LEWES – The first piping plover nest of the season has hatched a full clutch of four chicks on the Point at Cape Henlopen State Park, DNREC’s Division of Fish & Wildlife announced today.

Three more piping plover pairs are incubating nests on the Point in Cape Henlopen State Park, with two of the nests due to hatch anytime now, DNREC biologist Matthew Bailey said. A pair of piping plovers at Gordons Pond are continuing preparations for nesting.

For more information about beachnesting birds and monitoring efforts, please contact Matthew Bailey at 302-382-4151 or email matthew.bailey@delaware.gov.

About the piping plover
The piping plover was listed as threatened under the federal Endangered Species Act (ESA) in 1986, and the Division of Fish and Wildlife is responsible for its protection in Delaware. Under a binding agreement and species management plan that DNREC made in 1990 with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) – the federal agency with oversight of this ESA-protected species – piping plover nesting areas at Cape Henlopen State Park are closed annually to the public to protect the shorebirds from disturbance during their nesting season from March into September. The closure, which includes the Point and smaller areas around Gordon’s Pond and with both feeding habitat and nesting areas protected, has been successful, increasing the number of piping plover nesting pairs from a low of two pairs to a high of nine pairs. Piping plovers feed on small invertebrates that inhabit the intertidal zone near their nesting territories. Chicks are not fed by their parents, but rather are led to the shoreline to forage while the adults keep watch for potential threats. Allowing pedestrian traffic in the intertidal zone adjoining nesting areas would disturb the vital link between nesting and foraging habitat, and risks adverse stress or mortality to the chicks.

Media Contact: Joanna Wilson, DNREC Public Affairs, 302-739-9902

Vol. 46, No. 199

DOVER – Been thinking about casting a line into a nearby pond or daydreaming of a sunny afternoon at the beach with your surf rod, but just haven’t gotten around to purchasing your 2016 Delaware fishing license? DNREC’s Division of Fish & Wildlife has an opportunity for you.

To celebrate National Fishing and Boating Week, June 4-12, the Division of Fish & Wildlife invites you to try your luck fishing, crabbing and clamming by offering free fishing days on Saturday and Sunday, June 4 and 5. On these two days, anyone, out-of-staters included, may fish the state’s waters without a fishing license.

Anglers are reminded that even though they don’t need a license to fish on June 4 or 5, they are still required to obtain a free Fisherman Identification Network (F.I.N.) number. A F.I.N. number can be obtained online at www.delaware-fin.com or by calling 800-432-9228. Anglers also are required to comply with Delaware’s fishing regulations, including size and daily catch limits.

National Fishing and Boating Week festivities will also include the Division of Fish & Wildlife Natural Resources Police’s 30th Annual Youth Fishing Tournament from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday, June 4. The event will take place at a pond in each county: Ingrams Pond near Millsboro, Wyoming Pond in Wyoming and the dog training area at Lums Pond State Park near Bear. Participants are asked to arrive before 10 a.m. to register for the tournament.

With the exception of Delaware’s annual free fishing weekend, resident and non-resident anglers from the ages of 16 through 64 who fish, crab or clam in any Delaware waters – including ponds, impoundments, streams, rivers, bays and ocean – are required to purchase a fishing license. Delaware residents 65 or older and both residents and non-residents under age 16 are not required to purchase a license, although exempt persons may purchase fishing licenses if they so choose to help support fisheries management. Licenses are required for non-residents age 65 and older.

Delaware fishing licenses cost $8.50 for residents, while non-residents pay $20 a year or $12.50 for a seven-day license. Fishing licenses are sold online, at the licensing desk in DNREC’s Richardson & Robbins Building, 89 Kings Highway, Dover, DE 19901 and by license agents statewide. To find a participating agent, or to purchase a license online, visit Delaware Licenses. For additional information on Delaware fishing licenses, call 302-739-9918.

For more fishing information, click on 2016 Delaware Fishing Guide. The guide also is available in printed form at DNREC’s Dover licensing desk, and from license agents throughout the state.

The Youth Fishing Tournament is part of Delaware’s Children in Nature Initiative, a statewide effort to improve environmental literacy in Delaware, create opportunities for children to participate in enriching outdoor experiences, combat childhood obesity and promote healthy lifestyles. Delaware’s multi-agency initiative, which partners state and federal agencies with community organizations, is part of the national No Child Left Inside program.

Media Contact: Joanna Wilson, DNREC Public Affairs, 302-739-9902

Vol. 46, No. 197

When/Where: Saturday, July 2, 2016 @ 9:00 AM  (Rain or Shine!) Registration starts at 8am. Silver Lake Park, Dover, DE (Use Washington Street entrance off of State Street)

Attention! Attention! All Delaware Veterans and Citizens! Please help spread the word! We will be holding our 17th Annual Freedom 5K at Dover’s Silver Lake Park. Let’s help start the 4th of July weekend by giving back to our Delaware Veterans. The proceeds for this event goes towards the Delaware Veterans Trust Fund. The trust fund provides assistance to Delaware veterans in financial crisis. (http://www.delawareveteranstrustfund.com/)

We encourage all our runners, walkers and rollers to register online at TriSportsEvents.com or make checks payable to Veterans Trust Fund, mail it to TriSports, 2772 Hazlettville Rd. Dover, DE 19904.  All registrations before June 25th will be $20. Anything after June 25th is $25. 

