BRIDGEVILLE, Del. – Douglas R. Simpson of Bridgeville is Delaware’s 2018 Tree Farmer of the Year for his longtime dedication to forest conservation and landowner education. Presented by the Delaware Tree Farm Committee, the award recognizes landowners who practice exceptional management and promote sustainable forestry. Simpson is a Delaware native who owns tree farms on approximately 700 acres in Sussex County, which were first certified in 1995. The award was given at the annual meeting and banquet of the Delaware Forestry Association at the Bridgeville Fire Hall.

Using comprehensive stewardship plans developed in partnership with the Delaware Forest Service, Simpson manages his forestland for natural beauty, wildlife habitat, water quality, and wood products. In 2009, three of his properties totaling 350 acres were selected in the initial round of conservation easements purchased in Delaware AgLands Foundation’s landmark Forestland Preservation Program; these Tree Farms are now permanently protected from development. In 2017, he exemplified his commitment to forest management education on the Delmarva Peninsula by hosting the 20-state Northeastern Area Association of State Foresters’ Cooperative Forest Management Committee at his state-of-the-art custom sawmill.

The Delaware Tree Farmer of the Year Award was presented by the Delaware Tree Farm Committee at the Delaware Forestry Association’s annual meeting in Bridgeville on March 22, 2018. The American Tree Farm System was established in 1941 and is one of the oldest forest landowner organizations. Delaware’s first Tree Farm was certified in 1959; today there are more than 200 Tree Farms covering over 20,000 acres.

For more information, contact Laura Yowell, 302-856-2893 or laura.yowell@delaware.gov.

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DOVER − More than $20,000 of grant funding is now available to help Delaware’s volunteer fire companies fight wildfires in their communities. The Delaware Forest Service’s Volunteer Fire Assistance Grants are designed to help fire companies purchase the specialized equipment needed to meet the unpredictable threat of wildfires in fields, forests, open spaces, and marshes. Applicants can request up to $4,500 per year. Funds can be used to acquire items such as ¾-inch to 1-½ inch forestry hose, safety gear, brush unit pumps/skids, and hand tools. All grants require a 50-50 cost-share match in cash or in-kind services and priority will be given to applicants that have not received funding in the past three years. Last year, seven volunteer fire companies received $23,020 through the VFA grant program to purchase wildfire suppression equipment.

The 2018 Volunteer Fire Assistance Grant Forms are available online in either  MS Word or PDF format. The application deadline is May 1. No email applications will be accepted. Forms should be mailed to: Kyle Hoyd, Delaware Forest Service, 2320 S. DuPont Highway, Dover, Delaware 19901

For more information, contact: Kyle Hoyd, Delaware Forest Service Wildland Fire Program, (302) 698-4548, or Kyle.Hoyd@delaware.gov

Delaware’s volunteer fire companies are vital to the Delaware Forest Service because they provide much of the manpower and resources to fight wildfires in the state. In FY17, the Delaware Forest Service assisted 49 of Delaware’s 60 volunteer fire companies (82%) with wildfire suppression, loaning of equipment, or training.  During the same period, the DFS also responded to 13 wildfires on nearly 26 wooded acres and was on standby on over 100 brush and field fires. Upon request, the DFS can provide trained personnel, bulldozers equipped with fire plows to establish firebreaks, and wildland fire suppression tools such as fire rakes, hose, and collapsible backpack water tanks.

The Delaware Forest Service also maintains two fire equipment supply caches, one at Blackbird State Forest and one at Redden State Forest. In addition to these supply caches the Delaware Forest Service has two type 6 engines, three fire plows, and four UTVs with slip-in tanks that are available to help with wildfires.

The VFA grant program has proven to a cost-effective way to leverage limited federal funding. While grant applicants must provide at least 50 percent cost-share match in cash or in-kind services, many recipients provide much more – producing more than one and a half times the grant amounts. Funded by the U.S. Forest Service, the Volunteer Fire Assistance (VFA) program has funded more than 125 grants in excess of $320,000 over the past 11 years.

“Volunteer fire companies are very important to the Delaware Forest Service as well as communities throughout the First State. They are often the first on the scene to respond to wildfires in our fields and woods and marshes,” said Kyle Hoyd, Assistant State Forester and director of the agency’s Wildland Fire Program. “This grant program can help volunteer firefighters meet the challenge of wildfires by increasing access to specialized wildfire equipment and resources.”

