Md. Dept. of Natural Resources tags black bears
SWANTON, Md. (WJLA) – The Maryland Department of Natural Resources (DNR) wants to keep tabs on the state’s black bear population.
Each spring, agents fan out to find bear cubs and their mothers to tag them for future monitoring. On Wednesday, they were out near Deep Creek Lake.
Deep in a hole in a hillside along a cold mountain stream, a black bear gave birth. State biologists have been tracking the 12-year-old bear with a radio collar for years. On Wednesday, it was time to change her collar and check her cubs. Biologists say their greatest concern is keeping the cubs warm.
It took two to pull the 230-pound adult bear from her den, before a veterinarian checked her.
Read more: http://www.wjla.com/articles/2015/03/md-dept-of-natural-resources-tags-black-bears-112622.html#ixzz3VV5P41Nt
Maryland chambers approve separate fracking bills
ANNAPOLIS, Md.—Legislation that limits when and how fracking could take place in Maryland passed Tuesday in both chambers of the state legislature.
Senators voted 29–17 for a bill that holds drilling companies strictly liable for injuries to residents or their property, and in the case of legal action companies would have to disclose what chemicals they use for drilling.
In a 93–45 House vote, delegates supported a three-year moratorium on the drilling practice and called for establishing a scientific review panel to look at impacts to public health and the environment.
“These bills are not mutually exclusive. I think there’s much more study that needs to be done on this, particularly the public health effects and environmental effects of fracking,” said Sen. Robert Zirkin, a Democrat from Baltimore County who sponsored the liability legislation. “The law we just passed from the Senate holds the correct people responsible if there is damage. Why should taxpayers be on the hook for environmental damage caused by the industry?”
Read More Here: http://www.fredericksburg.com/news/va_md_dc/maryland-chambers-approve-separate-fracking-bills/article_52cbd7fb-3f33-588c-9054-7550344edc60.html
Tiny houses starting to make a big impact on housing market
BALTIMORE – How much space do you need to live?
If you’re a tiny house enthusiast, not a whole lot.
“It’s about smart living, not big living,” Garrett County home builder Bill Thomas said.
Thomas, the founder of Hobbitat, constructs homes between 300 and 600 square feet, though many so-called tiny homes are even smaller. Hobbitat’s smallest homes are in Deep Creek Lake’s Blue Moon Rising ecotourism resort, while the “Hobs” designed for full-time living run bigger.
They are still a far cry from the average U.S. home, which is around 2,600 square feet, according to the most recent data from the U.S. Census Bureau.
Read More Here: http://www.abc2news.com/news/watercooler/tiny-houses-starting-to-make-a-big-impact-on-housing-market
Fracking moratorium bill fends off amendments, heads to vote
A bill to place a three-year moratorium on fracking in Maryland survived eight amendments and is headed to a vote in the House of Delegates.
On Monday, the Protect Our Health and Communities Act dodged attempts by House Republicans to change the legislation and make it easier for fracking to start in western Maryland. Currently there is no fracking in Maryland.
Read More Here: http://wtop.com/maryland/2015/03/fracking-moratorium-bill-fends-off-amendments-heads-to-vote/
Swallow Falls State Park
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Fracking - The Health Effects
The Garrett County Commissioners met on Tuesday. The presentation that was given by Dr. Ann Bristow is now online.
Click here for more information: http://garrettcounty.org/resources/commissioners/pdf/GaCo_Comm_3-17-15-(2).pdf
Md. Senate kills effort to weaken proposed resistrictions on fracking
ANNAPOLIS — A key amendment offered by Republican Sen. George Edwards to weaken a bill that could restrict the process of drilling for gas in Western Maryland was defeated on the Senate floor Thursday.
The bill, sponsored by Democratic Sen. Bobby Zirkin, D-Baltimore County, seeks to hold energy companies responsible for any damages from hydraulic fracturing, a drilling process that is used in states such as Pennsylvania and West Virginia.
Hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, is a process by which water, sand and chemicals are pumped underground to fracture rock and release natural gas.
Senators hotly debate language in fracking bill
ANNAPOLIS, Md. —The debate over whether to allow fracking in Maryland lit up the state Senate chamber Wednesday.
Legislators from western Maryland oppose a bill that would hold fracking companies accountable for any damage done during the process, saying it would kill any chances of cashing in on natural gas deposits in the state.
Spirited debate came to an abrupt halt when the Senate decided to seek the state attorney general’s opinion on disputed language in the bill.
Fracking extracts natural gas from Marcellus shale, which can be found underneath of nearly all of Garrett County and parts of Allegany County. A Towson University study finds tapping into Marcellus shale could infuse billions into the western Maryland economy.
Read More Here: http://www.wbaltv.com/politics/senators-hotly-debate-language-in-fracking-bill/31871292
Md. schools superintendent visiting Garrett robotics lab
ACCIDENT, Md. (AP) – Maryland State Schools Superintendent Lillian Lowery is visiting a robotics laboratory in far western Maryland that produced a regional championship team two years in a row.
She’s visiting the Garrett Engineering And Robotics Society building in Accident Wednesday. Her visit is part of a tour highlighting science, technology
, engineering and mathematics programs in Garrett and Allegany county schools.
Read More Here: http://www.myfoxdc.com/story/28548514/md-schools-superintendent-visiting-garrett-robotics-lab
