Nrp

The Natural Resources Police will sponsor a Citizen's Academy on the upper Eastern Shore beginning March 13 at the NRP facility in Hillsboro. The focus of the academy is to educate the public with NRP structure and operations and to build a better working relationship between the organization and the public.Topics covered during the 10-week course, which will meet at 7 p.m. on Tuesday nights, include: field operations, laws of arrest, search and seizure, boating law enforcement, aviation and communications, community relations and outreach.

A preliminary report on the deaths of two anglers on the opening day of the Chesapeake Bay rockfish season says all six persons aboard the boat that capsized off Point Lookout had life vests, but not all wore them, according to the Maryland Natural Resources Police. David Fletcher, 43, and David Chase, 55, both of Lexington Park in Southern Maryland, died Saturday morning when a friend's fishing boat took on water and capsized. Four persons, including the owner-operator of the boat, were rescued.

Maryland Natural Resources Police will be stepping up patrols this weekend in an attempt to curb drunken boating and the number of maritime fatalities, which threatens to exceed a 10-year high reached in 2009. Eleven boaters have died in Maryland waters so far this year. By comparison, the state didn't record its fourth boating-related death last year until June 24. "We're way above where we should be," said NRP Sgt. Art Windemuth. Operation Dry Water, an annual anti-drug and alcohol enforcement effort, will run from Friday through Sunday.

A kayaker fell out of his craft into the Chesapeake Bay on Saturday night but reached shore safely, Maryland Natural Resources Police reported Sunday. Sgt. Art Windemuth, NRP public information officer, said Christopher Drott, 52, of Edgewater, was able to grab onto a paddle and a cooler to keep himself afloat after he fell out of the boat at about 7 p.m. Saturday. NRP issued a release Saturday requesting the public's help in locating the kayaker. The boat was found floating unattended near the mouth of the West River in Anne Arundel County, officials said, adding that a search was conducted using vessels and a helicopter.

The Chesapeake Bay's bounty was turned into a macabre tableau Monday morning as an illegal net at least 600 yards long and filled with decaying striped bass and other fish was partially pulled from the waters off Tilghman Island. As a crane whined and strained against the load, the net broke the surface and revealed a tangled web of large silver fish and brightly colored lures both caught up in the poacher's gear. A recreational angler whose fishing lines became ensnared in the mess Sunday morning alerted Natural Resources Police.

S omeday in the not too distant future (they don't want to spoil the surprise), Natural Resources Police officers will be able to flip a switch and watch Chesapeake Bay boat traffic from Charm City to the mouth of the Potomac River, day or night. Why do I bring this up in an outdoors column? Because the multimillion-dollar network of cameras and radar designed to protect vital sites, such as the Port of Baltimore, the Bay Bridge and the LNG docks and nuclear power plant at Calvert Cliffs, will have a second use: to police fishing, crabbing and oystering activity.

One officer. That's what folks representing recreational anglers, charter boat captains and watermen all begged for Tuesday night from the head of Natural Resources Police. After years of watching outlaws of all persuasions steal fish and oysters from Maryland waterways only to see overworked prosecutors and distracted judges set them free (the bad guys, not the sea critters), members of the Task Force on Fisheries Management pleaded for help. "If you can't enforce the laws that protect natural resources, you can't manage the resource," said Brian Keehn, a charter boat captain.

At first glance, the O'Malley administration's proposed cuts at the Department of Natural Resources for the remainder of the fiscal year seem rather mild. Eliminate the helicopter and its crew, and remove 23 vacant slots at Natural Resources Police for a total savings of $1.9 million. On first glance, it's a quick fix and fairly bloodless, unless, of course, you're the whirlybird guys. But it's not quite that simple. It never is. And it's up to you to stop it. Simply put, Natural Resources Police is a shell of its former self.

Sorry to be such a nag about this, but obviously we've struck a nerve. And if Sen. John McCain and President Barack Obama can discuss the cost of helicopters - specifically Marine One - while the fate of the economic world hangs in the balance, so can we. Besides, this is about us. As state lawmakers continue to craft next year's budget, outdoors groups around the state are crafting their appeals to save the Natural Resources Police aviation unit....

On Thursday, the House Appropriations Committee of the General Assembly is scheduled to hear House Bill 133, a measure that is in need of public attention -- not to ensure its approval, but to guarantee its rejection.In general terms, H.B. 133 would incorporate the Natural Resources Police into the Maryland State Police, making the 230 NRP officers an arm of the state police, which has 2,500 officers.Traditionally, the NRP -- operating as an arm of the Department of Natural Resources -- has enforced regulations that promote conservation and the safety of hunters, fishermen, boaters and other outdoorsmen.

