Delaware’s 2024/25 Hunting Season Just Around the Corner

Trevor Price contributed to another strong deer harvest in Delaware by taking his first buck during the 2023-’24 season. Photo by Lee Shane.

Numerous Changes to Regulations Include Sunday Gamebirds Hunting;
Newly-Updated State Wildlife Area Maps Will Aid Public Land Hunters

Delaware deer hunters will open the 2024/25 hunting season Sunday, Sept. 1 by going afield with archery equipment and crossbows. Also opening Sept. 1 are the resident Canada goose and mourning dove hunting seasons. Monday, Sept. 2 is the opening day for coyote hunting, and Saturday, Sept. 14 marks the start of early teal season, with the gray squirrel season to open two days later on Monday, Sept. 16. (Note that the 2024/2025 Delaware Hunting and Trapping Guide has incorrect season opener dates for coyotes and gray squirrels – the correct dates as found in the online version of the hunting and trapping guide are Sept. 2 and Sept. 16, respectively.)

Numerous changes were made to the regulations related to hunting and trapping and can be found in the Delaware Hunting and Trapping Guide, which should be reviewed by hunters and trappers before heading afield this year. Notable among them are the hunting of gamebirds in Delaware on Sundays and revisions to deer and turkey hunting seasons. Also, a new special Delaware deer season has been established for the last weekend of September, when youth and non-ambulatory adult hunters may hunt deer with a firearm. Additionally, some small game and furbearer seasons have been lengthened and additional methods of take are now permitted.

In additional to regulatory changes, hunters pursuing mourning doves on State Wildlife Areas will find expanded opportunities in September to hunt fields specifically managed for doves. For more information about hunting doves and other species on State Wildlife Areas, hunters should review the recently updated and released Delaware Wildlife Area Maps.

More information on hunting seasons and state wildlife areas can be found in the Delaware Hunting & Trapping Guide or by calling the Wildlife Section at 302-739-9912. Information on hunting licenses, the state waterfowl stamp and the Conservation Access Pass can be found at de.gov/huntinglicense or by calling the DNREC Division of Fish and Wildlife Recreational Licensing office at 302-739-9918.

About DNREC
The Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control protects and manages the state’s natural resources, protects public health, provides outdoor recreational opportunities and educates Delawareans about the environment. The DNREC Division of Fish and Wildlife, within which the Mosquito Control Section operates, conserves and manages Delaware’s fish and wildlife and their habitats, and provides fishing, hunting, wildlife viewing and boating access on more than 68,000 acres of public land owned or managed by the Division of Fish and Wildlife. For more information, visit the website and connect with @DelawareDNREC on Facebook, Instagram, X (formerly known as Twitter) or LinkedIn.

Media Contacts: Michael Globetti, michael.globetti@delaware.gov; Joanna Wilson, joanna.wilson@delaware.gov

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Delaware Waterfowl and Trout Stamp Art Winners Chosen

The 2025/26 Delaware Waterfowl Stamp will feature a Canada goose painted by Milford artist Richard Clifton. /DNREC photo.

Previous Winners Take the Blue Ribbon in Both Competitions

A renowned Delaware wildlife artist and now 11-time Delaware stamp contest winner who added another blue ribbon to his resume and a second-time winner of a state stamp competition have claimed top honors in Delaware’s Waterfowl Stamp and Trout Stamp art contests, the Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control announced today. Richard Clifton’s painting of a Canada goose will be featured on the 2025/26 Delaware Waterfowl Stamp. A painting of a brook trout by Dennis Arp of Edison, Neb., was awarded first place and will grace the 2025 Delaware Trout Stamp.

The annual stamp art competition drew 16 entries for the 2025/26 Delaware Waterfowl Stamp and the same number of entries for the 2025 Trout Stamp. The Waterfowl Stamp contest specified that submitted artwork must include the motif of a Canada goose in an agricultural landscape. Trout Stamp artwork entries could depict a rainbow, brown or brook trout.

