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News Archive Beginning June 2004
 Another great Herp Search! Thanks to DLITE, MD Coastal Bays, Salisbury University, MD DNR and the Salisbury Zoo for their planning and support of the event. It is always a good time being in the field with you all - even in crummy weather. Cold weather kept the number of species down to a record low but the afternoon was still pretty productive. Read the full story for complete results and to see pictures.
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Smith Island, MD – “A thousand channels and cricks and guts rive the marsh, and through them the bay perfuses Smith Island…through the fantastic maze of loops and whorls and meanders the marshways make.” -- An Island Out of Time, Tom Horton.
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Nature & Heritage Interpretation course featured on WBOC's Learning Matters
No longer do people just want to sight-see. They want to 'sight-do.' WBOC's Lisa Bryant reports on a new DLITE & WOR-WIC class that teaches park and museum workers how to meet those needs. Click here to see the video: Sight-Seeing Not Enough for Some People
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Check out the CVWO News from Kiptopeke. Bloggers Jeff, Bob, and Jethro share sitings on the Eastern Shore of Virginia of a variety of birds (including raptors), lizards, and more.
Check it out at: ww.kiptopeke.blogspot.com
Are you blogging about wildlife or eco-travel on Delmarva? Let us know! Email: dlitedirector@comcast.net
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Jim Rapp was recently interviewed about birding on Delmarva by CNN.com for their travel section.
Check it out:
http://www.cnn.com/2007/TRAVEL/09/19/birdwatching.ap/index.html
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by Jim Rapp
For nearly 180 miles, the beaches along the Delaware Bay and Atlantic Ocean provide Delmarva with endless opportunities for outdoor recreation and nature exploration. More than 10 million beachcombers, surfers, anglers and birders visit our Delmarva coast each year, pumping millions of dollars into our local economies.
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Diane Daniel says that when you think of the Eastern Shore, more than just crabs should come to mind.
Click here to read the story.
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by Brian Garrett
Much has been said over the years about the Pocomoke River’s unique ecology, its abundance of flora, fauna, fish and fowl, and its importance to local history, commerce, trade and development of the area. But what is it really about, this ‘Wild and Scenic’ river, this artery of the ‘Beach to Bay Indian Trail’? To me it is that the river has helped to connect the region for centuries and it continues today.
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by Jim Rapp
On May 23, the House Interior Appropriations Subcommittee allocated $85 million for the State Wildlife Grants Program, the nation’s core program for preventing wildlife from becoming endangered. This record level of funding for State Wildlife Grants has only been reached once before, in 2002.
Read the full story.
 The Board of Directors of Delmarva Low-Impact Tourism Experiences (DLITE) is proud to announce the selection of Jim Rapp as their new executive director.
DLITE is an alliance of local, state, and federal agencies, non-governmental organizations, local tourism providers and natural resource managers organized to encourage nature-based tourism on Delmarva and foster a sense of wonder and value for the natural world.
"Jim brings tremendous enthusiasm for Delmarva’s wildlife and wild places, and is exceptionally qualified to direct our alliance," said Karen Falk, DLITE Chair and former Executive Director of Southern Delaware Tourism. "We are fortunate to work with Jim as DLITE moves forward into a new era."
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 This year it looks like the Summerfield Property was the hottest place to find herps. Herp searchers also found critters on Holly Grove Road, at the Tyson wastewater treatment plant, and the Shockley property on Whiton Road, including this red bellied snake found on Maryland Route 376.
Read the full story.
 187 different kinds of birds were spotted and are listed below. This year organizers also solicted photos. Some included Northern Gannets spotted on the return trip from Cape May near the Lewes Harbor.
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Birders enjoyed abundant sitings during the Delmarva Birding Weekend this past Spring (April 21-23, 2006). Participants recorded observing 142 species. Thanks are extended to everyone who worked so hard to make this possible and especially to those who participated.
Read the full story.
 Helen Arthur, director of sales and marketing for the Boardwalk Hotel Group, discusses packaging at a workshop held by DLITE in Ocean City June 12.
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Once again a banner year!
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Working with One Less Car, DLITE will co-sponsor the first ever Cycle Across Maryland bike tour on the shore July 13-16.
Read the full story.
Winter is the time to sign up for the Delmarva Birding Weekend April 28-30. Last year most trips filled by mid-March so visit the Delmarva Birding Weekend home page to find out more. or call now at 800-852-0335 to reserve a spot.