For those who cannot race, but still want to contribute. Please review two great options. Register as a silent hero or sponsor the event. Sponsorship includes your company or organization listed on the Freedom 5K t-shirt. Gold Level Sponsor ($500) – includes 3 free registrations. Silver Level Sponsor ($300) – includes 2 free registrations. Bronze Level Sponsor ($100) – includes 1 free registration. Sponsorship application must be received by June 13, 2016. Please make checks payable to: Veterans Trust Fund and mail to the DE Commission of Veterans Affairs, 802 Silver Lake Blvd. Suite 100, Dover, DE 19904. (For more information on the sponsorship or the event, please contact our office and ask for Sable or Sherri at 302-739-2792.)

Don’t forget our exciting Kiddie K race that starts at 8:55am. Kids 8 and under can race for free! We have quality “Freedom 5K” t-shirts waiting for our participants. Along with unique awards for overall male, female and master’s winners; we have awards for walk, roll and Kiddie K finishers and more categories!

Please come support our Delaware Veterans! All you have to do is focus on the finish line and the great food you’ll be enjoying throughout the 4th of July weekend!

When/Where: Tuesday, June 14, 2016 @ 10:00AM                                                                       Delaware Veterans Cemetery, 26669 Patriots Way, Millsboro, DE 19966

Please come join us to honor ‘Old Glory’ on this eventful day we call ‘Flag Day.’ This year’s  ceremony will be hosted by the VVA – Vietnam Veterans Association in Sussex County. For more information, please contact our Southern Delaware Veterans Cemetery in Millsboro, DE at 302-934-5653.

The History Of Flag Day: The Fourth of July was traditionally celebrated as America’s birthday, but the idea of an annual day specifically celebrating the Flag is believed to have first originated in 1885. BJ Cigrand, a schoolteacher, arranged for the pupils in the Fredonia, Wisconsin Public School, District 6, to observe June 14 (the 108th anniversary of the official adoption of The Stars and Stripes) as ‘Flag Birthday’. In numerous magazines and newspaper articles and public addresses over the following years, Cigrand continued to enthusiastically advocate the observance of June 14 as ‘Flag Birthday’, or ‘Flag Day’. (http://www.usflag.org/history/flagday.html)

Reminder for the week: Operating golf carts, ATVs and other unregistered vehicles on wildlife areas, boat ramps and other facilities is illegal

DOVER – To achieve public compliance through education and enforcement actions that help conserve Delaware’s fish and wildlife resources and ensure safe boating and public safety, DNREC’s Division ofFish & Wildlife Natural Resources Police officers between May 16-22 made 1,091 contacts with anglers, boaters and the general public, including 96 vessel boardings for boating safety and fishing regulation compliance checks. Officers responded to 25 complaints and issued 37 citations. This week, with an expanded Fish & Wildlife Natural Resources Police presence continuing to be deployed as a deterrent, no citations were issued at the C&D Canal Conservation Area and associated recreational trail.

An incident of note:

• On May 17, Fish & Wildlife Natural Resources Police cited Ronald Lewis, 63, of Camden, for negligent operation of a vessel following an investigation into a boating accident on the Delaware Bay. Lewis and a passenger were rescued from the bay after the boat he was operating sank due to overloading. Lewis was issued a citation for $107, including court costs.

Citations issued by category, with the number of charges in parentheses, included:

Wildlife Conservation: Trespassing after hours on a state wildlife area (2).

Fisheries Conservation: Unlicensed fishing (3), unlawful commercial crabbing in a non-commercial area (1), tending more than two recreational crab pots (11), improperly marked recreational crab pots (10), failure to tend recreational crab pots at least once within required 72-hour timeframe (7), and illegal use of cast net in tidal water within 300 feet of a dam or spillway (1).

Boating and Boating Safety: Negligent operation of a vessel (1), and operating a vessel with insufficient number of life jackets (1).

A DNREC press release was issued related to a number of this week’s crabbing citations:

• Sussex waterman arrested for multiple commercial crabbing violations

Are you AWARE?
With seasonal weather here at last and summer just around the corner, Fish & Wildlife Natural Resources Police remind visitors that it is illegal to operate unregistered vehicles – including ATVs and golf carts – on state wildlife areas, boat ramps and other Division of Fish & Wildlife facilities.

“These types of vehicles are not equipped to be operated on roadways or in heavy traffic and present unique safety hazards,” said Sgt. John McDerby, Fish & Wildlife Natural Resources Police. “These vehicles can be dangerous, especially when operated by children, or with no lights after dark.”

Two areas of particular concern are the Masseys Landing public boat ramp and the Okie Preserve Wildlife Area, both in Long Neck in Sussex County. The Long Neck area has a high concentration of golf carts in use by local residents. Operators of these vehicles who drive on wildlife areas, boat ramps or other facilities face fines starting at $50 for each violation.

For more information on individual wildlife areas, including the rules and regulations specific to each, visitors are encouraged to check out Delaware wildlife area maps, which are available in hard copy at DNREC’s licensing desk in the Richardson & Robbins Building, 89 Kings Highway, Dover, DE 19901, and online at Delaware Wildlife Area Maps.

DNREC’s Division of Fish & Wildlife recognizes and thanks the majority of anglers, hunters and boaters who comply with and support Delaware’s fishing, hunting and boating laws and regulations. Citizens are encouraged to report fish, wildlife and boating violations to the Delaware Fish & Wildlife Natural Resources Police by calling 302-739-4580. Wildlife violations may also be reported anonymously to Operation Game Theft by calling 800-292-3030 or online at http://de.gov/ogt.

Media Contacts: Sgt. John McDerby, DNREC Division of Fish & Wildlife Natural Resources Police, 302-739-9913 or 302-354-1386, or Joanna Wilson, DNREC Public Affairs, 302-739-9902

Vol. 46, No. 195