As the 2025/26 Delaware Waterfowl Stamp winner, Clifton receives a $2,500 cash prize and 150 artist’s proofs of the limited edition print series of his first-place entry. Residing on an historic family farm in the Milford area near Prime Hook National Wildlife Refuge, Clifton is an avid hunter and self-taught wildlife artist who works in acrylics, with waterfowl among his favorite subjects. He has twice won the federal duck stamp competition, in 2007/08 and 2021/22, that is considered the epitome for wildlife artists. He has painted more than 50 winning duck/waterfowl stamps, including his 11^th blue ribbon for Delaware Waterfowl stamp art, and his work has appeared on magazine covers, a commemorative beer stein, and has been engraved on shotguns for Ducks Unlimited, which named him 2018 International Artist of the Year.

As the 2025 Delaware Trout Stamp winner, Arp receives a $250 cash prize and retains the rights to reproduce and sell prints of the stamp artwork. Arp previously won the state’s trout stamp contest in 2021 and came in second place last year. A self-taught artist with a lifelong love of the outdoors and wildlife, Arp painted part time while raising a family but now devotes himself fully to producing wildlife art.

Other winners were:

2025/26 Waterfowl Stamp – Second place: Caleb Metrich, Lake Tomahawk, Wis.; Third place: Jonathan Milo, Monroe, Conn. Honorable mentions: Matt Doyle, Everett, Pa.; Ryan Kniss, Johnstown, Pa.; and Marion Orchard, Severn, Md.
2025 Trout Stamp – Second place: Eric Jablonowski, Suwanee, Ga., brown trout; Third place: George Bradford, Georgetown, Del., rainbow trout. Honorable mentions: Tory Farris, Foxcroft, Maine, two entries, a brook trout and a brown trout; and Charles Worst, Fort Wayne, Ind., brook trout.

Artwork in each contest was judged by a different set of five judges, with each judge separately evaluating and scoring the respective contest artwork in person.

The 2025/26 Waterfowl Stamp judges were: Conway Bristow, Delaware Ducks Unlimited representative; Drew Clendaniel, stamp collector; Lori Crawford, Delaware State University Professor of Art; Elio Battista, Advisory Council on Wildlife and Freshwater Fish member, and Gary “Adam” Macy, wildlife biologist.

The 2025 Trout Stamp judges were: Heather Swyka, local artist; Ed O’Donnell, Trout Unlimited member; Sam Palermo, avid angler; Garry Grier, Advisory Council on Wildlife and Freshwater Fish member; and Mark Zimmermann, DNREC Fisheries Section environmental scientist and Delaware trout program leader.

The winning 2025/26 Delaware Waterfowl Stamp will be available for purchase July 1, 2025, and the winning 2025 Delaware Trout Stamp will be available for purchase Jan. 1, 2025.

The DNREC Division of Fish and Wildlife, in partnership with Ducks Unlimited, started the Delaware Waterfowl Stamp and print program in 1980 to raise funds for waterfowl conservation, including acquiring and improving wetland habitats vital to the survival of migratory waterfowl. To date, more than $3.6 million has been raised. A Delaware Waterfowl Stamp and hunting license are required for most waterfowl hunters.

Delaware began requiring trout stamps for anglers in the 1950s, and a Delaware Trout Stamp and a general fishing license are required for most anglers to fish in designated trout waters during certain seasons. Funds from the sale of the stamps are used to purchase trout to stock in select streams in northern New Castle County and in two downstate ponds.

More information about Delaware’s Waterfowl Stamp contest can be found at de.gov/waterfowlstamp. More information about the Trout Stamp contest can be found at de.gov/troutstamp.

