Additional opportunities for hunters to harvest deer in Delaware

DOVER – DNREC’s Division of Fish & Wildlife is promoting the January opening of additional Delaware deer hunting seasons, which extend opportunities for hunters to harvest deer during the 2018/19 hunting season.

The following deer hunting seasons open in January:

• Handgun Deer*: Jan. 5 – 12, except for Sunday, Jan. 6
• Shotgun Deer*: Jan. 19 – 27, including Sundays, Jan. 20 and 27
• Muzzleloader Deer: Jan. 28 – Feb. 3, including Sunday, Feb. 3

*Straight-walled, pistol-caliber rifles are allowed in January only during the handgun and shotgun deer seasons.

Archery and crossbow deer seasons will remain open through Jan. 31, 2019, including Sundays, but hunters can still hunt with archery equipment and crossbows from Feb. 1 through 3 during the January muzzleloader season.

A Delaware hunting license or License Exempt Number (LEN) is required to hunt. More information on hunting license requirements is available at Delaware Licenses. To register for an LEN number, hunters can go to Delaware Hunter and Trapper Registration or call toll free 1-855-335-4868.

To purchase a hunting license, hunters born on or after Jan. 1, 1967, must have a basic hunter education safety course card/number. Hunters who took a Delaware hunter safety course starting in 2008 can print their hunter safety card by going to http://de.gov/huntersafety. Hunters who took their Delaware hunter safety course before 2008 should call the Hunter Education Office at 302-735-3600, ext. 1 to obtain a hunter safety card.

Registered motor vehicles used to access designated wildlife areas owned or managed by the Division of Fish & Wildlife are required to display a Conservation Access Pass (CAP). Hunters can opt to receive one free annual CAP with the purchase of any Delaware hunting license. To obtain a free CAP, or to purchase an additional pass, hunters will need the registration card for the vehicle to which the pass will be assigned.

Delaware hunting licenses and Conservation Access Passes can be purchased online at Delaware Licenses, at the license desk in DNREC’s Dover office at 89 Kings Highway, Dover, DE 19901, or from hunting license agents statewide.

For more information on hunting and trapping, click 2018-2019 Delaware Hunting & Trapping Guide and Wildlife Area Hunting Maps. Hard copies of the guide and newly-updated hunting maps are also available at the license desk in DNREC’s Dover office. More information on hunting licenses, season details, and Conservation Access Passes is also available by calling the Wildlife Section office at 302-739-9912.

Follow the Division of Fish & Wildlife on Facebook, https://www.facebook.com/DelawareFishWildlife.

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

Vol. 48, No. 339

Trump Administration Approves Offshore Airgun Use, Governor Carney Joins Atlantic Seaboard Governors Urging Protection for Our Coast

WILMINGTON, Del. – Following the announcement that the Trump Administration authorized airgun use in waters off the East Coast, Governor John Carney and a group of bipartisan governors today urged Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross and Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke to halt harmful seismic testing and offshore drilling in the Atlantic Ocean.

“As the governors of ten states on the Atlantic seaboard, we write to reiterate our strong opposition to seismic airgun surveys and oil and gas drilling off our coasts,” the governors wrote. “These activities pose an unacceptable and unnecessary threat to our coastal ecosystems and coastal economies.”

Today’s letter was signed by the following governors: Governor Charlie Baker of Massachusetts; Governor John Carney of Delaware; Governor Roy Cooper of North Carolina; Governor Andrew Cuomo of New York; Governor Larry Hogan of Maryland; Governor Dannel Malloy of Connecticut; Governor Henry McMaster of South Carolina; Governor Phil Murphy of New Jersey; Governor Ralph Northam of Virginia; and Governor Gina Raimondo of Rhode Island.

In November, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association Fisheries department issued incidental harassment authorizations (IHAs) for seismic airgun surveys to five companies searching for oil and gas deposits in the Atlantic. The decision follows months of vocal opposition from states along the East Coast, which have repeatedly urged the federal government to protect coastal tourism and fisheries by preventing seismic testing and offshore drilling.

In a letter sent today, the governors urged the U.S. Department of the Interior and the U.S. Department of Commerce to deny all permit applications for seismic testing, exclude the waters off the East Coast from the 2019-2024 National Outer Continental Shelf Oil and Gas Leasing Program for offshore drilling, avoid issuing further IHAs for seismic airgun surveys and prevent any future offshore drilling efforts in the Atlantic Ocean.