On Labor Day weekend, Ocean City sunbathers may notice an unusual come-on among the aerial banners touting happy-hour drink specials and marriage proposals: an invitation to join Maryland Natural Resources Police. Facing what it believed to be the largest manpower shortage in its 143-year history, the state law enforcement agency is using every platform possible — including the salty air above sandy beaches — to fill its next academy class and those beyond. "It's scary," says Capt.

Boating deaths in Maryland have reached their highest level in more than a decade, with 20 so far this year. But authorities say they can't find any explanation for the increase other than nice summer weather. "Boating is a recreational activity, and when the weather is good and conducive to boating, we're going to find a lot more activity," said Sgt. Art Windemuth, spokesman for the Natural Resources Police. But Windemuth said insufficient attention to safety has also been a factor.

Maryland Natural Resources Police will be stepping up patrols this weekend in an attempt to curb drunken boating and the number of maritime fatalities, which threatens to exceed a 10-year high reached in 2009. Eleven boaters have died in Maryland waters so far this year. By comparison, the state didn't record its fourth boating-related death last year until June 24. "We're way above where we should be," said NRP Sgt. Art Windemuth. Operation Dry Water, an annual anti-drug and alcohol enforcement effort, will run from Friday through Sunday.

A boater discovered decomposed remains in the Chesapeake Bay south of the Bay Bridge in Anne Arundel County shortly before noon on Sunday, Maryland Natural Resources Police said. The remains were sent to the Chief Medical Examiner's office in Baltimore for an autopsy, police said. Because of decomposition, the age, gender and race of the victim could not be determined, officials said. It could be weeks before the autopsy is completed and more details are revealed, a Natural Resources Police spokesman said Monday.

A boater discovered decomposed remains in the Chesapeake Bay south of the Bay Bridge in Anne Arundel County shortly before noon on Sunday, Maryland Natural Resources Police said. The remains were sent to the Chief Medical Examiner's office in Baltimore for an autopsy, police said. Because of the decomposition of the body, the age, gender and race of the victim could not be determined, officials said. After the boater reported the discovery, the NRP and the Coast Guard responded to the area.

About 3.3 tons of dead and decaying striped bass were recovered by Natural Resources Police Tuesday from an illegal net submerged in the waters off Tilghman Island. It was the second largest seizure of poached fish this year. The net, the 10th seized since Feb. 1, was found on Sunday by a recreational fisherman whose lines became fouled in the tangle of mesh and fish. Police believe it had been in the water since the beginning of the year. It took an 80-foot work boat with a crane several hours to gather up the nearly mile-long net and the ensnared fish, which averaged 15 pounds.

About 3.3 tons of dead and decaying striped bass were recovered by Natural Resources Police Tuesday from an illegal net submerged in the waters off Tilghman Island. It was the second largest seizure of poached fish this year. The net, the 10th seized since Feb. 1, was found on Sunday by a recreational fisherman whose lines became fouled in the tangle of mesh and fish. Police believe it had been in the water since the beginning of the year. It took an 80-foot work boat with a crane several hours to gather up the nearly mile-long net and the ensnared fish, which averaged 15 pounds.

A preliminary report on the deaths of two anglers on the opening day of the Chesapeake Bay rockfish season says all six persons aboard the boat that capsized off Point Lookout had life vests, but not all wore them, according to the Maryland Natural Resources Police. David Fletcher, 43, and David Chase, 55, both of Lexington Park in Southern Maryland, died Saturday morning when a friend's fishing boat took on water and capsized. Four persons, including the owner-operator of the boat, were rescued.

The Chesapeake Bay's bounty was turned into a macabre tableau Monday morning as an illegal net at least 600 yards long and filled with decaying striped bass and other fish was partially pulled from the waters off Tilghman Island. As a crane whined and strained against the load, the net broke the surface and revealed a tangled web of large silver fish and brightly colored lures both caught up in the poacher's gear. A recreational angler whose fishing lines became ensnared in the mess Sunday morning alerted Natural Resources Police.

Natural Resources Police patrol boats Monday found two more illegal fishing nets in the waters south of Kent Island and seized another half-ton of striped bass. The agency also announced that the reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the poachers who have netted more than 10 tons of fish has increased to $10,000. The first net was hauled out at 2 p.m. near Poplar Island. The 600-yard net, which officers estimated to be in the water since last year, contained "a couple of rockfish that were released alive and 200 to 300 horseshoe crabs," said Sgt. Art Windemuth, NRP spokesman.