Media Contacts: Michael Globetti, michael.globetti@delaware.gov; Joanna Wilson, joanna.wilson@delaware.gov

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DNREC Announces Opening of New Boat Ramp at Records Pond near Laurel

DNREC opened a new boat ramp at Records Pond near Laurel today with the facility featuring expanded parking including expanded vehicle and boat trailering spaces, and consistent water depth for launching boats. The old ramp at Records Pond is now to become a canoe and kayak launch, for which it is better suited. /DNREC photo

Enhanced Facility Includes Courtesy Dock, Expanded Boat Trailer Parking and New Pier Decking for Fish Pier

The Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control announced today the grand opening of a new boat ramp facility at Records Pond near Laurel in Sussex County. Construction began earlier this year on the new facility – which includes a new boat ramp with courtesy dock, expansion of existing parking lots to accommodate boat trailers, and new decking for an existing fishing pier on Records Pond. The main parking lot has eight boat trailer spaces and 10 car spaces.

In addition to the main parking lot there is an auxiliary lot on the opposite side of Willow Street that has 10 additional boat trailer spaces and four additional car spaces. Shoreline anglers can access the timber tidal fishing pier which was closed during ramp construction, but is now reopened.

The new ramp also features improved water depth for launching boats and should allow unimpeded access to the pond from the ramp regardless of the pond’s water level. The old ramp at Records Pond, located on the east side of US Route 13, will also remain open, but is better suited for putting in canoes and kayaks due to the shallower water depths at that location.

For more information related to this project call the DNREC Division of Fish and Wildlife Fisheries Section at 302-739-9914.

Media contacts: Michael Globetti, michael.globetti@delaware.gov; Nikki Lavoie, nikki.lavoie@delaware.gov

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Delaware’s First 2024 Evidence of West Nile Virus Detected in DNREC’s Sentinel Chickens

No Human Cases of WNV Reported to Date in State; Equine Owners Urged to Vaccinate Their Animals

West Nile Virus (WNV) has been detected in Delaware for the first time for 2024 in sentinel chickens that help the Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control monitor the state for mosquito-borne illnesses, DNREC announced today. The initial WNV occurrence was found in eight sentinel chickens sampled July 22 by the DNREC Mosquito Control Section, and then tested and reported to be virus-positive by the Delaware Division of Public Health (DPH) Laboratory July 24.

The positive results came from five of the 20 sentinel chicken stations throughout the state maintained by the Mosquito Control Section – WNV-positive results came from three sentinel chicken stations in New Castle County, one in Kent County, and one in Sussex County. “Encountering eight virus-positive chickens in just one week is above the typical weekly rate for our program’s WNV findings, but perhaps reflects what seems to be an active WNV season thus far this year elsewhere in the Northeast,” said Mosquito Control Section Administrator Dr. William Meredith. While there have been no reported WNV cases yet in humans for 2024 in the state, he said, Delawareans are reminded that the possibility of contracting mosquito-transmitted diseases, including WNV and eastern equine encephalitis (EEE), will continue until colder autumn temperatures arrive in mid-October or later.

The DNREC Mosquito Control Section monitors these diseases by collecting blood samples each week starting in early July into the fall from the state’s network of outdoor-caged sentinel chickens that are humanely housed and handled. The blood samples are tested for WNV and EEE antibodies by the DPH Laboratory. Sentinel chickens bitten by mosquitoes carrying WNV or EEE develop antibodies to these diseases, but are otherwise unaffected. Mosquitoes can transmit both WNV and EEE to humans and horses.

Precautions for the public against mosquito-borne disease and illness
Most people infected with WNV do not develop symptoms, but about 20% can develop a mild illness, including fever, body and muscle aches, headache, nausea, vomiting, and rash symptoms. A small number of people can develop serious illness involving neurological problems, paralysis, and possibly death. The Public Health Lab reports that Delaware had four confirmed cases of neuroinvasive WNV in 2023, and none so far this year. EEE is not as prevalent as WNV, but can present more severe symptoms in humans and horses.

The public is reminded to take common-sense precautions to avoid mosquito bites, including wearing light-colored clothing of long-sleeved shirts and long pants when outdoors in mosquito-prone areas; applying insect repellent containing 10% to 30% diethyltoluamide (DEET) in accordance with label instructions; and avoiding mosquito-infested areas and times of peak mosquito activity around dusk, dawn and at night.