“Drilling in the Atlantic would pose significant threats to Delaware’s natural resources and our economy,” said Governor John Carney. “I am proud to stand with fellow Atlantic state governors in opposition to seismic testing and drilling for oil and gas off our coasts. There’s too much at risk for Delaware and the Atlantic Seaboard to allow this to go unchallenged.”

The full letter is available here.

Seismic testing and offshore drilling pose significant economic and environmental threats to communities along the Atlantic Coast, which generate more than $98 billion in gross domestic product each year. Seismic airgun pulses can deplete fish populations that are vital for commercial and recreational fishing industries and offshore drilling increases the risk of catastrophic oil spills, which devastate marine life and tourism and hurt coastal economies. Hundreds of tourism associations, chambers of commerce, convention and visitors’ bureaus, trade groups, businesses, elected officials and local governments have formally opposed seismic testing and offshore drilling.

For more information visit de.gov/nodrilling.

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Related news:
Governor Carney Signs Legislation to Protect Delaware’s Coastal Waters and Economy

Lawsuit Would Block Federal Government’s Allowance of Seismic Testing

Delaware Attorney General Matthew Denn and the Attorneys General of eight other Atlantic coast states applied today to intervene in a lawsuit currently before the United States District Court for the District of South Carolina designed to stop the federal government’s efforts to allow private companies to survey the Atlantic Ocean floor for oil and gas. The State Attorneys General, led by Maryland Attorney General Brian Frosh, allege that the National Marine Fishery Service’s allowance of oil and gas surveying violates the Marine Mammals Protection Act, the Endangered Species Act, and the Administrative Procedures Act.

“Not only will the planned oil and gas surveys harm marine mammals in violation of federal law,” said Attorney General Denn, “but they are another step toward allowing oil and gas drilling off the Delaware coast, something that would cause severe and irreparable harm to Delaware’s coastal and marine resources. We are grateful to Maryland’s Attorney General for leading this effort on behalf of states up and down the Atlantic coast.”

Noting that Maryland’s effort was a bi-partisan one, led by Attorney General Frosh (a Democrat) and supported by Governor Hogan (a Republican), Denn said “Delawareans across party lines are united in their steadfast opposition to oil and gas drilling off Delaware’s coast. Senate Bill 207, expressing the state’s opposition to such drilling, passed by overwhelming bi-partisan majorities in last year’s General Assembly.”

A copy of the filing can be found here.

Benchmark initiative will limit spending growth, improve quality of care

NEW CASTLE, Del. – The Delaware Economic and Financial Advisory Council (DEFAC) on Wednesday issued a recommended Benchmark Index that set the state’s health care spending growth target at 3.8 percent for 2019 – the initial year of Delaware’s newly created Health Care Spending Benchmark. This move furthers the state’s goals of managing the growth of future health care spending, increasing transparency into how health care is delivered and paid for, and improving the quality and cost of health care for the citizens of Delaware.

DEFAC set the target based on Executive Order 25 signed by Governor John Carney in November. The order called for the initial benchmark to be equivalent to the advisory Benchmark Index for overall State budget growth established under Executive Order 21 signed by the Governor in June 2018.

“We know that the rising cost of health care crowds out other important state investments, keeps companies from hiring, and makes it harder for families to manage their household budgets,” said Governor Carney. “This benchmark initiative is about providing Delawareans with more transparency around their own health care spending, and making sure that Delawareans are getting the quality of health care that they’re paying for. At the state level, Delaware taxpayers rightly expect us manage their money wisely. This initiative will help us do just that.”

“Establishing the health care spending benchmark is an important step forward in learning more about how health care dollars are spent in our state,” said Dr. Kara Walker, Secretary of the Delaware Department of Health and Social Services. “In order to meet the current and future health care needs of Delawareans, our system of providing and paying for care has to change in order to be sustainable. We look forward to working with health care providers, insurers, businesses and consumers as we move forward in improving the patient and provider experience, while improving the overall health of Delawareans and doing it at a lower cost.”

