DOVER – Delaware’s Advisory Council on Tidal Finfisheries will meet at 6 p.m. Wednesday, April 18, in the DNREC Auditorium, 89 Kings Highway, Dover, DE 19901.

The Council will discuss changes to finfish regulations, recent actions affecting Delaware fisheries taken by the Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council and the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission, commercial fisheries reporting, and other finfish topics.

For more information, including the meeting agenda, visit the Delaware Public Meeting Calendar at https://publicmeetings.delaware.gov/Meeting/59436.

For more information on Delaware fisheries, please call DNREC’s Fisheries Section at 302-739-9914.

Vol. 48, No. 80

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

DOVER – The results are in, and two artists – including a renowned name on both the national level and here in Delaware – have won top honors in the state’s Waterfowl and Trout Stamp art contests. A painting of a long-tailed duck and a black Labrador retriever by Richard Clifton of Milford, Delaware, a past Federal duck stamp competition winner, who also has captured best in show in numerous state duck stamp contests, will grace the 2019/20 Delaware Waterfowl Stamp. A painting of a brook trout by Broderick Crawford of Clayton, Georgia, will adorn the 2019 Delaware Trout Stamp.

Clifton and Crawford were chosen by contest judges in the DNREC Division of Fish & Wildlife’s annual stamp art competition, with the judging April 12 at the Dover Public Library. The stamp contests drew 30 entries for the 2019/20 Waterfowl Stamp and 16 entries for the 2019 Trout Stamp. The 39th annual Waterfowl Stamp contest specified that submitted artwork must include a long-tailed duck and a black Labrador retriever. The trout stamp artwork can feature one or more species of brown, brook or rainbow trout in a setting or environment found in Delaware.

As the 2019/20 Waterfowl Stamp winner, Richard Clifton receives a $2,500 prize and 150 artist’s proofs of the limited edition print series of his first-place entry. Clifton, who resides on a historic family farm near Prime Hook National Wildlife Refuge, is an avid hunter and self-taught wildlife artist who works in acrylics with waterfowl as one of his favorite subjects. He has painted 51 winning duck stamps, including eight Delaware Waterfowl Stamps, the 1996 Australian Duck Stamp and the 2007-2008 Federal Duck Stamp, and is the current Ducks Unlimited International Artist of the Year.

As the 2019 Trout Stamp winner, Broderick Crawford receives $250 and retains the rights to reproduce and sell prints of the stamp. Broderick grew up in the southern Appalachians exploring streams and mountain sides all his life. He is an avid fly fisherman and supporter of Trout Unlimited. His favorite fish has always been the Brook Trout. A few years back he won the competition in Georgia with a Brook Trout for the Trout Unlimited vehicle tag in that state. Crawford is a wildlife and sporting art artist working in mostly acrylic paints who has entered and placed in Delaware’s stamp several times.

Other winners included:

2019/20 Waterfowl Stamp

• Second place, Caleb Metrich, Lake Tomahawk, Wisconsin
• Third place, Dee Dee Murry, Centralia, Washington
• Honorable mentions: George Bradford, Georgetown, Delaware; Paul R. Fenwick, Hillsborough, New Jersey; and Broderick Crawford, Clayton, Georgia

2019 Trout Stamp

• Second place, George Bradford, Georgetown, Delaware, brown trout
• Third place, Micah Hanson, St. Charles, Minnisota, brown trout
• Honorable mentions: Ryan Peterson, Jackson, Wyoming, rainbow trout; Stephen Hamrick, Lakeville, Minnisota, rainbow trout; and Jeffrey Klinefelter, Etna Green, Indiana, rainbow trout.

The winning 2019/20 Delaware Waterfowl Stamp will be available July 1, 2019, and the winning 2019 Delaware Trout Stamp will be available Jan. 1, 2019.

Waterfowl and Trout Stamp entries are on display Monday, April 16 through Friday, April 27 at the Bombay Hook National Wildlife Refuge Visitor Center, 2591 Whitehall Neck Road, Smyrna, DE 19977. Hours are 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. weekdays and 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays. For more information, please call 302-653-9345.

The winning stamp art also can be viewed online. The winning waterfowl stamp entries and the winning trout stamp entries are posted on the DNREC web site.

The 2019/20 Waterfowl Stamp judges were: Pete MacGaffin, Delaware Ducks Unlimited representative; Lloyd Alexander, art collector; F. Thomas Unruh, member of the Advisory Council on Wildlife and Freshwater Fish; Anthony Gonzon, wildlife biologist; and Justyn Foth, wildlife biologist.

The 2019 Trout Stamp judges were: Desmond Kahn, White Clay Fly Fishers member; Cathy Martin, avid angler; Edna Stetzar, fisheries biologist; Scott Newlin, fisheries biologist; and F. Thomas Unruh member of the Advisory Council on Wildlife and Freshwater Fish.

DNREC’s Division of Fish & Wildlife, in partnership with Ducks Unlimited, started the Delaware Waterfowl Stamp (formerly known as the Delaware Duck 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 $2.8 million has been raised.

The Division of Fish & Wildlife began requiring trout stamps in the 1950s, and a trout stamp and a general fishing license are required to fish in designated trout waters during certain seasons. Trout stamp art was first used in 1977. The fees paid for Trout Stamps are used to purchase rainbow and brown trout from commercial hatcheries, with the purchased trout stocked in two downstate ponds and selected streams in northern New Castle County for Delaware’s trout seasons.

Delaware hunting and fishing licenses, as well as Waterfowl Stamps and Trout Stamps, are sold online, at the licensing desk in DNREC’s Richardson & Robbins Building, 89 Kings Highway, Dover, DE 19901, and by license agents statewide. For additional information on Delaware hunting and fishing licenses, call 302-739-9918.