WILMINGTON, Del. – Delaware Thoroughbred Racing Commission (DTRC) Chairman W. Duncan Patterson announced at the Commission meeting on March 8, 2018, that two candidates had been selected for the positions of Associate State Steward and Safety Steward.

Cynthia L. Smith, a Level II Steward and racing official was selected for Associate State Steward. Ms. Smith who has a national racing background, having worked in California, Florida, Louisiana, New Mexico, Texas and Oklahoma, was the logical choice for the Delaware Commission. Chairman Patterson remarked that her racing background, experience and her interview which was outstanding was the reason for her selection.

John F. Wayne, the DTRC Executive Director advised that Ms. Smith served on a distinguished panel of Stewards at the 2017 Racing Officials Accreditation Program continuing education class at Delaware Park and was familiar with her work ethic, having worked with her during time spent with the American Quarter Horse Association Enforcement Team in New Mexico and Texas.

The Safety Steward position was awarded to Robert E. Colton, a former jockey and an accredited official who has been ever present at the Delaware circuit and is aware of safety matters.

“As for Mr. Colton, he is a man of integrity that I have known since 1980,” said DTRC Executive Director John F. Wayne. “He knows safety concerns and was a member of the Delaware Safety Committee. He has done an outstanding job as the Director of the Delaware Jockey’s Association and handling health insurance needs for the riders. Mr. Colton brings a knowledge and perspective from the saddle having been a professional jockey for many years.”

“Both of these individuals have a deep respect for the racing industry and the people involved in racing,” said DTRC Executive Director John F. Wayne. “They will fit in well, maintaining the high level of regulatory oversight that the Delaware Thoroughbred Racing Commission expects and deserves.”

The Delaware Thoroughbred Racing Commission regulates and oversees the sport of Thoroughbred and Arabian racing in the state. For more information regarding the work of the Commission, visit https://agriculture.delaware.gov/thoroughbred-racing-commission/.

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Media Contact: Stacey Hofmann, (302) 698-4542, Stacey.Hofmann@delaware.gov

DOVER – Delaware’s Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control (DNREC) and Department of Agriculture (DDA) will conduct a joint public hearing Monday, March 12 on proposed regulations for possessing firearms in Delaware’s state parks and wildlife areas under DNREC’s authority and state forests under DDA’s authority. The hearing will begin at 6 p.m. in DNREC’s Richardson & Robbins Auditorium, 89 Kings Highway, Dover, DE 19901.

With the intent of promulgating new firearms regulations to comply with the Dec. 7, 2017 Delaware Supreme Court decision in Bridgeville Rifle & Pistol Club v. DNREC, which invalidated portions of previously existing DNREC and DDA regulations governing firearms, both state agencies proposed regulations governing possession of firearms within Delaware’s state parks, state wildlife areas and state forests.

DNREC and DDA held public workshops last month in all three counties in advance of the March 12 public hearing. The hearing record on the proposed amendments opened Feb. 1 and will remain open until 4:30 p.m. March 27. Comments on the proposed regulations will be accepted by US mail addressed to: Lisa Vest, Hearing Officer, DNREC, 89 Kings Highway, Dover, DE 19901 and by email sent to Lisa.Vest@delaware.gov. Comments also may be presented either orally or in writing at the March 12 public hearing.

The proposed amendments are available for public view at DNREC’s offices at 89 Kings Highway, Dover, DE 19901 or DDA’s offices at 2320 South DuPont Highway, Dover, DE 19901. They can also be found on DNREC’s website and in the Feb. 1, 2018 edition of the Delaware Register of Regulations.

For more information on the proposed firearms regulations, including an overview of the proposed changes, an interactive map that shows proposed firearm possession areas within parks, forests, and wildlife area properties, please visit the DNREC website.

Media Contact: Michael Globetti, DNREC Public Affairs, 302-739-9902

TOWNSEND, Del. (March 1, 2018) – Volunteers of all ages are needed this month to help plant 8,800 hardwood seedlings along the Cypress Branch at Blackbird State Forest to provide scenic beauty, enhance wildlife habitat, fight invasive species, and improve water quality in the critical Chesapeake Bay Watershed.

The planting will take place on Saturday, March 17, and Sunday, March 18, from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. each day at Blackbird State Forest’s Naudain Tract, 2076 Harvey Straughn Road, Townsend, Delaware 19734.

