Delaware State Parks hunting permits can be purchased online and at more than 40 licensing agents statewide alongside Delaware hunting licenses. These special park permits will no longer be available for sale at Delaware State Parks offices.

The Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control announced today that special hunting permits for Delaware State Parks can now be conveniently purchased wherever hunting licenses are sold in the state. The special permits are available online at Digital DNREC, at DNREC’s main campus in the Richardson and Robbins Building in Dover, and at more than 40 licensing agents statewide.

The special permits, which cost $10 for residents and non-residents, were previously sold at state park offices, but can now be purchased when buying a Delaware hunting license. These park permits will no longer be available for sale at Delaware State Parks offices. License-exempt hunters who want to hunt at any of the nine Delaware State Parks where hunting is allowed are required to purchase the special permit.

Deer hunting is permitted in Auburn Valley, Brandywine Creek, Cape Henlopen, Delaware Seashore, Holts Landing, Killens Pond, Lums Pond, White Clay Creek and Trap Pond state parks. Waterfowl hunting is permitted in Cape Henlopen and Delaware Seashore state parks. Squirrel and rabbit hunting is permitted in Trap Pond. All hunting seasons for game animals and waterfowl in Delaware’s state parks adhere to daily bag limits established by the DNREC Division of Fish and Wildlife.

Once hunters purchase their Delaware State Parks hunting permit, it is their responsibility to become familiar with each state park’s specific rules and regulations prior to hunting in the parks. Maps and rules for each park that allows hunting can be found on destateparks.com’s hunting webpage.

Hunting in Delaware State Parks is more restrictive than in DNREC’s wildlife areas. Not all methods of take or seasons allowed on private or other public lands are permitted in Delaware State Parks. Hunting rules, permitted seasons and methods of take also vary between parks.

For more information about hunting in Delaware State Parks or the special hunting permit, email DNREC_stateparks_hunting@delaware.gov, call the Division of Parks and Recreation Administrative Services Section at 302-739-9220 or stop by the recreational licensing office inside the Richardson and Robbins Building, 89 Kings Hwy., Dover.

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 Parks and Recreation oversees more than 26,000 acres in 17 state parks and the Brandywine Zoo. For more information, visit the website and connect with @DelawareDNREC on Facebook, Instagram, X (formerly known as Twitter) or LinkedIn.

 Media Contacts: Shauna McVey, shauna.mcvey@delaware.gov; Michael Globetti, michael.globetti@delaware.gov

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The Cape Henlopen State Park Community Workshop will give the public a glimpse of the park’s future.

The Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control will host a community workshop at the Cape Henlopen State Park (CHSP) Officer’s Club Wednesday, July 31, from 6 to 7:30 p.m. to give community members and park visitors the opportunity to share feedback about the DNREC Division of Parks and Recreation’s planned capital projects in the park.

Community members can drop in any time during the workshop to review informational display boards for the capital plans in CHSP. Division staff, along with several consulting firms, will be on hand to discuss active park projects that are in the planning and design phases. The plans featured at the workshop are part of the division’s continued effort to improve amenities and services provided to Delaware State Parks visitors.

Projects to be featured at the workshop include:

• Traffic data analysis 
• Entrance reconfiguration
• Construction of a new park office
• The Point Trail
• An addition to Battery 519
• Campground Improvements
• A beach bathhouse with larger capacity
• The Cape Henlopen fishing pier
• CHSP’s Wolfe Neck Loop Trail
• The Biden Environmental Center

The workshop will give the public a glimpse of the park’s future. Contractors available at the meeting include Bernardon – an architecture firm, and Century and GPI engineering firms.

The Officer’s Club is located at 14628 Officers Road, Lewes. Parking is across the street in the grass. Park entrance fees are waived for vehicles attending the workshop.

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 Parks and Recreation oversees more than 26,000 acres in 17 state parks and the Brandywine Zoo. For more information, visit the website and connect with @DelawareDNREC on Facebook, Instagram, X (formerly known as Twitter) or LinkedIn.

 Media Contacts: Shauna McVey, shauna.mcvey@delaware.gov; Michael Globetti, michael.globetti@delaware.gov

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Jared Towery, who became paraplegic while attending the First State Military Academy and training for enlistment into the U.S. Marines, demonstrated the new Action Trackchair that will be used in Delaware State Parks. He is pictured with, from left to right, his grandmothers Linda Lopez and Joanna Wilson, East Coast Trackchairs owners Chris and Wendy Caldwell who delivered the Trackchair to White Clay Creek State Park, DNREC Secretary Shawn M. Garvin, Park Superintendent Laura Lee and DNREC Division of Parks and Recreation Director Ray Bivens. /DNREC photo

The Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control unveiled its new Action Trackchair, an all-terrain wheelchair donated through the Ford Bronco Wild Fund July 12 at the Deerfield Clubhouse at White Clay Creek State Park. The event highlighted accessibility improvements statewide for the DNREC Division of Parks and Recreation and featured the first publicly accessible all-terrain wheelchair available for public use in the state of Delaware.

