LEWES – Renovations have been completed improving the old Fort Miles overlook, which has now become an addition to the existing museum building. This new area enables visitors to experience the same view as soldiers during WWII and the Cold War from Battery 519.

“The Fort Miles Museum and Historic Area utilizes a unique WWII coastal battery complex and artillery park, representative artifacts, and educational activities to interpret Delaware’s role in coastal defense, and how U.S. military forces and civilians shaped and influenced community life in Delaware,” said Secretary Garvin. “All of the new improvements at Fort Miles enhance visitors’ experiences, and bring the fort to life. I thank the Fort Miles Historical Association, members of the General Assembly, and the Division of Parks & Recreation for making these improvements a reality.”

The new overlook provides visitors an enhanced perspective of the area, and the Atlantic Ocean. The new event venue will allow for additional programming space for visitors to the museum. In addition, it can also serve as an event area. Other improvements include a new glass wall in the north gun block, a restroom facility, and a geothermal HVAC system for north end of the museum.

During WWII Fort Miles served as the East Coast’s largest military base and a key piece in the nation’s coastal defense. In 1964, 543 acres of the Fort were returned to the State of Delaware, forming the heart of Cape Henlopen State Park. In April 2005, Fort Miles was added to the National Register of Historic Places.

The Fort Miles Museum encompasses a small but highly significant portion of the Fort’s original footprint. The grounds feature one of the Fort’s major gun emplacements, Battery 519, along with numerous support buildings that housed WWII soldiers. Fort Miles’ armaments comprise a permanent display showcasing Delaware’s first line of defense during the early 1940s. It is the largest exhibit of its kind in the country.

In the coming year, the Fort Miles Museum team will be focused on developing new exhibits and enhancing existing displays, to help bring the stories of the men and women of Fort Miles to life.

Media contact: Beth Shockley, DNREC Public Affairs, 302-739-9902.

Vol. 49, No. 188

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FENWICK ISLAND – On Saturday, June 15, and Sunday, June 16, DNREC’s Division of Parks & Recreation’s Natural Resource Police Rangers conducted a targeted enforcement operation for compliance with Delaware’s surf fishing regulations at surf fishing beaches and surf crossings at Fenwick Island and Cape Henlopen State Parks. The operation was in response to complaints of surf-fishers failing to abide by regulations, particularly the “actively engaged” rule for fishing from the beach.

“We are continuing to concentrate on compliance with state parks’ surf fishing rules and regulations as an enforcement priority,” said DNREC Division of Parks & Recreation Director Ray Bivens, who joined DNREC Park Rangers in the enforcement operation. “While we invite properly-licensed anglers to enjoy surf fishing on our state park beaches, we will work to ensure that they are actively engaged in surf fishing and abiding by the rules.”

On Saturday, Parks Rangers, along with officers from DNREC’s Fish & Wildlife Natural Resources Police, checked every vehicle on the surf-fishing beach at Fenwick Island State Park, to ensure at least one occupant was actively engaged in surf fishing. The “actively-engaged” check resulted in 24 citations and warnings for various violations of surf fishing regulations, including anglers not possessing required fishing and vehicle equipment.

On Saturday and Sunday, Park Rangers, assisted by Park Watch volunteers, conducted four surf fishing compliance checks at surf crossings within Cape Henlopen and Fenwick Island State Parks. More than 300 vehicles were checked.

Park Rangers remind surf-fishing permit holders that all individuals who drive on designated surf fishing beaches must possess a valid surf fishing vehicle permit; must be actively engaged in surf fishing; must possess required surf fishing vehicle equipment, including a jack, shovel, low-pressure tire gauge, board, and tow strap; and also must possess proper saltwater fishing tackle.

Media contact: Beth Shockley, DNREC Public Affairs, 302-739-9902

Vol. 49, No. 164

DOVER – DNREC’s Division of Parks & Recreation announced today that a section of Cape Henlopen State Park will be closed to accommodate a managed deer hunt taking place Thursday, Jan. 24.

The park’s main entrance will be closed for the DNREC-managed hunt, meaning bay and ocean beaches north of Herring Point cannot be accessed by park visitors during this hunt. The Gordons Pond area and lands on the west side of the Lewes-Rehoboth Canal will be open as usual.

The managed deer hunt is meant to reduce the deer herd in and around the park, and to lessen environmental impacts on rare plant species and plant communities at Cape Henlopen.

Media contacts: Beth Shockley, DNREC Public Affairs, 302-739-9902

Vol. 49, No. 14

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LEWES – DNREC’s Cape Henlopen State Park will host the WWI Mobile Museum for the second year at the Fort Miles Museum and Historic Area from Monday, Dec. 3 – Saturday, Dec. 8. Visitors can explore and celebrate the centennial anniversary of World War I inside the Fort Miles Museum.

Visitors can learn what soldiers experienced in this global conflict through exhibits, artifacts, and special presentations. The guest presenters will include State Cultural Preservation Specialist John P. McCarthy, retired U.S. Navy Captain William Manthorpe, Coastal Defense Study Group member Terry McGovern, Ebony Doughboys Living History group member Steven Jones, and Fort Miles Historical Interpreter Tyler Drieblatt.

The WWI Mobile Museum event is free. Tours of WWII Battery 519 will be available for $5.

For more information, contact the Fort Miles Orientation Building at 302-644-5007. For a detailed schedule, visit https://destateparks.com/History/FortMiles.

This program is partially funded by a grant from the Delaware Humanities Forum, a state program of the National Endowment for the Humanities.

Contact: Beth Shockley, DNREC Public Affairs, 302-739-9902

Vol. 48, No. 324

Updates on other beachnesting birds

LEWES – The data is in, and DNREC’s Division of Fish & Wildlife is reporting a successful nesting season for piping plovers in Delaware, with an all-time high number of 16 breeding pairs producing 36 fledglings. Four pairs of piping plovers nested at the Point at Cape Henlopen State Park, and 12 pairs nested at Fowler Beach at Prime Hook National Wildlife Refuge, a relatively new breeding site that was first used by nesting piping plovers in 2016 following a habitat restoration project.

For the second year in a row, piping plovers did not nest at Gordons Pond within Cape Henlopen State Park, possibly due to the combined factors of encroaching vegetation limiting sandy nesting habitat and the availability of more attractive nesting habitat at Fowler Beach.

The piping plover is a federally-listed threatened species and a state-listed endangered species in Delaware. Species recovery involves partnerships between DNREC’s Division of Fish & Wildlife and Division of Parks & Recreation and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

In other beachnesting bird updates, one pair of American oystercatchers successfully hatched and fledged a single chick at the Point at Cape Henlopen State Park. No least terns were found nesting at Cape Henlopen State Park this year for the first time since the state began monitoring least tern nesting in 2006.

For additional information on piping plovers or other beachnesting birds, please call Audrey DeRose-Wilson with the Division of Fish & Wildlife’s Species Conservation and Research Program at 302-735-3600.

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