most of Maryland’s suitable black bear habitat being lost. Settlers feared black bears and they killed them whenever a bear was encountered. This indiscriminate killing, combined with the large-scale habitat loss and a lack of conservation laws, eliminated black bears from most parts of the state.

According to Md. DNR, by the mid-20th century, black bears could only be found in the rugged mountainous areas in Western Maryland. By the mid- 1950s, only a few bears were estimated to remain in the state. In 1953, the black bear hunting season was closed due to concerns of a dwindling bear population. In 1972, the status of black bears was changed from “forest game animal” to “endangered species” in Maryland.

Read the rest here.

"Win-the-Fight" Garrett County Gran Fondo cycling event

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Jun. 3, 2010

The inaugural “Win-the-Fight” Garrett County Gran Fondo cycling event will be held June 26 and 27 in the county. Organized by the Joanna M. Nicolay Melanoma Foundation, producers of the SavageMan Triathlon Festival, the event will be a long-distance, mass-participation, cycling event suitable for professional, amateur, and recreational cyclists of all abilities. It is not a race, but is a fundraiser for the melanoma foundation.

A “gran fondo” is a celebrated tradition in Italian cycling culture, according to Greg Safko, president of the Joanna M. Nicolay Foundation. While registration is just $40 for the two-day gran fondo, participants are encouraged to bring in donations for the foundation. See story on today’s sports link. Photo by Michael Bello Portraits.

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Commissioners Approve New Budget, Keep Real Property Tax Rate At $.99

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Jun. 3, 2010

Making do with less money will be Garrett County government’s objective in Fiscal Year 2011. The new operating and capital budget is $16.2 million less than FY 2010’s and $31 million less than 2009’s.

The county commissioners unanimously approved the new $68 million budget on Tuesday. Numerous county department heads and local residents attended the proceeding.

“This budget process began about two years ago, maybe even longer, when the county realized there were going to be some budget shortfalls and some reductions in available revenues,” said county administrator Monty Pagenhardt.

Based on that realization, the commissioners set the real property tax rate for FY ’11 at $.99 per $100 of assessed value, the same as the current fiscal year’s. This will apply to all areas of the county except Mtn. Lake Park. Because of a tax differential agreement, property owners in that town will pay $.942. For FY ’10, Mtn. Lake Park’s rate is $.937.

“I think this is a very responsible budget,” said Commissioner Ernie Gregg. “I wish we could have reduced the tax rate, but we do have a responsibility to provide basic services to our constituency, and I think we’re doing that in a responsible manner.”

The commissioners noted that if the tax rate were lowered, “drastic” measures would have to be taken, including employee furloughs and reduced work hours, resulting in a reduction of services.

“To my knowledge we’re the only county that hasn’t reduced work, that hasn’t had furloughs, that hasn’t had reduced hours,” Pagenhardt said.

He attributed that to “strong financial management,” particularly on the part of the Garrett County Department of Financial Services staff.

By keeping the tax rate the same, Financial Services director Wendy Yoder estimates the county will garner an additional $2.3 million in tax revenue in the new year. Local officials hope this will help offset substantial reductions in various revenues that have traditionally been allocated to counties by the state.

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"Flag On Mountain Maryland" Set For June 14 At Wisp

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Jun. 3, 2010

The annual Flag on Mountain Maryland celebration will be held on Flag Day, Monday evening, June 14, at Wisp Resort, McHenry. Billed as a patriotic event for the entire family, this year’s theme is “Honoring Our Local Korean War Veterans.”

A fly-over is scheduled for 5:45 p.m. The program will start at 6 p.m., featuring a “living flag” coming down Marsh Mountain.

Korean War veteran 2nd Lt. Bruce Baker will be the keynote speaker. He was born in Nebraska in 1930, and enlisted in the U.S. Army at the age of 16, serving from 1946 through 1954.

