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
Map link to location
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 Comments
Public comments will be taken at the September 4th meeting following a presentation by DNR staff.
Comments will also be received via email or hardcopy through October 4, 2013.
Comments may be sent to:
Jack Perdue
Maryland DNR
Tawes State Office Building, E-1
580 Taylor Avenue
Annapolis, MD 21401
Or 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.
More here.
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Jay Ferguson
Who I Am
My name is Jay Ferguson, and I am a lifelong resident of the Deep Creek Lake area. I am also co-owner of the real estate side of Taylor Made. I have been in the real estate business for 21+ years now and I LOVE what I do! I have to say, my career really took off when I co-founded the real estate side of Taylor Made in 2014. Its been an amazing experience, building a real estate company from the ground up and achieving so much so quickly! In August 2016, we purchased Long & Foster Real Estate Deep Creek, where I had started my career in 2000. In 2018, we on-boarded virtually every agent from Coldwell Banker Deep Creek Realty as they closed up shop and the real estate family grew even more! We now have over 40 sales agents and have expanded to West Virginia and Pennsylvania, as well. Taylor Made is the #1 vacation rental company at Deep Creek with over 475 vacation rental homes, and over one hundred thousand yearly visitors. Its amazing what we have accomplished using the principles of honesty, teamwork and customer service!
Personally, my wife Jessica and I enjoy traveling and especially spending time in the outdoors, hiking and exploring the many diverse areas that Garrett County is naturally blessed with. We have raised two wonderful children here, Kayleah (22) and Noah (13). In the summer, we love spending time on the water with friends & family and enjoying the lake life! We are both active in our church, our community & local school activities, and we fill our schedule with plenty of volunteer efforts. I currently serve on the board of directors for Habitat for Humanity. I am proud to say that I was named Deep Creek Time’s Favorite ‘Community Champion’ in 2019. I was also named Garrett County Realtor of the Year in 2018-19, as well.
I really enjoy promoting my hometown. I am very proud of the resort area that has developed over my lifetime and look forward to growing the area even more! Deep Creek Lake has been described as ‘The Lake Tahoe of the east', and I think that speaks volumes about the potential to own property here! Deep Creek Lake isn't really a town or city by itself; it's comprised of three towns: Oakland, Swanton & McHenry, Maryland. I am very passionate about my hometown and am impressed with how many people know about it as we travel around the country. Deep Creek Lake is an amazing place to visit and even better place to live! During the pandemic in 2020, our market exploded and more and more people left their primary residence in the city to live here permanently. With distance learning in schools and tele-commuting becoming the ‘norm’, many more people were drawn to the area to ‘live where they love to play’.
Why You Want Me Working for You: In addition to being an owner, I am consistently one of the top-producing agents in the entire area and the Associate Broker of record for Taylor-Made Deep Creek Vacations & Sales. I have 21+ years of experience and I am a problem solver. There aren’t many situations that I have not encountered and I have a strategy for almost every scenario that you may encounter. I
have extensively trained in all areas of real estate & emerging technologies, and also have trained as an appraiser, as well as served as a full-time Broker. I have a strong knowledge of the industry, as well as many trusted local contacts & affiliations that allow me to perform at a very high level and deliver results. I have a great deal of respect for my peers in this industry and have strong working relationships that I would love to put to work for you.
Call me to discuss your situation - I know I can be of great service to you & others you care about!
Honesty. Integrity. Results.
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