Category:garrett county
Maryland Department of Natural Resources Proposed Off-Road Vehicle Trail System Expansion
The Maryland Department of Natural Resources (DNR) is proposing to expand its off-road vehicle (ORV) trail system. Three new ORV Trails are being considered: (1) one ORV Trail in Garrett County on the Savage River State Forest, in the general vicinity of St. John’s Rock-Red Dog Road, (2) two ORV Trails in Washington County, on DNR managed lands on Sideling Hill north and south.
Public Meeting
In accordance with Maryland COMAR 08.01.03.10, ORV Trail Designation Procedure and Criteria, The Department of Natural Resources (DNR) will be holding a public meeting on September 4, 2013 at the New Germany State Park Lake House from 7:00-9:00 p.m. to discuss the management and designation of these new ORV trails. This meeting is a preliminary review to gather public input prior to final designation.
Submit
Public will be taken at the September 4th meeting following a presentation by DNR staff.
will also be received via email or hardcopy through October 4, 2013.
may be sent to:
Jack Perdue
Maryland DNR
Tawes State Office Building, E-1
580 Taylor Avenue
Annapolis, MD 21401Or by email to: jperdue@dnr.state.md.us
Introduction
The Maryland Department of Natural Resources is responsible for the management of approximately 450,000 acres of public land distributed throughout the State. These lands have traditionally been used for a wide array of recreational activities including hiking, camping, fishing, hunting, boating and nature appreciation. However, in recent times, the Department has seen an increasing demand for diversified activities such as geocache, mountain biking and off road vehicle (ORV) trails. Of particular interest is the request for designated ORV trails. In the mid-1980s a number of ORV trails were developed within the western region’s State Forests. Three trails were particularly popular with the general public and experienced an ever-increasing demand. Unfortunately, some of these trails were located in environmentally sensitive areas and had to be closed in 2011. The Green Ridge State Forest ORV trail, Chandler trail and Poplar Lick trail included approximately 36 miles of ORV trail and remain closed today. As a result, the Department undertook a comprehensive review of its various landholdings to assess the probability of developing other sustainable areas for ORV trail development.
Criteria for Assessing Suitability for ORV Trails
The three sites were identified as the result of a two-year process of systematically reviewing all DNR lands for suitable ORV locations. In addition, the Department participated with an ORV stakeholder workgroup in identifying potential private land locations for other ORV trails. The most highly ranked sites were then selected for closer review by an internal team of DNR resource managers.
A Geographic Information Systems (GIS) model was used to filter and select potentially suitable locations to host new ORV trails. Areas were rated based on soil suitability, avoidance of Maryland Historical Trust sites, human populations, conservation areas, and sensitive watersheds.
ORV Proposal Descriptions
The descriptions below describe the trail locations in general. Additional details for these trails will be determined during the design and construction process. Architectural and engineering firms will be solicited for the final design and construction of these trails.
Special Delivery? - The Republican Newspaper
One is often surprised when checking to see what might be in the mailbox each day; however, a resident along Old Crellin Road was somewhat shocked to see what had arrived at his mailbox Sunday afternoon. A queen honey bee evidently decided to move her family of several thousand workers (and a few drones) into some new digs, and in that big move elected to have her swarm take a rest on the mailbox post. Called to the scene was Hop Cassidy, regional state bee inspector for Garrett and Allegany counties, pictured above. Hop was then successful in placing the swarm into a hive box and adding them to his personal apiary. No stings were reported. Photo by Glenn Tolbert.
ASCI, Wisp Road Decision, Airport Updates Given
The Board of Garrett County Commissioners held a public meeting on Tuesday and received several updates from county agencies and affiliates. The agenda included further discussion on Wisp Mountain Road, updates at the airport and the Adventure Sports Center International (ASCI), the announcing of members of the Deep Creek Wastershed Management Plan Steering Committee, and information from the Garrett County Board of Elections.
Wisp Mountain Road
At a July 16 public hearing concerning the Wisp Mountain Road, it was announced that public record would be kept open until Aug. 9, and a decision would be announced at the Aug. 13 meeting. However, the decision was deferred, and will be presented at a later date.
ASCI
Michael Logsdon, ASCI executive director, reported that advances in marketing have been made at the facility, and they are working on getting the word out about activities available there. Signs with new logos that better depict events at ASCI have been erected, and the information technology department has improved the web site and the method for guests to order photographs.
Modifications are being made to the stream bed for upcoming events, and requests for bids have been sent out for modification of the amphitheater. The clean-up also continues on the Fork Run Trail that was heavily impacted by the snow-hurricane storm in October 2012.