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 One of DLITE’s biggest projects, the Cape to Cape Birding Trail is underway. This ambitious project will connect birding sites on the shore from Cape May, New Jersey to Cape Charles, Virginia.
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by Dave Wilson
Good weather helped bolster duck and geese numbers for the 2005 Ocean City Christmas Bird Count while numbers of forest and farmland species struggled.
Read the full story.
 DLITE’s EA Vaughn Kayak Trail is available through DLITE or at most county tourism offices.
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On Nov. 9 DLITE collaborated with the Delaware Center for the Inland Bays to hold a one-day workshop for ecotourism providers on the Delmarva Peninsula. The Center obtained a $1,500 assistance award from the U.S. EPA this spring to support the activity.
Read the full story.
 Visitors to the Salisbury Zoo's new Richard and Patricia Hazel Delmarva Trail will experience naturalistic exhibits highlighting local wildlife which were native to the Delmarva Peninsula— including red wolves.
Read the full story.
The Virginia Eastern Shore Land Trust secured another 1,860 acres in permanent conservation easements in 2005 bringing the total acres preserved by the three-year-old organization to 4,487.
Read the full story.
This fall, local Author Tom Patton published “Listen to the Voices, Follow the Trails,” an account of the unique natural history and culture found along Maryland’s seacoast.
Read the full story.
The Chesapeake Bay Environmental Center in Grasonville just east of the Chesapeake Bay Bridge boasts forests, meadows and marshes perfect for a day outdoors.
Read the full story.
The Bethany-Fenwick Area Chamber of Commerce will be holding its annual Ocean-To-Bay Bike Tour Saturday, April 22 at the Chamber office at Fenwick Island State Park on Route 1. Riders can choose from courses of 20, 35, or 50 miles through The Quiet Resorts of Sussex County, Delaware. The tour offers participants a leisurely ride on flat terrain, through coastal and inland bay areas.
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Following a public training session on March 31, the sixth annual Great Worcester Herp Search will take place May 13 at 9 a.m. A brief pre-hunt training session will feature live turtles, snakes, frogs, and salamanders and explain ways to identify them in the wild. It is free to the public and will be held to prep volunteers for searching four Worcester County sites.
Read the full story.
Delmarva Low Impact Tourism Experiences - DLITE - represents a union of Maryland, Virginia, and Delaware businesses, conservation organizations, and local, state, and federal partners which have formed an alliance to encourage nature-based tourism and conservation on the shore.
Read the full story.
 Thanks to the Seraph Foundation for their $25,000 grant to help DLITE fund operations, the Cape to Cape Birding Trail, and the African American Heritage Trail.
Read the full story.
Grants from the France-Merrick Foundation and the Maryland Coastal Bays Program will help add sites to DLITE’s African American Heritage Trail.
Read the full story.
BERLIN, MARYLAND -- Local Author Tom Patton has recently published Listen to the Voices, Follow the Trails, an account of the unique natural history and culture found along Maryland's seacoast. Laced with the voices of latter-day pioneers, this hard cover illustrated chronicle leads readers on an unparalleled journey through a once-isolated coastal frontier.
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Cambridge – Dorchester County Tourism is pleased to announce the production of Birding in the Heart of Chesapeake Country Trail Guide, designed to assist birders to areas where they will surely spot some feathered friends.
Read the full story.
The Salisbury Zoo is very concerned for the staff and the animals of the Audubon Zoo and the Audubon Aquarium of the Americas. Both of these facilities are located in New Orleans, and have been seriously affected by Hurricane Katrina. The zoo and aquarium staff are not only colleagues, but they are also our friends and share our passion for the animals in our care.
Read the full story.
A new canoe and kayak trail is on tap for the southern coastal bays around the EA Vaughn Wildlife Management Area in Chincoteague Bay.
Read the full story.
Delmarva was "teaming" with wildlife this spring during a nature tourism event organized by DLITE and sponsored by the International Association of Fish & Wildlife Agencies and the Maryland Department of Natural Resources. The event was planned to showcase how federal funds support non-game wildlife conservation through State Wildlife Grants, and how the conservation of these species benefits local economies through nature tourism.
Read the full story.
Photo Courtesy David Judd
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DLITE is collaborating with the Delaware Center for the Inland Bays to hold a one-day workshop for ecotourism providers on the Delmarva Peninsula. The Center obtained a $1,500 assistance award from the U.S. EPA this spring to support the activity.
