DNREC Division of Fish and Wildlife Details Changes Made to Regs,
Including New Requirements for Hunters Under 21 Years of Age

The Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control announced today that the 2025/26 Delaware Hunting and Trapping Guide will be available starting this week from recreational license agents throughout the state, at the DNREC Division of Fish and Wildlife licensing office in the Richardson & Robbins Building located at 89 Kings Highway in Dover, DE 19901, and online via the DNREC website. The hunting and trapping guide is free and often is picked up by hunters when they buy Delaware hunting licenses for the 2025/26 seasons that also go on sale July 1.

The guide lists season dates for the 2025/26 hunting and trapping seasons, as well as a summary of Delaware laws and regulations for legal harvest of game animals and gamebirds. Several changes related to hunting and trapping have been made in advance of the upcoming season. Significant changes include new requirements for hunters under 21 years of age and allowable hunting methods for resident Canada Geese. Both changes are explained in the guide.

Hunters and trappers can also find information in the guide on licensing/permit requirements, including the hunting and trapping license fee structure, and information about the annual Conservation Access Pass to be used other outdoor recreation on state wildlife areas. Public land hunting opportunities, hunting and trapping classes offered by the DNREC Hunter Education Program, and other helpful hunting, trapping, and wildlife information are also included in the guide.

Hunting licenses and Delaware waterfowl stamps can be purchased online, at the licensing desk in DNREC’s Richardson & Robbins Building, 89 Kings Highway, Dover, DE 19901, and from license agents statewide. Participating agents can found at de.gov/LicenseAgents. Hunting licenses can also be purchased online from Digital DNREC. For more information about Delaware hunting licenses, call the DNREC 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 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 YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, X (formerly known as Twitter), Bluesky or LinkedIn.

Media Contacts: Michael Globetti, michael.globetti@delaware.gov

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An improvements project at Trussum Pond will include paving the parking area to enable better access to the pond. /DNREC Photo

The Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control announced today that Trussum Pond, managed by the DNREC Division of Parks and Recreation, will be closed starting March 17 for a construction project expected to be completed in mid-April. The Trussum Pond project includes grading and paving the boat ramp and parking lot to provide better access and reduce erosion issues currently impacting the pond’s ramp and launch area.

During the closure, anglers and outdoor recreationalists looking for alternative venues in the area can access Trap Pond State Park (where entrance fees apply), as well as Raccoon, Records, Chipman, and Horsey Ponds – all in the vicinity of Trussum Pond – for fishing and other outdoor activities.

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: Michael Globetti, michael.globetti@delaware.gov

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Volunteers celebrate a successful cleanup at Seaford’s Concord Pond in 2024 – the state’s southernmost volunteer cleanup sponsored by DNREC ./DNREC Photo

Earth Month Event Hosted by DNREC Division of Watershed Stewardship

As part of a month-long celebration of Earth Day in April 2025, the Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control is seeking volunteers to join this year’s cleanup event at Concord Pond, a popular fishing and boating destination near Seaford. Volunteers are asked to pre-register for the event to be held from 10 a.m. to noon on Saturday, April 5.

The DNREC Division of Watershed Stewardship, in partnership with Nanticoke Watershed Alliance, will host the annual cleanup organized to help improve local water quality and support wildlife habitat. Volunteers will arrive in the parking area at the intersection of Concord Pond Road (Road 516) and Henry Drive in Seaford, where supplies, drinking water, and light snacks will be available. Trash bags, gloves and trash grabbers will be provided, though participants are encouraged to bring their own trash grabbers. Volunteers will remove trash from both the tidal and nontidal areas around the pond and creek.

Concord Pond is located in the Deep Creek Watershed and drains directly into the creek at the cleanup site. The Deep Creek watershed is within the larger Nanticoke River Watershed and Chesapeake Bay Basin. Participating in voluntary activities such as cleanups and plantings benefits the health of local waterways and ecosystems, as well as the larger waterbodies they drain into.

The Deep Creek Watershed has been able to support underwater grasses known as submerged aquatic vegetation, which fish use for spawning, cover, and nurseries. The watershed has also been impacted by nonpoint source pollution, which can make it difficult for vegetation and other aquatic species to thrive. Nonpoint source pollution originates from a variety of places and can be from fertilizers, animal waste, septic systems, litter, and other sources. Planting buffers of trees and plants along waterways can help catch, absorb and filter pollutants.