The weekend tree planting is a “rain or shine” event. Equipment, including shovels, will be provided. Volunteers are encouraged to dress appropriately for the weather – wear boots or other work shoes, heavy-duty gloves and hats and bring insect repellent and sunscreen, if needed. Snacks will be provided and commemorative patches and T-shirts will be given to both youth and adult volunteers on a first-come, first-served basis.

The project is a cooperative partnership between the Delaware Forest Service, the Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control (DNREC) Division of Watershed Stewardship, and the Girl Scouts of the USA.

State Forester Michael Valenti said “Planting trees always helps improve our environment. Planting over 8,000 oak seedlings next to the Cypress Branch gives an added bonus of water quality protection and acorn production for local wildlife such as wild turkeys. We need enthusiastic volunteers to help Caroline Dowd complete this tree planting project in her bid to earn the Girl Scout Gold Award.”

Caroline Dowd is a student at MOT Charter High School in Middletown. The planting will help fulfill requirements toward her Gold Award, representing “the highest achievement in Girl Scouting, recognizing girls who demonstrate extraordinary leadership through remarkable Take Action projects that have sustainable impact in their communities—and beyond.” The project also continues a proud partnership between local scout groups and state conservation agencies: in both 2012 and 2013, Boy Scouts planted 4,000 trees each year at Blackbird State Forest.

“This tree planting is a unique opportunity for volunteers to create a positive and lasting change for Delaware’s forests,” said Marcia Fox of DNREC’s Division of Watershed Stewardship, “The new trees will restore wildlife habitat and advance the goals of the Chesapeake Bay Initiative by promoting volunteer participation in habitat stewardship and preserving an ecologically-valuable area.”

The latest updates for the event are available at Caroline Dowd’s Gold Award Reforestation and Riparian Buffer Facebook Page.

Funding for the trees is provided by a grant to the Delaware Forest Service from the DNREC Division of Watershed Stewardship. The restoration of riparian forests is a key strategy for improving water quality in the Chesapeake Bay, recognized as a “national treasure” and the largest estuary in North America, covering 64,000 square miles in six states and the District of Columbia. The Cypress Branch in southwestern New Castle County is one of the headwaters for the Chester River, a major tributary of the Chesapeake Bay that begins where Cypress Branch and Andover Branch join together in Millington, MD.

Blackbird State Forest covers nearly 6,000 acres in southern New Castle County and is also a stop on the historic Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad Byway.

Directions to the Blackbird Forest Tree Planting Site

• From the NORTH:
  Route 1 (TOLL): Take Rt. 1 South to Exit 136 toward Odessa (Rt. 299) and make a left at the light. At Rt. 299 (Main Street) in Odessa, turn right onto U.S. 13 South.
  U.S. 13: Take U.S 13 South until you reach Rt. 299 (Main Street) in Odessa. Proceed through the light (continue on U.S. 13 South).
• From Route 299 & U.S. 13: Continue on U.S. 13 south for 6.2 miles and then turn right onto Blackbird Forest Road (flashing light at the top of the hill). After 3.5 miles, turn right onto Oak Hill School Road. Continue for 2.9 miles and then turn right onto Harvey Straughn Road. Proceed for .3 miles and the destination will be on the left.

• From the SOUTH:
  Route 1 (TOLL): Take Rt. 1 North to Exit 119 (N. Smyrna). Make a right onto Route 13 South. Proceed .8 miles to Duck Creek Road and make a right at the light.
  U.S. 13: Take U.S 13 North until you reach Duck Creek Road north of Smyrna (just past Visitor Center and Smokey Bear sign on the right). Turn left at light for Duck Creek Road.
• From Duck Creek Road & U.S. 13:  Proceed west for .8 miles on Duck Creek Road and turn right onto Vandyke Greenspring Road. Continue on Vandyke Greenspring Road for 4.4 miles and turn left onto Harvey Straughn Road. In 2 miles, turn left to stay on Harvey Straughn Road. Proceed for .3 miles and the destination will be on the right.

Contact –
John Petersen, Delaware Forest Service, 302-698-4552, john.petersen@delaware.gov
Philip Miller, DNREC Division of Watershed Stewardship, Nonpoint Source Program, 302-739-9939; philip.miller@delaware.gov

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