A Delaware agency wants to make sure those hitting the open seas are safe this summer. Wednesday, the Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control announced eight tips for water enthusiasts to follow. The department’s Division of Fish and Wildlife joined Smyrna’s Citizens’ Hose Company to highlight recently installed buoyant life rings at DNREC’s Woodland Beach fishing pier and …
DNREC’s new all-terrain wheelchair uses caterpillar tracks
DNREC on Friday unveiled a new wheelchair that operates with a continuous track, like a military tank, and is designed to handle mud, sand, snow and water. The Action Trackchair, which retails for about $20,000, was acquired with a grant from the Ford Bronco Wild Fund. It is the state’s first all-terrain wheelchair and will be available to the public …
DNREC takes over operation of Deauville Beach in Rehoboth
Deauville Beach will be managed by the state and not the city of Rehoboth Beach after the two failed to agree on a new lease. In 2013, Rehoboth paid $1 total for a 10-year lease of the beach, which is off Surf Avenue, in addition to a one-time administration fee of $2,500. “I think all municipalities would like ocean front …
DNREC finalizes EV regulations. Critics are not impressed
DNREC has finalized state regulations about electric and other zero emission vehicles it says will help Delaware achieve lower air pollution caused by light- and medium-duty cars,. Instead of demanding that by 2035 all new car sales in Delaware must be electric, the program will end in 2032 when sales are expected to hit 82%. That will address many of …
Deer? Check. Lions? No. Delaware hunting seasons open
You may not be able to hunt lions and tigers and bears in Delaware, but you can hunt opossum, tundra swans, mourning doves and cottontail rabbits. They are among the many hunting seasons to open, or already have opened, this month. The season includes the general firearm deer season, also known as the shotgun season, which runs from Friday, Nov. …
Deldot seeks bids to build electric charging stations
The Delaware Department of Transportation is now accepting bids for the construction, operation and maintenance of electric vehicle charging stations along Route 13, Route 113, Route 1 and Interstate 95. The new direct-current charging stations must be located within one mile of these roads with no more than 50 miles between each location, the Deldot press release said. The state’s primary …
Fancy a low-digit Delaware hunting license? Enter State Fair raffle
The Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control will give away a low digit hunting license during its first-ever hunting license raffle. A raffle ticket will be given to any Delaware resident hunter who buys a 2023/2024 license at the DNREC Building at the Delaware State Fair between opening day, Thursday, June 20, and noon July 27. The winner’s name …
State’s 2024 budget of $5.6 billion jumps 10% over 2023
A 2024 state budget that’s 10% higher than 2023’s led eight Republicans to vote against it Thursday in the House of Representatives, but that didn’t stop it from passing. House Bill 195, sponsored by Rep. William Carson, D-Smyrna, delineated how the $5.6 billion budget will be spent over the next fiscal year, which starts July 1. Carson is the vice …
Offshore wind bill sent to Senate; will it hike power bills?
A bill that requires DNREC to investigate offshore wind as a power source and work with electric companies to analyze its impact will head to the full Senate. Senate Bill 170, sponsored by Sen. Stephanie Hansen, D-Middletown, passed the Senate Environment, Energy & Transportation Committee meeting Wednesday. SB 17 0 would require the Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control …
State: Complicated to ask Feds to tag smoky days as unusual
A conservative institute wants Delaware to move to make sure that it’s not tagged by the feds with several bad air days because of last week’s smoky, hazy days caused by wildfires in Canada. David Stevenson, director of the Center for Energy & Environment at the Caesar Rodney Institute, has urged Delaware’s Department of National Resources & Environmental Control to …