According to the Delaware Department of Agriculture (DDA), there were seven equine cases of WNV in 2023, and no EEE cases. The State Veterinarian within DDA urges horse owners to have horses and other equines vaccinated by veterinarians against WNV and EEE. While both vaccines are highly effective in minimizing disease, horses and equines that have been vaccinated in the past will need an annual booster shot. Neither disease has a specific drug treatment, and infections in horses are fatal in 70% to 90% of EEE cases and 30% of WNV cases.

Mosquito Control Section response to WNV and EEE
Spraying to reduce mosquito populations in areas where WNV or EEE is detected may be initiated by the DNREC Mosquito Control Section as warranted, based on factors to include mosquito population levels and mosquito species present in affected areas. Residents can also contribute to lessening the chance of mosquito-borne disease transmission through eliminating mosquito habitat by draining or removing outdoor items that collect water – such as discarded buckets or containers, uncovered trashcans, stagnant birdbaths, open rain barrels or cisterns, old tires, upright wheelbarrows, flowerpot liners, depressions in boat tarps, clogged rain gutters, corrugated downspout extenders, and unused swimming pools.

Horse owners can take several additional steps in the barn and around the farm to help protect their horses from mosquito bites. Horses should be kept inside at dawn and dusk, peak hours for mosquito activity. Topical insect repellents labeled for use on horses can also be applied. Wind generated by fans installed in horse stalls can also help deter mosquitoes. Water troughs or buckets should be emptied, cleaned, and refilled every 2-3 days to remove mosquito eggs or larvae.

More information about mosquitoes and mosquito-borne diseases is available from the following resources:

For mosquito biology/ecology and control, contact the DNREC Mosquito Control section office in Dover at 302-739-9917.
- For requests for mosquito relief in upstate areas from Dover north, contact Mosquito Control’s Glasgow field office at 302-836-2555.
- For requests for mosquito relief in downstate areas south of Dover, contact Mosquito Control’s Milford field office at 302-422-1512.
For animal health questions, contact the DDA Poultry and Animal Health Section at 302-698-4500.
To report suspected cases of human WNV, call the DPH Office of Infectious Disease Epidemiology toll-free at 888-295-5156.
- For more information on West Nile virus or eastern equine encephalitis, visit cdc.gov/ncidod/dvbid/westnile/index.htm

Media Contacts:
DNREC: Michael Globetti, michael.globetti@delaware.gov; Nikki Lavoie, nikki.lavoie@delaware.gov
DDA: Stacey Hofmann, stacey.hofmann@delaware.gov
DPH: Laura Matusheski, laura.matusheski@delaware.gov

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DNREC Sinks Two Vintage Vessels on Delaware Reef Site 11, ‘The Redbird Reef,’ to Enhance Recreational Opportunities

Ex-City of Baltimore fireboat Mayor J. Harold Grady (left photo) and World War II-era US Maritime Administration tugboat TD-21 were deployed today by the DNREC Division of Fish and Wildlife on Reef Site 11 of Delaware’s acclaimed artificial reef system. /DNREC photos

WWII-era U.S. Maritime Administration Tugboat TD-21 and ex-City of Baltimore Fireboat J. Harold Grady Become Latest Additions to State’s Renowned Artificial Reef System

The Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control continued to diversify marine habitat for angling and diving experiences on Delaware’s renowned artificial reef system today by sinking two vintage vessels – a retired City of Baltimore fireboat and a World War II-era tugboat – onto Reef Site 11, known as the Redbird Reef because it also hosts – and boasts – more than 700 retired and repurposed New York City “Redbird” subway cars.

The two boats sunk today by the DNREC Division of Fish and Wildlife – a World War II-era tug known as MARAD (US Maritime Administration) TD-21 and the ex-City of Baltimore fireboat Mayor J. Harold Grady – went down at approximately 10:22 a.m. EDT at longitudinal and latitudinal coordinates of 38.40.457/74.42.961 at a depth of 75 feet and the tug TD-21 was sunk at about 11:25 a.m. EDT at coordinates of 38.40.427/74.43.073 in 80 feet of water.