DNREC’s Nonpoint Source Program and Chesapeake Implementation Program offer funding for projects that reduce nutrient and sediment pollution. Also, within the Chesapeake Bay watershed, the Delaware Community Conservation Assistance Program provides financial and technical assistance to homeowners for implementing eligible conservation practices. The DNREC Buffer Incentive Program offers financial incentives to landowners for installing buffers along waterways within Delaware’s Chesapeake Bay watershed. The Nanticoke Watershed Alliance assists with plantings of native vegetation within the Nanticoke River Watershed and monitors water quality through the volunteer Creek Watchers Program.

Visit Delaware Watersheds to identify and learn more about local watersheds. To join DNREC in celebrating Earth Day throughout the month of April, visit de.gov/earthday. Upcoming DNREC activities are posted on the DNREC Calendar of Events and Division of Watershed Stewardship Facebook page.

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 Watershed Stewardship develops and implements innovative watershed assessment, monitoring and implementation activities.   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

A team of young volunteers at the annual DNREC-sponsored Christina River Watershed Cleanup tackled trash and litter to great success along Nonesuch Creek at an earlier cleanup./DNREC Photo

Volunteers are invited to join Delaware’s month-long Earth Day celebration in April by helping clean up 13 sites throughout New Castle County during the annual Christina River Watershed Cleanup. The event will be held from 9 a.m. to noon, Saturday, April 12. Registration is open through Thursday, April 10, with hundreds of volunteers expected to rally at sites from Brandywine Hundred south through Glasgow and Bear.

Sponsored by the Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control, in partnership with the Christina Conservancy and the Partnership for the Delaware Estuary (PDE), the state’s second largest cleanup effort attracts about 750 volunteers each year, with only DNREC’s statewide Delaware Coastal Cleanup drawing greater participation. The cleanup’s message focuses on local waterways and educating northern Delawareans about the importance of clean rivers and streams that provide public drinking water, habitat for fish and wildlife, and generate recreational opportunities and tourism dollars.

“April is Earth Month. There are lots of ways to get involved, and one of the most direct is to take part in a cleanup and literally make a part of Delaware cleaner and more beautiful,” said DNREC Secretary Greg Patterson. “DNREC is proud to be part of the Christina River Watershed Cleanup, which focuses on taking care of the state’s northern watersheds and educating communities about the vital importance of having clean and healthy waterways – all year long.”

“Partnership for the Delaware Estuary is honored to be a partner and organizer of the Christina River Watershed Cleanup,” said PDE Executive Director Kathy Klein. “Volunteers need only spend a little of their time at this event for the lasting reward of a job well done and helping make our waterways a little cleaner and healthier.”

“With the Christina River Watershed Cleanup now in its 33^rd year, we hope to collect – or surpass – our annual average of 15 tons of trash, from old tires and appliances to household items and uncountable pieces of plastic,” said Shirley Posey, long-time cleanup coordinator for Christina Conservancy and DNREC who has participated in every cleanup since it began in 1992. “With 13 sites this year, plus another site just over the line in Pennsylvania, we invite everyone to join us for another successful cleanup on April 12.”

Cleanup organizers will provide registered volunteers with gloves, trash bags and safety vests to use during the event. As a thank you, volunteers will receive Christina River Watershed Cleanup swag while supplies last.

To further engage the community, volunteers are invited to share their cleanup experiences on social media with the #ChristinaRiverCleanup hashtag. More information can be found at ChristinaRiverCleanup.org, or by emailing ChristinaRiverCleanup@gmail.com.

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. 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

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The Point at Cape Henlopen State Park./DNREC Photo

The Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control will close The Point at Cape Henlopen State Park, including a stretch of ocean and bay beach, starting Saturday, March 1. Since 1993, The Point has closed annually for most of the spring and summer for the benefit of threatened and endangered beach-nesters and migratory shorebirds, including piping plovers, American oystercatchers, least terns, red knots and other species.

The Point’s nesting habitat on the ocean side will reopen to the public Sept. 1. The bayside beach will remain closed until Oct. 1 for use by shorebirds migrating south for the winter.

The DNREC Divisions of Parks and Recreation, Fish and Wildlife, and Watershed Stewardship have worked together since 1990 to implement a management plan to help bolster and increase shorebird populations in Delaware.

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: Michael Globetti, michael.globetti@delaware.gov

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