Read the full story.
DLITE is offering Friday night and Sunday night guided canoe trips behind Assateague Island through Labor Day.
Read the full story.
Led by the Conservation Fund, Senator Paul S. Sarbanes (D-MD) introduced legislation this spring that would establish a "Captain John Smith Chesapeake National Historic Watertrail." Joining Sarbanes in sponsoring the legislation were Senators John Warner (R-VA), Barbara Mikulski (D-MD), and George Allen (R-VA).
Read the full story.
The Eastern Shore Land Conservancy and the University of Maryland, Wye Research and Education Center are partnering to bring Delmarva the 2nd Annual Rural Heritage Day, scheduled for Sunday, Sept. 25 from 11 a.m. - 5 p.m. at the Queen Anne's County 4-H Park near Centreville. The cost is $1 for adults and free for children 12 and under. Parking is also free.
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 The Eastern Shore Land Conservancy has been working in Dorchester, Caroline, Talbot, Queen Anne’s, Kent and Cecil counties in Maryland to protect farms and natural lands since 1990. The private, nonprofit organization, was founded 15 years ago as a result of widespread concern that the Eastern Shore’s important working farms were being consumed by sprawling development.
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DLITE Members get copies free - click here to join.
or - - - - -
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The Chincoteague Volunteer Fire Company’s annual Pony Roundup and Swim takes place July 27 from 8 a.m.- 1 p.m. The swim from Assateague commences on the first slack tide after the ponies are rounded up by local cowboys.
Read the full story.
Paddling enthusiasts have been chatting on line about it all season. What’s all the excitement about? It’s the Sixth Annual Broadkill River Canoe & Kayak Race, Saturday, August 27, 2005.
Read the full story.
Photo Courtesy David Judd
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Organized by DLITE on May 14, a record 23 species were recorded this year. Some 60 volunteers visited four sites to help scientists get a glimpse of the remaining species. New species for the Herp Search in 2005 were two rare broad-headed skinks, a brown snake.
Read the full story.
Dorchester County will hold the 13th Annual Native American Festival, rain or shine, at Sailwinds Park on the grounds and inside Governors Hall on Sept. 17 and 18.
Read the full story.
Thanks to everyone who worked so hard to make this possible and to those who particpated. Birders enjoyed an especially fruitful weekend this year. 151 different kinds of birds were spotted. Checkout the tally.
Read the full story.
 by Dave Wilson Jr.
A new canoe and kayak trail is on tap for the southern coastal bays around the EA Vaughn Wildlife Management Area in Chincoteague Bay.
Read the full story.
A fun day was had by all while finding 145 snakes, amphibians and lizards from 23 different species at four locations.
Read the full story.
Paddling around the unspoiled Chesapeake Bay shores got easier this August when Talbot County released its Tilghman Island Water Trail map.
Read the full story.
As part of the Livable Delaware campaign, Governor Ruth Ann Minner continues to work with forestry and conservation organizations to help protect open space in Delaware.
Read the full story.
 Today, thanks to reintroduction efforts begun in 1979, increases in public land, and better management of hunting, wild turkeys are flourishing on the shore. From a low of less than 1,000 turkeys in Maryland in 1970 to more than 30,000 birds today, turkeys are re-establishing themselves in their former ranges.
Read the full story.
DLITE has joined the Teaming With Wildlife Coalition to help seek state and federal dollars to help protect non-game species of wildlife.
Read the full story.
Two years ago, the Nature Conservancy provided financial and technical assistance to assist a new land trust in getting started on Virginia's Eastern Shore. By the end of 2004, that investment paid big dividends in land protection on the coast.
Read the full story.
The annual festival begining at 10 a.m. along the waterfront in Vienna, Maryland, celebrates spring and the return of the American Shad to the Nanticoke River.
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The Delmarva Low Impact Tourism Board and advisors meet at the Atlantic Hotel in Berlin, Maryland.
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 Frigid temperatures and snow cover kept the 2004 Ocean City Christmas Bird Count numbers down, but three birds did manage to set records for the count.
Read the full story.
This winter, DLITE summoned a group of well-known leaders and business professionals to help bring public recognition and dollars to DLITE.
Read the full story.
 Bicyclists on the East Coast finally have access to a network of cycling trails— ranging from 8-1,000 miles—through every county on the Delmarva peninsula. Delmarva Low Impact Tourism Experiences (DLITE), a coalition of county tourism and conservation professionals, created the first-of-its-kind ADC map.