Delaware was the recipient of a nationally competitive grant for one of seven AXIS model Trackchairs provided through the Bronco Wild Fund Access Grants and the National Association of State Park Directors (NASPD).

The Action Trackchair enables individuals with mobility challenges to explore and enjoy the beauty of nature. Its “Tilt on the fly” feature allows for adjustable angles that fit each user’s preference. It can also be operated in mud, sand, snow and water.

“Like DNREC, the Bronco Wild Fund aims to connect people to the outdoors by increasing access, and the Trackchair does just that,” said DNREC Secretary Shawn M. Garvin. “We are grateful to Ford for granting us this chair to allow even more visitors to enjoy the great outdoors.”

On hand to demonstrate the Action Trackchair’s features was Jared Towery, who became paraplegic while attending the First State Military Academy in 2021 and training for enlistment into the U.S. Marines. His grandmother, Linda Lopez, has become a tireless advocate for people with disabilities throughout the state and gaining accessibility upgrades for them.

The Division of Parks and Recreation’s Strategic Plan includes a goal of adding or improving more than 70 accessible amenities in Delaware State Parks. These updates include mobility mats, beach wheelchairs, adaptive kayak launches, paved paths, accessible hunting stands, additional all-terrain wheelchairs and campsites specifically designed for individuals in wheelchairs.

The Bronco Wild Fund aims to responsibly connect people to the outdoors by increasing access, preservation, and stewardship of the great outdoors. Through collaboration with America’s State Parks and America’s State Park Foundation, Bronco Wild Fund targets projects and creates events that inspire and enhance outdoor recreation.

NASPD brings together state park leaders and professionals to foster collaboration, share best practices, and advocate for policies that support the sustainable management and enjoyment of each state’s treasured public lands.

The Action Trackchair will be housed at White Clay Creek State Park, which has the largest trail system of Delaware’s state parks. To reserve the Action Trackchair for use in Delaware State Parks, call the White Clay Creek State Park Office at 302-368-6900.

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 Parks and Recreation oversees more than 26,000 acres in 17 state parks and the Brandywine Zoo. For more information, visit the website and connect with @DelawareDNREC on Facebook, Instagram, X (formerly known as Twitter) or LinkedIn.

Media Contacts: Shauna McVey, shauna.mcvey@delaware.gov; Michael Globetti, michael.globetti@delaware.gov

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 DNREC uses controlled, or prescribed, burns to manage meadows and create more suitable habitats for native species like, clockwise from left, the monarch butterfly, common yellowthroat bird, eastern bluebird and orange sulphur butterfly. DNREC Photos

The Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control is working with the Delaware Department of Agriculture to execute a controlled burn at Brandywine Creek State Park in February or March. This prescribed burn will help manage nearly 30 acres of meadowland near the park’s nature center.

While much of the natural area managed by the DNREC Division of Parks and Recreation is forested, Brandywine Creek State Park is known for its vast meadowland views divided by blue gneiss stone walls. The last controlled burn at BCSP was held in 2013.

Prescribed burning is a meadow management technique, which mimics natural fire and is used periodically in place of annual mowing, to halt progression of meadowland so it does not become a forest. Additionally, this controlled burn should encourage the growth of native wildflowers and warm season grasses. This plant growth creates more suitable habitats for nesting grassland birds like the eastern bluebird and common yellowthroat, native pollinator insects like the orange sulphur and monarch butterflies, and other grassland-dependent animals.

The DNREC Division of Parks and Recreation is coordinating with DNREC’s Division of Air Quality and the DDA Forest Service to perform the burn on a single day, to be determined by weather, personnel availability and open burning approval. BCSP will be closed on the date of the burn and the exact date will be announced on the park’s Facebook and Instagram accounts, once it is known.

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 Parks and Recreation oversees more than 26,000 acres in 17 state parks and the Brandywine Zoo. For more information, visit the website and connect with @DelawareDNREC on Facebook, Instagram, X (formerly known as Twitter) or LinkedIn.

Media Contacts: Shauna McVey, shauna.mcvey@delaware.gov; Michael Globetti, michael.globetti@delaware.gov

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The Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control announced today that a section of Cape Henlopen State Park will be closed Tuesday, Jan. 16 and Wednesday, Jan. 17 to accommodate a managed deer hunt.

The DNREC Division of Parks and Recreation will close the park’s main entrance for the 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. The hunts are coordinated by the DNREC Division of Fish and Wildlife and Division of Parks and Recreation.

For more information about hunting in Delaware State Parks, visit https://destateparks.com/Adventures/Hunting.

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 Parks and Recreation oversees more than 26,000 acres in 17 state parks and the Brandywine Zoo. For more information, visit the website and connect with @DelawareDNREC on Facebook, Instagram, X (formerly known as Twitter) or LinkedIn.

Media Contacts: Shauna McVey, shauna.mcvey@delaware.gov; Michael Globetti, michael.globetti@delaware.gov

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