I went shopping today at Maryland’s Department of Natural Resources website. No better time than now to prepare for the up coming Chesapeake Bay and Fresh water season.
I picked up the MD state park passport which offers:
unlimited day-use entry for up to 10 people in a vehicle to Maryland’s state parks
unlimited boat launching at ALL facilities by displaying this pass on your dashboard; and
a 10 percent discount on state-operated concessions and boat rentals.
For parks with honor box systems, the pass covers entry service charges. These passports are valid through December 31, 2009. The cost is $75.00, so if you go to Sandy Point State Park with a buddy for example, you’ll pay it off after about 7 trips.
It’s a great deal if you go to MD’s parks. Make sure when you do plan on going, that it’s actually a MD state park, and not a county or city park. If you order soon, you’ll get Md’s 2009 DNR Calender
I also picked up Maryland’s 2009 fishing license’s. This is what I need, Bay Sport with Recreational Crabbing ($17.50), Non-Tial ($20.50), and Trout Stamp($5.00). The convenience fee for the license online is $1.00 + any mailing fees (if you need a sticker for a boat as an example) + 2.5% of the resulting total purchase. Basically, cost me an extra $3.00 and I think it’s worth the extra fees since I can save the PDF file on my computer and print out as many copies as I like. I keep one in the kayak, truck, car, and wallet. You can also go to kinko’s and get it laminated, great for the yak. For an extra $8.00, you can get MD’s DNR magazine, which is published 4 times a year if I remember correctly. I think they do a great job with it.
