Delaware Bans Trail Cameras for Recreational Use on State Wildlife Areas, State Forests, and State Parks

After extensive interagency review and discussion, the Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control (DNREC) and the Delaware Department of Agriculture (DDA) have determined that trail cameras for recreational use are no longer to be permitted on state wildlife areas, state parks, or state forests. The ban on trail cameras on state lands is effective immediately.

In announcing it today, DNREC and DDA emphasized that the ban on recreational trail cameras – which are most often used in Delaware by hunters during the state’s extended deer season – is for state lands only and does not apply to use of trail cameras on private properties.

Delaware’s ban on recreational trail cameras is only the latest such action to be taken curtailing their deployment on public land. Both Prime Hook and Bombay Hook National Wildlife Refuges have previously prohibited the recreational use of trail cameras. At least five states besides Delaware have now banned recreational-use trail cameras on public land, while several other states are currently considering the ban.

Before imposing the ban on recreational-use trail cameras on state lands, DNREC and DDA gave consideration to a number of factors, including:

  •  Acknowledgement that trail cameras are a technological advancement in hunting and are used successfully by many Delaware hunters for harvesting deer.
  • A proliferation of the cameras deployed on public lands. Based on a 2021/2022 survey of Delaware hunters, the DNREC Division of Fish and Wildlife estimates that approximately 11.1% of the hunters on state wildlife areas use trail cameras and deploy on average 2.3 cameras per hunter.
  • An increasing number of complaints from hunters about trail camera use on public lands. Many of these complaints are associated with the “ownership/exclusive use” of a particular portion of state land once cameras are established there, thus excluding other hunters from using that area. Other complaints are about the constant disturbance of an area by hunters frequently checking and moving their trail cameras.
  • Illegal activities that include the cutting and removal of vegetation from state land, when installing a trail camera. Trail cameras also interfere with habitat management and maintenance, during which time they either must be avoided or may be inadvertently destroyed.
  • Privacy concerns due to documented use of trail cameras for monitoring human behavior at public parking areas and on popular hiking trails.
  • Ethical issues associated with using cellular trail cameras for “trophy hunting” to the extent that the Boone & Crocket Club, keeper of “big game” records, does not recognize animals taken by hunters helped in their harvest by cellular trail cameras.

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, InstagramTwitter or LinkedIn.

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

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Bill would formally criminalize ‘Bath Salts’

Measure attacks current, potential designer drugs

DOVER – Synthetic drugs, popularly known as bath salts and other designer drugs would be made permanently illegal under legislation that will be introduced Tuesday by Sen. Bethany Hall-Long.

Hall-Long, D-Middletown, said Wednesday that her measure, Senate Bill 160, is undergoing its final review. After incidents involving the drug spiked during the late summer of 2011, Gov. Jack Markell ensured that the sale of bath salts were banned in the First State until the Legislature could enact a law to that effect upon reconvening. Secretary of State Jeffrey Bullock issued an Emergency Rule making illegal the sale or use of  three chemicals commonly used to produce bath salts. The rule expires later this month.

If it is approved by lawmakers and signed by the governor, Hall-Long’s bill not only makes the ban permanent, but expands the current order to rework the legal definition of designer drugs to cover synthetic versions of drugs now on the state’s list of controlled substances in an effort to combat development of new recreational drugs.

“We all applauded the quick actions taken by Gov. Markell to address the problem as it was starting to explode here in Delaware,” Hall-Long said. “The General Assembly needs to move quickly and decisively to let the public know that selling bath salts and developing new, potentially dangerous drugs won’t be tolerated here and I’m confident that we’ll have this bill on the governor’s desk as quickly as possible.”

Markell said he was pleased the General Assembly is following up on the temporary ban.

“We took the first step of banning these dangerous drugs last fall under an emergency rule because we saw so many lives being ruined. Law enforcement and first responders made clear to us the violence, sickness and suicidal behavior they were seeing first hand from users and the danger these drugs posed,” Markell said. “I was encouraged by the strong and immediate support legislative leaders offered for the emergency ban. The legislature can now act to make these drugs permanently illegal.”