For more information on Delaware’s waterfowl and trout stamp art competitions, please call DNREC’s Division of Fish & Wildlife at 302-739-9911.

DOVER – The Delaware Water Infrastructure Advisory Council will meet Wednesday, April 18 at 9 a.m. in Conference Room 220, Kent County Administrative Complex, 555 S. Bay Road, Dover, DE 19901.

More information about the meeting, including the agenda, can be found on the Statewide Meeting Calendar at https://publicmeetings.delaware.gov/Meeting/56438

For more information about the Water Infrastructure Advisory Council, please visit the DNREC website.

Vol. 48, No. 79

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DOVER – DNREC’s Office of the Secretary announced today that the written public comment period remains open for amended waste transporter permit applications for Denali Water Solutions and Clark’s Environmental Services (dba Chesapeake Environmental Services LLC). Public hearings for both companies’ amended permit applications were held by the Department Wednesday, April 11 in Milton.

DNREC is keeping the record open for written public comment on both permit applications until Thursday, May 3 after having been made aware that the start of the hearings was delayed and the regular-hours closure of the venue where both hearings were held (the Milton Public Library) precluded additional public comment on both permit applications.

Denali Water Solutions’ application was made to DNREC’s Groundwater Discharges Section for an amendment to the company’s State of Delaware Non-Hazardous Liquid Waste Transporters Permit (DE OH-601) to include transporting other non-sanitary wastewater to the Allen Harim processing facility wastewater treatment plant in Harbeson.

Clark’s Environmental Services (dba Chesapeake Environmental Services LLC) also made an application to the Groundwater Discharges Section for an amendment to the company’s State of Delaware Non-Hazardous Liquid Waste Transporters Permit (DE WH-213) to include transporting sludge to the Allen Harim processing facility wastewater treatment plant in Harbeson.

Comments should be directed to DNREC Senior Hearing Officer Robert Haynes, either by email to Robert.Haynes@delaware.gov or via US mail to: Robert P. Haynes, Esq., Office of the Secretary, Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control, 89 Kings Highway, Dover, DE 19901.

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

Vol. 48, No. 77

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NEW CASTLE COUNTY – DNREC Secretary Shawn Garvin encourages volunteers to sign up for the Department-sponsored 27th annual Christina River Watershed Cleanup along the river and several tributaries next Saturday, April 14 from 8-11 a.m. at 14 sites throughout northern New Castle County.

“Clearing debris from the Christina River Watershed not only improves the landscape for residents and visitors to enjoy, it improves the health and quality of the river and its tributaries, the primary sources of public water supply for New Castle County residents and businesses. The work these volunteers do is important, and we thank them for it,” said Secretary Garvin.

The annual cleanup will be held rain or shine. For the second year, the City of Newark site will hold its Spring Community Clean Up in conjunction with the Christina River Cleanup.

Since the cleanup began in 1992, more than 360 tons of tires, appliances, household items, and plastic and styrofoam have been cleared from the Christina River, White Clay Creek, Naamans Creek and other tributaries. More than 13,000 volunteers have filled trash bags along Churchmans Marsh, White Clay Creek State Park, the City of Wilmington and various other locations.

DNREC has been a sponsor and an integral part of the Christina River Watershed Cleanup since its inception. Specifically, DNREC’s Division of Fish & Wildlife provides planning support in addition to staff and boats to transport volunteers and to offload trash collected from remote locations. The cleanup of the river within the city of Wilmington benefits DNREC’s ongoing marsh restoration work at the Russell W. Peterson Urban Wildlife Refuge. Three State parks – Brandywine Creek, Fox Point, and White Clay Creek – and several New Castle County parks, also serve as primary Cleanup locations.

For a complete list of cleanup sites and to register for volunteering, please visit www.ChristinaRiverCleanup.org or call 302-307-2757. Volunteers are encouraged to sign up for one of the 14 sites as soon as possible so adequate supplies can be provided to each site captain. For safety and efficiency, volunteers are encouraged to wear long sleeves and pants, boots or water-resistant shoes, hats, heavy-duty gloves, sunscreen, and insect repellant. Waders or hip boots are helpful for the City of Wilmington, Newport Boat Ramp, and Churchman’s Marsh-Christiana sites. Due to insurance requirements, volunteers under the age of 16 must have adult supervision. All participants must wear a life jacket while on board any boat.

As a thank you, volunteers will receive a Christina River Watershed Cleanup reusable tote bag, perfect for shopping trips, featuring a blue variation of Ramiro Lopez-Villalobos’ design for this year’s cleanup logo. The first 500 volunteers will also receive water bottles donated by KCI Technologies. The Delaware Department of Transportation will be providing various giveaways for younger volunteers. Water and a variety of refreshments will be provided at all locations.

More than 50 organizations and businesses sponsor the cleanup each year. In addition to DNREC, primary sponsors include: Christina Conservancy; Artesian Water Company; New Castle County; Partnership for the Delaware Estuary; Dow Chemical Company; ICNA Relief / Islamic Society of Delaware; and SUEZ Water in Delaware. DNREC has welcomed several new sponsors to the Cleanup ranks this year: Delmarva Power; DuPont Company; and IncNow, a Delaware incorporation company. Along with KCI and DelDOT, the Cleanup also is pleased to bring aboard sponsors Bloom Energy; BrightFields, Inc.; and Duffield Associates, Inc.

For more information on DNREC’s programs, visit www.dnrec.delaware.gov.

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

Vol. 48, No. 76

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