“Establishing the Health Care Spending Benchmark is a vital step in establishing realistic economic measures that provide meaningful insight toward producing optimal outcomes with the limited health care dollars available to the state, our citizens and the private sector,” said Rick Geisenberger, Secretary of the Delaware Department of Finance.

In subsequent years, Executive Order 25 requires the health care spending benchmark to be calculated based on long-term projections for growth in Potential Gross State Product (PGSP). Currently, long-term PGSP is forecast at 3 percent. The target approved today provides a transitional market adjustment with the benchmark starting at 3.8% and then gradually expected to decline to 3% over the next three years.

A Health Care Spending Benchmark Subcommittee of DEFAC will monitor PGSP forecasts and health care spending trends and make annual recommendations for the Benchmark in future years.

The path to creating the health care spending benchmark began in the summer of 2017, when the General Assembly passed House Joint Resolution (HJR) 7 authorizing the Department of Health and Social Services (DHSS) to develop a spending benchmark. The Governor signed HJR 7 in September 2017, just months after an analysis by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) indicated that Delaware had the third-highest per-capita health care spending rate in the country, and a rate that was 27 percent above the U.S. average.

That fall, DHSS and Secretary Dr. Kara Odom Walker, a board-certified family physician, began a series of summits to explore how a spending benchmark could work for Delaware. In February 2018, Governor Carney signed Executive Order 19 creating an Advisory Group to provide feedback to Secretary Walker on the health care spending and quality benchmarks. While the overall health of Delawareans has been improving – Delaware is now ranked 30th among the states, according to America’s Health Rankings ¬– the pace of that improvement is trailing the growth of health care spending in the state.

Delaware has historically ranked among the top 10 states in per-capita health care spending, including in 2014, when the state ranked behind only Alaska and Massachusetts. The 50-state analysis by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) released in 2017 found that Delaware’s per-capita rate was $10,254. Without changes, the analysis estimated that Delaware’s total health care spending would more than double from $9.5 billion in 2014 to $21.5 billion in 2025.

Click here to learn more about the health care spending benchmark.

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Related news:
Governor Carney Signs Executive Order Establishing Health Care Spending and Quality Benchmarks
Governor Carney Signs Executive Order on Budget Smoothing

(DOVER, Del.—Dec. 19, 2018)—During the month of January 2019, the Delaware Division of Historical and Cultural Affairs will be sponsoring seven special programs at the museums of the State of Delaware. A full schedule is included below. All programs are free and open to the public.

Delaware Division of Historical and Cultural Affairs special events, January 2019

Monday, Dec. 31, 2018
New Year’s Eve. The following museum of the State of Delaware will be open: The Old State House, open 9 a.m.–4:30 p.m. The John Dickinson Plantation, Johnson Victrola Museum, New Castle Court House Museum and the Zwaanendael Museum will be closed. 302-744-5054.

Tuesday, Jan. 1, 2019
New Year’s Day. All museums of the State of Delaware (the John Dickinson Plantation the Johnson Victrola Museum, the New Castle Court House Museum, The Old State House and the Zwaanendael Museum) will be closed. 302-744-5054.

Saturday, Jan. 5, 2019
“Ringing in the New Year With Jazz.” Guided tours explore the sound of classic jazz and the role that the Victor Talking Machine Company played in bringing the New Orleans sound to music lovers across the globe, accompanied by 78-rpm recordings played on authentic Victor Talking Machines. First Saturday in the First State program. Johnson Victrola Museum, 375 S. New St., Dover. 9 a.m.–4:30 p.m. 302-739-3262.

Saturday, Jan. 5, 2019
“Divided Delaware.” In 1787, Delaware became the first state to ratify the U.S. Constitution. Afterwards, the state grew increasingly divided. This in-depth presentation will analyze three important moments where division prevented great social change from occurring in Delaware: the state’s effort to end slavery before the Civil War; the ratification of the 13th, 14th and 15th amendments; and Delaware’s chance to be the final state to ratify the 19th Amendment. First Saturday in the First State program. The Old State House, 25 The Green, Dover. Program at 1 p.m. Museum open 9 a.m.–4:30 p.m. 302-744-5054.

Friday, Jan. 11, 2019
Concert by Phyllis Chapell. ‎ World-jazz music. Presented in partnership with the Delaware Friends of Folk and the First State Heritage Park. The Old State House, 25 The Green, Dover. 7:30 p.m. 302-744-5054.