In its current form, Hall-Long’s proposal would make possession of the drugs a misdemeanor, however, people found guilty of possession with intent to distribute the drug could face up to eight years in prison and would face mandatory jail terms and up to 25 years in prison if found guilty of possession or possession with intent to distribute and factors, such as prior offenses, resisting arrest or committing a drug crime near a school or park are involved.

Biden praised Hall-Long for quickly addressing the issue and including language attacking the development of new designer drugs in the future.

“‘Bath salts’ and other designer drugs are poisonous substances that have devastating effects on abusers, their families, and neighborhoods up and down our state and they have no place on our streets,” Biden said. “I applaud Sen. Hall-Long for working quickly to develop this legislation which ensures that current and future versions of these dangerous drugs are illegal.”

Secretary of State Jeffrey Bullock likewise praised Hall-Long and her fellow lawmakers for taking up the issue so quickly.

“I thank Sen. Hall-Long and other members of the General Assembly for the urgency with which they are addressing this issue by proposing legislation to permanently outlaw ‘bath salts’ in Delaware,” said Bullock.

Rep. Rebecca Walker, in her job as an emergency room nurse at Christiana Hospital, has seen the effects bath salts have had on people and worked with the Attorney General’s office and Hall-Long to draft legislation permanently banning the substance.

“This phenomenon popped up last year and quickly became a daily problem in all three counties,” said Walker, D-Middletown. “People under the influence of these bath salts are so out-of-control and violent that they’ve injured nurses and EMS providers, making it difficult to provide the necessary treatment. My biggest concern is for members of the community who may be violently attacked. Permanently banning this dangerous designer drug is an important step in protecting Delawareans.”

Becky K. agreed. Becky in August had to escape a close friend in her pickup truck as he attacked her while he was on bath salts. The event, she said, finally made him realize where the drugs were taking him. Since then, he has received treatment.

“Bath salts made him a complete psychopath and paranoid. He was convinced my parents had installed cameras to watch his every move,” said Becky, whose last name was withheld for her protection. “The day he hit bottom, we were in my pickup truck when he attacked me. I then hit the gas to get away. As soon as I got away, I called the police because I didn’t want to leave him out there alone. I wanted him to get the help he needed to get his life back and, thank God he has gotten that help.”

Hall-Long was joined at a press conference announcing the legislation by Walker, Bullock, Biden, Deputy Safety and Homeland Security Secretary Elizabeth Olsen, Health and Social Services Secretary Rita Landgraf, Col. Robert Coupe, superintendent of the Delaware State Police, Dover Police Chief James Hosfelt, New Castle County Police Chief, Col. W. Scott McLaren who predicted the new law will bolster the ability of police around the state to deal with bath salts.

“This much-needed new law will help eradicate this deadly substance, and make it more difficult to sell, purchase and possess. This “drug” has been a scourge since it hit the shelves in our stores here in Delaware,” McLaren said. “Many police officers, Emergency Medical Services personnel and emergency room staff have been assaulted by people under the influence of this drug over the last year since its popularity has increased. Merchants should be warned that law enforcement officers will make arrests on the spot if a violation is found.”

Hosfelt, an early and vocal advocate of making bath salts illegal, thanked Markell for the executive order and Hall-Long for her efforts to make the ban permanent.

“The use of these designer drugs placed a significant strain on the Dover Police Department and other law enforcement agencies as well,” he said. “This legislation will provide the tools necessary to prohibit any future use or sale of these drugs.”

Besides police and elected officials, Hall-Long was joined by several people who, like Walker, also have had first-hand experiences with people who have used the drugs. Cheryl Flowers, a nurse in the emergency room at Kent General Hospital, said users who have come through the ER there require a lot more attention than most patients.

“I’ve seen a lot of people come through the unit on a lot of different drugs, but I’ve never seen anything quite like people on bath salts. They tend to require a lot more resources than other patients,” she said. “Because of the way they’re marketed, we tend to get a lot of younger patients, as well as people who have used cocaine and heroin that are taking bath salts because they can receive a more intense, euphoric high.”

But, she said, the drug also can make permanent changes in a person’s brain chemistry and functions.

