Janes Island State Park Receives National Recreational Trails Grant

Maryland Department of Natural Resources

Janes Island State Park Receives National Recreational Trails Grant
New Boat Allows Rangers Quicker Emergency Response
CRISFIELD, MD — Paddlers using the thirty miles of Janes Island State Park’s canoe and kayak trails will soon have even more reason to enjoy their trip. A $13,250 grant from the National Recreational Trails Program enabled Janes Island State Park to purchase a new boat, motor, trailer, and trail signs.

“The pristine shorelines and marsh areas of Janes Island State Park offer fantastic kayaking and canoeing experiences. By improving water trail signage these popular trails will be easier and safer to navigate,” said Ranger John R. Somers.

The park’s new Go-Devil surface drive boat and motor is designed for marshland areas, making it well-suited to the shallow trails around and through Janes Island. Due to the rise and fall of the tide, portions of the park trails become inaccessible by a regular motor boat during some hours of the day. The new boat will be fitted with a GPS receiver and VHF radio, enabling it to respond to an emergency to any part of the Island when needed.

New aluminum signs will soon be erected to replace the ageing and incomplete wooden trail signs along the park’s thirty miles of canoe and kayak trails. Covered with reflective material, the signs will display a different color and shape design for each of the six park trails, such as a red octagon, yellow triangle or green circle. In the seven years since the existing signs were posted, many of them have blown over or been carried away by the tide, so the new signs will make navigating the trails much easier.

Janes Island State Park’s 2,900 acres of marsh, beach, and high land offers paddlers a unique outdoor adventure on the small waterways within the island. Most of the waterways are protected from wind and current providing ideal conditions for the novice as well as the experienced canoeist. For more information about Janes Island State Park visit http://www.dnr.state.md.us/publiclands/eastern/janesisland.html.
July 10, 2007
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 449,000 acres of public lands and 17,000 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 12 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.