Saturday, Jan. 12, 2019
Lecture on the Avery’s Rest archaeological site. Program on Avery’s Rest, a 17th-century archaeological site near Rehoboth Beach presented by Dan Griffith of Griffith Archaeology and retired director of the Delaware Division of Historical and Cultural Affairs. Part of “Across the Ages to the Edge of the Sea,” a lecture series exploring the history of the Lewes area from the 17th to the 20th centuries. Zwaanendael Museum, 102 Kings Highway, Lewes. Program at 2 p.m. on the museum’s 2nd floor (entry via staircase; no elevator). Museum open 10 a.m.–4:30 p.m. Free admission but, due to space restrictions, reservations for the lecture are required by calling 302-645-1148 no later than Jan. 11, 2019.

Wednesday, Jan. 16, 2019
Delaware State Review Board for Historic Preservation meeting. Agenda TBA. The Delaware Room, Delaware Public Archives, 121 Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd., Dover. 10 a.m.–Noon. 302-736-7417.

Monday, Jan. 21, 2019
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day. The following museums of the State of Delaware will be open: The Johnson Victrola Museum and The Old State House, open 9 a.m.–4:30 p.m. The following museums will be closed: The John Dickinson Plantation, the New Castle Court House Museum and the Zwaanendael Museum). 302-744-5054.

Monday, Jan. 21, 2019
“Courage and Freedom.” In commemoration of Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, guided tours will focus on three compelling stories of courageous Delawareans whose fight for freedom and equality began at The Old State House. The Old State House, 25 The Green, Dover. 9 a.m.–4:30 p.m. 302-744-5054.

Monday, Jan. 21, 2019
“The Struggle.” In commemoration of Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, guided tours focus on African-American vocalists and Civil Rights activists Paul Robeson and Marian Anderson, accompanied by 78-rpm recordings of those artists played on authentic Victor Talking Machines. Johnson Victrola Museum, 375 S. New St., Dover. 9 a.m.–4:30 p.m. 302-739-3262.

Exhibits and displays, January 2019
In addition to special programming, the Division of Historical and Cultural Affairs is sponsoring the following exhibits and displays. Admission is free and open to the public:

Ongoing
“Delaware Railroads: Elegant Travel and Timely Transport.” Exhibit explores the history of rail travel and transport in the First State emphasizing the New Castle and Frenchtown Railroad (1832), the Delaware Railroad (1852), the Junction and Breakwater Railroad (1857) and the Queen Anne’s Railroad (1896). Zwaanendael Museum, 102 Kings Highway, Lewes. Nov. 1–March 31: Wed.–Sat., 10 a.m.–4:30 p.m. April 1–Oct. 31: Tue.–Sat., 10 a.m.–4:30 p.m.; Sun., 1:30–4:30 p.m. 302-645-1148.

Ongoing
“Drawing America to Victory: The Persuasive Power of the Arts in World War I.” Online exhibit revolves around 27 World War I posters from the collections of the State of Delaware.

Ongoing
“Five Stories.” Display explores the varied lives of people who lived on the plantation including Dickinson family members, tenant farmers, tradesmen, free blacks, indentured servants and enslaved individuals. John Dickinson Plantation Welcome Center, 340 Kitts Hummock Road, Dover. Oct. 1–March 31: Tue.–Sat., 10 a.m.–4:30 p.m. April 1–Sept. 30: Tue.–Sat., 10 a.m.–4:30 p.m.; Sun., 1:30–4:30 p.m. 302-739-3277.

Ongoing
“Letters From a Farmer in Pennsylvania.” Online exhibit explores the life of Founding Father John Dickinson on the 250th anniversary of the publication of his essays that described Colonial American grievances with the British government.

Ongoing
“New Castle: Three Forts, One Community.” Exhibit examines the 17th-century struggle for control of New Castle by the Dutch, Swedes and English, and the strongholds that they built to maintain their power. New Castle Court House Museum, 211 Delaware St., New Castle. Tue.–Sat., 10 a.m.–4:30 p.m. Sun., 1:30 p.m.–4:30 p.m. 302-323-4453.

