Maryland Natural Resource Police Report Busy Holiday On Waterways And In State Parks

---

ANNAPOLIS- Good weather this Memorial Day holiday weekend kept the Maryland Natural Resources Police (NRP) busy as they checked over nine thousand boaters and made over 12 thousand contacts on Maryland’s waterways, and watched over 350,000 visitors to Maryland’s state parks.

NRP checked 9,100 boaters, made 12,525 contacts and performed 3,844 vessel safety checks. Officers issued 504 citations and 1,846 warnings, a 10 percent increase over 2006 figures. They arrested nine subjects for operating a vessel under the influence of alcohol (down 18 percent from last year), 14 for other criminal acts and three for operating a vehicle under the influence of alcohol. NRP also investigated 23 accidents with no life-threatening injuries, 20 of which were boating-related.

“Operation First Light is part of our continuing commitment to reduce the number of boating accidents throughout the state, and to increase the safety of all visitors to our state forests and parks,” said Col. George F. Johnson IV, Superintendent of the NRP.

---

May 30, 2007

The Maryland Natural Resources Police (NRP) is the enforcement arm of the Department of Natural Resources (DNR). With an authorized strength of 280 officers and a dedicated staff of civilian and volunteer personnel, the NRP provide a variety of services in addition to conservation and boating law enforcement duties throughout the State of Maryland. These services include homeland security, search and rescue, emergency medical services, education, information and communications services on a round the clock basis. NRP is the only police force aside from the Maryland State Police that has statewide jurisdiction.

The Maryland Department of Natural Resources (DNR) is the state agency responsible for providing natural and living resource-related services to citizens and visitors. DNR manages more than 446,000 acres of public lands and 18,000 miles of waterways, along with Maryland's forests, fisheries and wildlife for maximum environmental, economic and quality of life benefits. A national leader in land conservation, DNR-managed parks and natural, historic and cultural resources attract 11 million visitors annually. DNR is the lead agency in Maryland's effort to restore the Chesapeake Bay, the state's number one environmental priority. Learn more at www.dnr.maryland.gov