“When they’re getting high,” she said, “most of the people using this drug aren’t aware of the risk of permanent injury that they’re running … The executive order has had worked. We’re seeing fewer cases, but people are still coming in and we need this law to make bath salts illegal permanently.”

Dr. Craig Hochstein, medical director of Bayhealth’s emergency department, agreed calling on legislators to make the ban permanent.

“I would like to let legislators know what a huge impact this ban) has had. Our Emergency Department went from having several of these patients a week to zero within just a couple of days of this ban going into effect,” Hochstein said. “This has been a tremendous win for public health and safety.”

Landgraff said her department has seen evidence of the drug and its effects and pledged her department’s support of the bill.

“In emergency rooms across the state, we have seen the danger that bath salts present to the people who abuse this designer drug and to those they come in contact with while under the influence of it,” said Landgraf. “We will work with other state agencies, Sen. Hall-Long and her colleagues in the General Assembly to protect public health by making the state’s ban on this dangerous stimulant permanent. And we will continue to help families whose loved ones abuse this drug find treatment options in the community.”

Rep. Brad Bennett said his office received numerous calls from residents concerned about the effects of bath salts and began looking into banning the substance statewide.

“Kent General Hospital was inundated with hundreds of bath salts-related emergency cases last year. This has become an epidemic throughout the whole state,” said Bennett, D-Dover South. “Our most important job as legislators is to protect the public, which is what we are doing by introducing this bill. I thank everyone for their hard work and cooperation on this legislation and hope it is passed and signed into law quickly.”


Delaware Moves To Ban Dangerous Drugs Commonly Known As “Bath Salts”

DOVER – Governor Jack Markell announced today the state will be moving to ban the dangerous stimulants commonly known “bath salts” to make them illegal in Delaware as soon as tomorrow.

The Controlled Substances Advisory Committee will hold an emergency meeting Friday, September 30, at the request of the Secretary of State, who seeks to exercise his authority to issue an immediate ban on the drugs. Title 16, Section 4713, states the Secretary of State shall place a substance in Schedule I if that substance has high potential for abuse and has no accepted medical use in treatment in the United States or lacks accepted safety for use in treatment under medical supervision.

Secretary of State Jeffrey Bullock will be taking an unprecedented step to immediately ban these substances for presenting a clear danger to the public. He plans to exercise his emergency authority to ban three synthetic chemical compounds used to produce “bath salts.” Marketed under names such as “Ivory Wave”, “Purple Wave”, “Vanilla Sky” or “Bliss”, these products are comprised of a class of chemicals which can mimic the effects of cocaine, LSD, MDMA and/or methamphetamine.

“We have every reason to make these drugs illegal,” said Governor Jack Markell. “These drugs present a danger to public safety. They have no legitimate use and can cause incredible damage to the lives of the user and those around the user. Criminalizing the sale and possession of these designer drugs will hopefully reverse their rising popularity and get them out of the hands of potential abusers.”

This action will empower state law enforcement agencies to treat bath salts the same as other harmful illegal drugs, which means those who possess and, more importantly, those who sell bath salts will now face criminal penalties.

“Getting these dangerous substances out of stores and off the streets will make Delaware a safer place,” said Attorney General Beau Biden. “Bath salts are dangerous drugs that have no place in our communities.”

Bath salts have become increasingly popular, particularly among teens and young adults, and are sold at places like tobacco shops, gas stations and head shops. The drug can also be bought on the internet. The federal Food and Drug Administration has not approved these chemicals for human consumption or for medical use, and there is no oversight of their manufacture.

Recently discovered data on three of the chemicals used to produce “bath salts” – mephedrone, methylone, and methylenedioxypyrovalerone (MDPV) – demonstrate that they have a high potential for abuse and currently have no accepted medical use in the United States.

Often smoked, snorted or injected, bath salts can cause impaired perception, hallucinations, reduced motor control, chest pains, disorientation, extreme paranoia, agitation, and violent episodes. They are also believed to have led to numerous suicides.

The Controlled Substances Advisory Committee meeting will take place at 1 p.m. at the Carvel State Office Building, Wilmington, 10th floor. Following the meeting, a news conference will be held at 2:00 p.m. in the Governor’s Office, 12th floor, with the Governor, Secretary of State, and Attorney General Beau Biden.