Garrett County Airport
Edward Kelley, Garrett County Airport manager, reported that there has been a large influx of jets to the airport since the extension of the runway. The yearly inspection of the airport occurred on Aug. 7, and it was found to be in excellent condition, he reported.
DCL Watershed
Management Plan
Steering Committee
A steering committee was selected for the Deep Creek Watershed Management Plan. A total of 22 individuals submitted their names to volunteer on the committee, and nine were selected.
Those selected are David Myerber, chair, Morgantown, W.Va., resident representative; Robert Hoffman, Oakland, resident representative; Peter Versteegen, McHenry, resident representative; Lulu Gonella, Swanton, resident representative; John Forman, Oakland, forestry representative; Steve Green, McHenry, recreation represtative; Bob Browning, McHenry, business representative; Willie Lantz, Mtn. Lake Park, agricultural representative; and Mike Sabad, Clarion, Pa., operations manager and power plant representative.
Board of Elections
Steve Fratz gave a report on the Garrett County Board of Elections. He said the beginning of the election season has been slow, with filing lagging. The deadline to file is Feb. 25, and information about filing can be found on the web site.
The process is under way for preparing polling places for the June 24 primary election. Coordination will begin immediately after Labor Day. Some polling places may be consolidated because of issues with parking and accessibility. They include Ryan’s Glade with Red House and West Oakland with East Oakland.
This will be the last year for the current voting system, which is 14 years old. The search for a new system will begin shortly.
Western Maryland Truck Show Set In Grantsville Park Next Weekend
The 15th annual Western Maryland Truck Show will be held next weekend, Aug. 23 to 25, at the Grantsville Town Park. A wide variety of events and entertainment is slated for all three days.
Friday, Aug. 23
Truck registration will be held on Friday from 3 to 9 p.m. A lawn mower pull will be featured at 7 p.m., and the Kenny Jones Band will also present a concert.
Saturday, Aug. 24
Activities begin on Saturday at 9 a.m., with craft and food vendors, children’s activities, music, and the Maryland National Guard sponsoring a climbing wall and bungee jumping.
“Open mic” Karaoke with Jimmy B will take place behind the playground from 2 to 4 p.m., and at 3 p.m. there will be a candy drop in the ball field.
WFRB will broadcast a live radio remote trom 3 to 6 p.m., with the Trucker, and Billy Bigrigger’s Saloon will open at 5 p.m. (Proper age identification will be required.)
Entrance to concerts on the main stage will begin at 5 p.m., with Girlz in Black Hats performing at 6:30 and Chris Cagle at 8 p.m.
A Big Rig Light Show will be featured at 9:30, and the After Party at the Grantsville American Legion will begin at 10 p.m. The featured band at that event will be Jennings Run.
Sunday, Aug. 25
Sunday will include a drawing for a 4-wheeler give-away and plaque presentations at noon, followed by a truckers’ convoy at 1:30 p.m.
Organizers have noted that there will be a change in the truck show judging for this year. In the past, a team of judges has awarded trophies in various categories. This year there will not be a team of judges, but trophies will be awarded to certain trucks.
Persons should bring their own chairs and blankets for concert festival seating for these events. Additional parking will be available at the Grantsville Industrial Park, with a shuttle running to the truck show.
Portions of the proceeds will benefit the Frostburg Soroptimist Club in efforts to battle ovarian cancer.
Admission is free to the public on Friday and Sunday, but tickets are required for the Chris Cagle concert on Saturday.
Tickets are available in advance at the show’s web site, found at www.westernmarylandtruckshow.com, or at Grantsville Liquors, First United in Grantsville, M&T Bank in Grantsville, Lake-view Auto, and Winner’s Circle in Oakland.
Advance tickets are $8, and tickets at the gate are $12. Children ages 12 and younger will be admitted free of charge.
Laura Stutzman's Paintings Adorn New USPS Stamps
“From the heights of sunny summer to the snowy depths of winter, Old Glory proudly waves,” states the United States Post Office, referring to the latest Forever® stamps being issued this week. The stamps, titled “A Flag For All Seasons,” are more significant to Garrett County than the simple mailing of letters, as the paintings of the flag were created by Mountain Lake Park resident Laura Stutzman.
This is the second time the local illustrator/graphic designer has created works of art for national distribution, as she painted four flags used on stamps issued in 2008 as well. This year the flags are depicted in all four seasons. In 2008, she showed them at four times of day.