Baker was a radio operator until he entered Officer Candidate School. He was a chauffeur for a general officer in Europe and was a combat infantry officer in Korea from 1952 until the end of the war in 1953.

In civilian life, Baker was the administrator for Walt Disney exhibits at the New York World’s Fair in 1964. After that he worked as a ranch-hand and a “real-live” cowboy in Nebraska and Wyoming until he got into the golf business.

Read the rest here.
If you are thinking of buying or selling real estate in Garrett County or Deep Creek Lake, Maryland, call Jay Ferguson of Railey Realty for all of your real estate needs! 877-563-5350 Deep Creek Lake Info, Business Directories, Classified Ads, Events & more! Advertise on http://www.deepcreekalive.com/!

Relay For Life Set June 11-12 At SHS Track

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Jun. 3, 2010

The 2010 Relay For Life of Garrett County will be held next Friday and Saturday, June 11-12, from 5 p.m. to 7 a.m. at the Southern High School track. Food from Jearbryo’s and fries from the Oakland Rotary will be available.
Team fundraising events will start at 5 p.m. The opening ceremony will begin at 7 p.m., followed by the survivors lap. Participants can purchase a luminaria, which will be lit during a 9 p.m. ceremony, in memory of a loved one lost to cancer or to honor a cancer survivor.

Games, entertainment, and themed laps will take place throughout the evening. Prizes will include two adult year memberships at the Wisp fitness center, a Swedish massage at Sewickley Spa, and a number of gift certificates from area businesses.

Relay dollars fund many local programs such as Road to Recovery, which provides transportation for cancer patients to cancer treatments; Reach to Recovery, which provides one-on-one information for breast cancer patients from women who are survivors of breast cancer; I Can Cope, which offers training to those with cancer and/or their family members on how to cope with the disease; and Look Good Feel Better, which provides an opportunity for persons who are going through cancer treatment to receive a make-over from trained cosmetologists, along with a personal kit of makeup at the session.

Read the rest here.

Local Farmers' Market Season Beginning Now

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Jun. 3, 2010

The Garrett County farmers’ market operations are now partially under way, with the Deep Creek market having opened last weekend, and the Oakland market to open this weekend. The market in Grantsville will open in July.
The Deep Creek Lake Farmers’ Market will be in operation now through Sept. 2 on Thursdays from 4 to 6 p.m. at the Garrett County Visitor’s Center parking lot in McHenry.

The Deep Creek Lake Farmers’ Market Association hosts producer-only farmers’ markets featuring farmers and bakers within a 50-mile radius of McHenry.

For more information, persons may visit www.dclfarmersmarket.blogspot.com or call 301-334-6960.

The Oakland Mountain Fresh Farmers’ Market will be held June 5 through Oct. 30 on Wednesdays and Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. The market is operated at the town pavilion in the municipal parking lot, located off Second Street.

The Mountain Fresh Producers’ Association also hosts producer-only farmers’ markets, featuring fresh produce, herbs, honey, jams and jellies, baked goods, plants, crafts, and fall decorations from the mountaintop area.

For more information, persons may visit www.MountainFresh.org or call 301-334-6960.

The Grantsville Farmers’ Market will be held July through October on Tuesdays from 5 to 7 p.m. It will offer fresh produce and other products from farms throughout the region.

For more information about any of the farmers’ markets in Garrett County, persons may call 301-334-6960.

Maryland spring turkey hunters harvest 2847 wild turkeys

McHenry Cove Views

Ocean City eyeing end to unemployment benefits for seasonal workers

State replenishing Savage River Reservoir fish

Black bears of Maryland – Carroll County Times

"Win-the-Fight" Garrett County Gran Fondo cycling event

Commissioners Approve New Budget, Keep Real Property Tax Rate At $.99

"Flag On Mountain Maryland" Set For June 14 At Wisp

Relay For Life Set June 11-12 At SHS Track

Local Farmers' Market Season Beginning Now

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