Date: Wed, 24 May 2000 14:50:42 -0400 Reply-To: Maryland Birds & Birding Sender: Maryland Birds & Birding From: "Parke H John, Jr." Subject: Birder Busted - Cecil County Info. Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii Hi Birders, The facts: Permits are now required for the C&D Canal Wildlife Manag= ement Areas (Bethel, Court House Point, Stemmer's Run, and along the C&D Canal). There are permits for hunting, fishing, and visitors permits. To bird wa= tch you need a Visitors Permit. This includes a card for your wallet and a card = to display on you vehicle's dashboard. Visitor's Permits are free. You must= call 410-879-4900 Ext. 4550. I talked to Tina Becker. You must have your dr= ivers license and tag numbers handy, they require some information from them. Questions: When I called, I asked, "if we (Cecil Bird Club) had a tr= ip to one of these areas, is everyone required to have a permit?" Tina, after = a long pause, said she would have to ask someone in charge. She called me later= and said that they were looking into a club permit for these types of trips, = but were not sure and it would have to be discussed by them. She promised to= get back to me later. I did not think to ask how long the permit was for. I will ask late= r, after I get and read mine. No permit is required for the State Forest. Fair Hill Natural Resource Area and State Parks require passes. Exce= pt Turkey Point (as far as I know!) The story: On Sunday, I was at Court House Point and birded my way = to the ponds. I was set up at the far end of the ponds with my tripod. Two Nat= ural Resource Police pulled up and ask if I had a permit. When I said no, the= driver told me it was private property and I was trespassing. He told me that h= e would give me a warning and that I could continue for the day, but that the nex= t time I needed the permit. Then they wanted to know what birds I had seen and w= e discussed the merits of different scopes. Note: I got a warning only, bu= t technically it is a $120 fine. My opinion; Because of vandalism, bikers, four wheelers, littering = and alleged dug dealing in these areas, the DNR is trying to control and limi= t the usage in these areas, to people using these areas for what they are inten= ded for. Civil liberties aside, it may be a good idea. The officers were very polite and amicable to me. If you have any questions contact me and I'll try to get them answer= ed. Till then, stay tuned. Parke, ========================================================================= To leave the MDOsprey list, send e-mail to listserv@home.ease.lsoft.com with the following message in line 1: signoff mdosprey ========================================================================= ===========================================================================