The message being stressed by the USPS through these new stamps is the proper treatment of the United States flag. Guidelines for the display and treatment of the American flag hark back to the National Flag Code adopted in 1923 at the National Flag Conference and amended a year later. A federal law in 1942 further provided specific rules for using and displaying the flag.
According to the USPS, federal law states that the flag should be displayed every day of the year, but especially on federal and state holidays, the “birthdays” of states, and other days according to presidential proclamation. As long as a flag is a durable, all-weather flag, it may be displayed outdoors throughout the year, regardless of the weather.
Each of the four “A Flag For All Seasons” stamps shows an American flag, viewed from below, flying from a pole at full staff against a background of trees that evoke one of the four seasons of the year. Local residents may be interested to know that Stutzman took photos of the flag at the Mountain Lake Park historic ticket booth to use as a reference for her works. The trees, she said, are local aspens. Her medium for the paintings was gouache on illustration board.
The art director was Phil Jordan. Stutzman works with Jordan and USPS personnel in developing the final product, which takes a great deal of time, as well as trial and error processes.
Yellow Beauties' Bobbing Heads
Cool picture from the Republican:
Readers of this online edition of The Republican newspaper would be confused by the caption originally written for this photo, as it was all about simply imagining the lovely colors. That is because a major equipment malfunction this morning at the newspaper office has caused the staff to print today’s hard copy newspaper in black and white only. Online viewers can see it in all its glory, however, so technology has not completely failed us. Happy August, everyone. Photo by Lisa Broadwater.
Local Family, Town Topic Of Article
Author and historian Joe Manning, Florence, Mass., recently completed an online article that centered on the Blizzard family and the Garrett County mining town of Kempton, pictured below. George Blizzard was among the many employees of the Davis Coal and Coke Company, which began operations in 1914. The company built the mine and houses on a hillside above the Potomac, where most of the residents lived in single-family houses, with four to six rooms, an outdoor toilet, and a small lot, enough for a lawn in front and a small garden in back. Next to the company store was an arcade called the Opera House, with a lunchroom, bowling alleys, pool tables, dance floor, and auditorium. The streets were unpaved. By 1918, Kempton had 106 houses and a population of 850, which grew to around 2,000 by the time the mine suddenly closed in April 1950, causing the Garrett County commissioners to have the county declared a federal disaster area as some 250 miners were suddenly unemployed. Within a decade or so, the town all but disappeared. Pictured above are George and Lillie Blizzard, with children (from left) Mildred, Carl, Dorothy (front), and Nellie. Dorothy Blizzard Slaubaugh is still living today in Virginia, and an interview with her done by Manning in February is included in his feature. Many descendants of the Blizzards reside in Garrett County today. For the past seven years, Manning has been conducting a personal project to track down and interview descendants of some of the families photographed by the Farm Security Administration in the late 1930s and early 1940s. “In my career as a social worker, I became interested in child labor photos, and wanted to find out what ultimately happened to these children,” Manning said. “I began scanning the many photos available through the FSA and had a desire to turn these children and their families into more than just a photo; to find out about them and what became of them.” He has completed nearly 50 such articles over the past several years. Manning grew up in southern Maryland, but spent a lot of time in Garrett County. His father Joseph was a deputy secretary of the Maryland Department of Natural Resources under Governor Marvin Mandel and had a second home in Garrett County. Manning’s online article about Kempton and the Blizzard family can be found at http://www.eightsteeples.com/blizzard1.html.
DNR Will Ban Ginseng Harvest On State Lands
In an effort to conserve Maryland’s declining wild ginseng populations, the Maryland Department of Natural Resources will be banning the collection of wild ginseng from public lands beginning with the 2013 season. Harvest from private lands will not be affected by the state land moratorium.
Wild ginseng (Panax quinquefolius), a long-lived plant with a limited capacity to reproduce, is on the brink of becoming a threatened species in Maryland, according to the DNR. Commercial harvest has become the primary reason for its decline in western Maryland, where harvest permits are issued. Habitat loss and competition from invasive species have also played a role in waning ginseng populations, according to a DNR spokesperson.
Known for its energy-enhancing and healing properties, ginseng has long been used in traditional Chinese medicine. However, with its popularity growing to include markets such as energy drinks, coffee, cosmetics, and hair products – and its value soaring – ginseng is being harvested and stripped at an alarming rate, the spokesperson said.
“Biologists have documented a steep decline of the species in Maryland, as evidenced by both the disappearance of known populations and decreasing patch sizes,” he said. “Without action, ginseng could become extinct in Maryland.”
