Listless Effort: State Gets Shortchanged

Come on, people. Tell me how two towns in Rhode Island - Charlestown (No. 109) and Jamestown (No. 152) - have better fishing than the waters off Tilghman Island or better deer hunting than the 12,500 acres of state land in Washington County. Or how Erie, Pa., the heart of both the rust and snow belts, gets named one of the "Top Towns for Whitetails" over Frederick.

Wolfeboro, on the banks of New Hampshire's Lake Winnipesaukee, comes in at No. 106. I've fished and hunted near there, but who can afford the rents? Mitt Romney has a $10 million, 11-acre summer home. Two years ago, French President Nicolas Sarkozy rented a $30,000-a-week waterfront "bungalow."

Thursday, while watching outdoors editor emeritus Bill Burton help catch striped bass for tagging for the Maryland Fishing Challenge, I talked about the magazine piece with Tom O'Connell, the head of the state fisheries service, and Paul Peditto, his counterpart on the wildlife management side of the Department of Natural Resources. Both state officials were flabbergasted by the rankings.

"The thing about Maryland, with its temperate climate, is outdoors activities are really year-round," O'Connell said.

Peditto added, "It just can't be about someone with unlimited resources and unlimited time and no little kids to introduce to the outdoors, otherwise you'll always end up on the Snake River fishing for cutthroat trout or climbing in the Rockies for elk.

"That's not reality for the vast majority of people who love the outdoors. What we should really be about in these days of diminishing hunting and fishing licenses is promoting more opportunities for people to participate," he said. "Maryland is affordable, accessible and family friendly."

I'd like to hear your thoughts. Send me an e-mail naming your favorite Maryland outdoors-friendly community and why. We'll start our own list.