“Our giving these boats a continued existence as reef deployments cultivating marine life while providing recreational fishing and diving opportunities also pays tribute to what they once were, when they served our country’s maritime and public safety needs,” said DNREC Secretary Shawn M. Garvin. “And every trip out to Reef Site 11 for anglers and divers can bring reflections harking back to their service when afloat.”

The Mayor J. Harold Grady – named for Baltimore’s sitting mayor when commissioned in 1960 – was one of three Baltimore fireboats built that year by Jakobson Shipyard in Oyster Bay, L.I. and was among the most modern and well-equipped fireboats of its time, with a pumping capacity of 6,000 gallons of water per minute. Spanning 86 feet, Grady – width 20 feet, depth 14’, and top speed of 15 mph – would later distinguish itself during Baltimore’s inner harbor fire of 1968 – and stay in service until 2007.

The tug MARAD TD-21 was one of 100 steel-hulled 86-foot-long boats built for the Defense Plant Corporation in 1943 for domestic use on a wartime footing – the 21^st of 37 tugs of the same specs built at George Lawley & Son Shipyard in Neponset, Mass. All of them carried a crew of nine and were relied on to maneuver domestic shipping safely and securely in and out of American ports during the last years of World War II.

Today’s sinkings were carried out by Norfolk, Va.-based marine contractor Coleen Marine, which has handled numerous reef deployments over the DNREC reef program’s existence at many of Delaware’s 14 permitted artificial reef sites. As with all the ships and other vessels and military vehicles DNREC has deployed onto the artificial reef system, the Mayor J. Harold Grady and tug MARAD TD-21 were sunk only after having been certified for environmental cleanliness and safety under auspices of the

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Coast Guard, which also cordoned off the area and observed the twin sinking today. The DNREC Division of Fish and Wildlife, which oversees the reef program, invested $180,000 in federal Sport Fish Restoration funds to buy the two boats sunk today from Coleen Marine after both ships settled onto the Redbird Reef.

As the newest additions to Delaware’s artificial reef program, the TD-21 tug and the Mayor J. Harold Grady join a bottom-riding armada of ocean-, Chesapeake Bay- and harbor-going vessels on the Redbird Reef. Many other ships of commercial fishing and military service – namely the destroyer ex-USS Arthur W. Radford, at 585 feet the longest ship reefed on the Atlantic Coast – reside on the Delaware-led Del-Jersey-Land Artificial Reef, so called because it is roughly equidistant from ports of departure in each of the three states the reef’s name entails. The Del-Jersey-Land reef trails only the Redbird Reef in popularity for anglers and divers among Delaware’s 14 permitted reef sites.

Covering 1.3 square miles of ocean floor, other Redbird Reef dwelling vessels include a former floating casino Texas Star; a 215-foot-long Chesapeake Bay cruise ship; 86 retired U.S. Army tanks and armored vehicles, eight tugboats, a fishing trawler and two barges. All told, Delaware’s artificial reef system is also home to more than 1,350 retired New York City subway cars that have been a mainstay for attracting fish to the reef system over the last two decades.

More information about Delaware’s artificial reef program can be found on the DNREC website and in the 2024 Delaware Reef Guide.

About DNREC
The Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control protects and manages the state’s natural resources, protects public health, provides outdoor recreational opportunities and educates Delawareans about the environment. The DNREC Division of Fish and Wildlife conserves and manages Delaware’s fish and wildlife and their habitats, and provides fishing, hunting, wildlife viewing and boating access on nearly 68,000 acres of public land owned or managed by the Division of Fish and Wildlife. For more information, visit the website and connect with @DelawareDNREC on Facebook, Instagram, X (formerly known as Twitter) or LinkedIn.

Media Contacts: Michael Globetti, michael.globetti@delaware.gov; Joanna Wilson, joanna.wilson@delaware.gov

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