Read the full story.
 Delaware is the only state without a unit of the National Park Service. But after nearly two years of research and planning that involved state officials, community leaders and activists, Delaware Senator Tom Carper is recommending the creation of a national park that encompasses numerous historic and recreational sites which celebrate Delaware's special coastal heritage.
Read the full story.
This winter DLITE will embark on a new effort to map abandoned rail lines and utility right-of-ways throughout the peninsula to research areas that might be suitable for conversion into biking and hiking trails.
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Golden Quarter Farm owner Sandra Frazier has a unique perspective on the marriage of farming and conservation and the means that make the two meet. Every spring she open up her 170-acre farm on Ayers Creek for participants in the Delmarva Birding Weekend and the Great Worcester Herp Search.
Read the full story.
Visitors to the region can treat their taste buds to some of Maryland's finest wines at the second annual Wicomico County Autumn Wine Festival October 23 - 24 at Pemberton Historical Park in Salisbury.
Read the full story.
 The Seaside Water Trail, over 100 miles of day-use paddling routes through the coastal bays of Delmarva's southern tip, has opened on the Eastern Shore of Virginia. The Seaside Water Trail runs from the Eastern Shore of Virginia National Wildlife Refuge at Cape Charles to Chincoteague Island and to Greenbackville near the Virginia/Maryland state line.
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 For centuries Homo sapiens have enjoyed birdwatching, and recently "herping," to examine and release reptiles and amphibians, has been increasing in popularity. But there are a whole host of little-known fish whose beauty and behavior are piquing the interest of those looking to expand their observation into a third order.
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Virginia’s Seaside holds tremendous potential to demonstrate appropriate management of economic development and habitat restoration within a rare and fragile ecosystem.
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The pinnacle of the raptor migration on Delmarva takes place in October when numerous species of birds of prey will make their most pronounced push through the peninsula.
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by Dave Wilson
Coastal bays fishing regulation brochures are here and available free to businesses, individuals or groups.
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Spanning Kent Island from Terrapin Nature Park on the shore of the Chesapeake Bay to the Kent Narrows, the Cross Island Trail offers an avenue for safe biking and walking in a beautiful Chesapeake Bay setting.
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 Eastern box turtles usually conjure up feelings of empathy and respect, but this several million-year-old reptile cannot survive without adequate natural habitat.
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 For birders or simply for those who love open vistas of expansive tidal marsh and barrier islands, the Eastern Shore loop of the Virginia Birding and Wildlife Trail is a must travel.
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by Lisa Challanger
The success of the Delmarva Birding Weekend in April shows just how much of an economic driver the area’s natural resources are and could continue to be in the future.
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 by Dave Wilson Jr.
Some 215 reptiles and amphibians representing 17 species were the result of the fourth annual search held May 8 in Worcester County. More than 50 volunteers traversed the Golden Quarter Farm on MD 376, the southern half of the EA Vaughn WMA, a mainland property on MD 611 owned by Assateague State Park, and the DNR Cordery Tract off Sturges Road.
Read the full story.
While DLITE devotes much of its focus to nature trails and low-impact tourism, its work with land conservation organizations is critical to keeping nature tourism viable on the shore.
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Presented by the Bethany-Fenwick Area Chamber of Commerce in southeastern Sussex County, the tour offers riders a 15, 35, or 50 mile route over flat terrain with striking views of ocean, dunes, bays and countryside.
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The newest Delmarva Low Impact Tourism Board and advisors met at the Atlantic Hotel in May 2004. DLITE is creating biking, hiking, canoeing and birding trails throughout Delmarva. Due out in July is the first ever Delmarva-wide biking trail devised by the group. Senator Barbara Mikulski along with Senator Paul Sarbanes helped secure a $150,000 appropriation to jump start the projects. Delaware Senator Tom Carper is working on the same during this congressional session. The 501(c)(3) organization is also in charge of the Delmarva Birding Weekend.
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Folks from around the United States canoed, hiked, and biked for birds this April during the Delmarva Birding Weekend. Visitors from Indiana, Missouri, Maine, Idaho and all around the US filled 445 trips which traversed the region to find it’s unparalleled shorebirds and forest songbirds. DLITE, Worcester County Tourism, and the Salisbury Zoo organize the event every year.
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