Ongoing
“The Old State House: A True Restoration 1976-2016.” Display explores preservation work that has been conducted since Delaware’s first permanent capitol building in Dover was restored to its original appearance in 1976. From the collections of the State of Delaware. The Old State House, 25 The Green, Dover. Mon.–Sat., 9 a.m.–4:30 p.m. Sun., 1:30–4:30 p.m. 302-744-5054.

Ongoing
“The Path to Freedom: A History of the Underground Railroad in Delaware.” Display explores Delaware’s role in the clandestine network that transported American slaves to freedom including the true journey of the Hawkins family from bondage in Maryland, through Delaware, to freedom in Pennsylvania. New Castle Court House Museum, 211 Delaware St., New Castle. Tue.–Sat., 10 a.m.–4:30 p.m. Sun., 1:30 p.m.–4:30 p.m. 302-323-4453.

Ongoing
Sculpture by Charles Parks. Display of works by the noted Wilmington artist featuring historical and political figures including a Minute Man, and presidents Richard Nixon, Gerald Ford and George W. Bush. New Castle Court House Museum, 211 Delaware St., New Castle. Tue.–Sat., 10 a.m.–4:30 p.m. Sun., 1:30 p.m.–4:30 p.m. 302-323-4453.

Ongoing
“A Seaborne Citizenry: The DeBraak and Its Atlantic World.” Exhibit utilizes artifacts recovered from His Majesty’s Sloop of War DeBraak, a British warship that sank off the Delaware coast on May 25, 1798, to tell the story of the vessel, its crew and the historical context within which it operated in the Atlantic World of the late 18th century. Zwaanendael Museum, 102 Kings Highway, Lewes. April 1–Oct. 31: Tue.–Sat., 10 a.m.–4:30 p.m.; Sun., 1:30–4:30 p.m. Nov. 1–March 31: Wed.–Sat., 10 a.m.–4:30 p.m. 302-645-1148.

Ongoing
“Simple Machines.” Exhibit demonstrating the six “simple machines”—incline ramp, screw, wedge, pulley, lever and wheel—that constitute the elementary building blocks of which many more-complicated machines are composed. John Dickinson Plantation, 340 Kitts Hummock Road, Dover. Oct. 1–March 31: Tue.–Sat., 10 a.m.–4:30 p.m. April 1–Sept. 30: Tue.–Sat., 10 a.m.–4:30 p.m.; Sun., 1:30–4:30 p.m. 302-739-3277.

Ongoing
“When Janie Comes Marching Home: Women’s Fight to Serve.” Display explores the participation of women in America’s armed conflicts from the Revolutionary War to the present, and their fight to be allowed to serve their country during wartime. Legislative Hall, 411 Legislative Ave., Dover. Limited visitation hours; call 302-739-9194 before planning a visit.

Administered by the Division of Historical and Cultural Affairs, the five museums of the State of Delaware—the John Dickinson Plantation, the Johnson Victrola Museum, the New Castle Court House Museum, The Old State House and the Zwaanendael Museum—tell the story of the First State’s contributions to the history and culture of the United States. Through tours, exhibits, school programs and hands-on activities, the museums shine a spotlight on Delaware’s unique history and the diverse people who came to live there. The museums are accredited by the American Alliance of Museums. The New Castle Court House Museum and the John Dickinson Plantation are partner sites of the First State National Historical Park. The Old State House is located on the Dover Green, another partner site of the park. Go to the following for a comprehensive, long-term calendar of division-sponsored events.

The Division of Historical and Cultural Affairs is an agency of the State of Delaware. The division enhances Delaware’s quality of life by preserving the state’s unique historical heritage, fostering community stability and economic vitality and providing educational programs and assistance to the general public on Delaware history and heritage. The division’s diverse array of services includes operation of five museums which are accredited by the American Alliance of Museums, administration of the State Historic Preservation Office, conservation of the state’s archaeological and historic-objects collections, operation of a conference center and management of historic properties across the state. Primary funding for division programs and services is provided by annual appropriations from the Delaware General Assembly and grants from the National Park Service, Department of the Interior, a federal agency. However, the contents and opinions expressed in the division’s programs and services do not necessarily reflect the views and policies of the Department of the Interior.

-End-

Contact:
Jim Yurasek
Delaware Division of Historical and Cultural Affairs
Phone: 302-739-7787
E-mail: Jim.Yurasek@delaware.gov
Web: http://history.delaware.gov