American ginseng can be found in 34 states, 21 of which list it as a conservation concern. Currently, 15 states prohibit the harvest and sale of wild ginseng, while the remaining 19 still allow its harvest and export. Pennsylvania and West Virginia both allow commercial harvest of ginseng from private lands, but prohibit harvest from state lands.
Maryland’s move to this more conservative strategy will help maintain wild ginseng as an important component of the state’s natural areas, and preserve its place among the wild flora it supports, the spokesperson concluded.
New Germany Cabins Slated For Renovations
Cabins at New Germany State Park are scheduled to undergo extensive renovations, beginning Aug. 12. The renovations are to be completed in phases to allow some cabins to remain open while the work is under way.
Effective immediately, cabins 1, 2, and 3 are now open for reservations through Oct. 14. Cabin 11 is also open, as this cabin will not be renovated at the present time, a spokesperson noted. Additional cabins are expected to reopen as renovations are completed.
The work will include full kitchen and bathroom renovations, new floors and ceilings, new windows and doors, new light fixtures, new subfloor insulation, and other energy-saving upgrades.
“These much-needed renovations will help preserve the beauty and integrity of these historic cabins, while also making them more energy-efficient and comfortable for visitors to enjoy,” a park spokesperson said.
Those interested in reserving a cabin during the renovation period are encouraged to check with the reservation service frequently (reservations.dnr.state.md.us), as availability could change without notice.
For more information, persons may call the park office at 301-895-5453.
Storm damage, rescue of lost hikers leads to closure of Garrett trail
Michael A. SawyersCumberland Times-News
CUMBERLAND — Maryland Forest Service officials decided three weeks ago to close the popular, 17-mile Big Savage Hiking Trail after six lost hikers had to be rescued.
The culprit, according to Steven W. Koehn, director, was tropical storm Sandy that struck Garrett County in October and toppled uncountable trees.
“(This year) some folks from Outward Bound reported that there were obstructions, lots of trees, down across the trail, so much so that they were unable to finish their hike,” Koehn said in an email to the Times-News on Monday.
“Later, a group from the Mountain Club of Maryland tried to hike the trail and they reported the same thing. They were unable to follow the blazes because some of the trees with the blazes on them were down as well.”
Then, last month, six hikers became lost and had to be found and rescued by Maryland Natural Resources Police.
“That was enough for me and, after talking with local staff and folks in the attorney general’s office, we decided to close the trail until we are able to cut through and re-blaze the trees,” Koehn said.
“It will likely be three weeks before we will be able to begin work clearing and re-blazing. There has been interest from volunteers to do the work. However, because of the remoteness and amount of work involved, including chainsaw work, this help has not materialized.”
NRP Sgt. Dave Marple said Monday that the lost hikers called 911 for help after dark.
“A GPS coordinate was obtained from their cell phone signal. Officers Brian Friend and Glenn Broadwater plugged that into their hand-held GPSs,” Marple said.
“They told the hikers to sit tight and it took the officers a couple hours to walk to them. They got there about midnight and everybody walked out about 2 a.m.”
There were no elderly or children in the group and no injuries, according to Marple.
Friend credited the lost group for following directions to stay put so that they could be found. “It’s good that people carry their cell phones and call 911 because we can get a GPS coordinate,” he told the Times-News during a phone interview Monday.
The wet and tired group of hikers was found between a half-mile and a mile off the trail in an area of very thick growth due to recent gypsy moth damage that cleared out the forest canopy and fallen trees from October’s storm, Friend said.
The officers hiked the trail starting at the southwestern terminus just downstream from Savage River Dam. Friend said the going was rough due to the steep terrain and several switchbacks where the trail zigzags back and forth. “It’s easy to get turned around in there,” Friend said.
The lost hikers had started from the opposite direction earlier in the day. They were found using glow sticks and their cell phones as light sources and had wandered down the mountain toward the Allegany/Garrett County line.
Friend provided spare flashlights that he carries in his search and rescue pack to help the hikers negotiate their way out of the woods.
“That was a tough trail to hike even before the storm,” Marple said. “It’s not like walking the (C&O Canal) towpath. We went in a year ago to rescue three guys in their 20s.”
The trail is laid out northeasterly along the Savage Mountain ridgeline and ends near St. John’s Rock not far from Interstate 68.
Agency literature describes the trail as difficult with few reliable drinking water sources.
Contact Michael A. Sawyers at msawyers@times-news.com.
