The 19 Best Campgrounds in Maryland

 

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Best Camping In Maryland: 19 Top-Rated Sites & Local Favorites (onlyinyourstate.com)

Sanford, Virginia Area/ Tall Pines Harbour Campground

Sanford, Virginia Area

 After Hurricane Irene

August 27, 2011

Flooded side streets and roads

A few trees toppled and lots of limbs.

The road running through Sanford leading to Saxis, Va. was blocked for a period of time.

The fact that there was water in the road didn't stop alot of drivers.

Quite frankly, we have experienced nor'easters (that have gotten no attention at all) much worse than Hurrican Irene.

Campers were evacuated from the campground last week a day before Irene hit the Eastern Shore.

Saturday night the main road leading to the entrance was covered in water.  By Sunday afternoon the roads were nearly clear.

The owners of Tall Pines Harbour Campground, along with volunteers have worked with great speed this week to clear the campground of debris and to ready it for the long weekend.

The campground  is open and WILL be open for the Labor Day Holiday weekend.

Assateague Closings

BERLIN — Assateague Island National Seashore is telling all campers to leave by noon Thursday and will close its visitor centers on Friday.

The park made the announcement on its Twitter page, @AssateagueNPS, as Hurricane Earl came closer to Delmarva. On Wednesday, park rangers had told campers in remote campsites accessible only by canoe or kayak to move out.

The park also closed its off-road vehicle areas, used by surf fishermen, to any traffic.

Use Caution With The Wood You Burn When Camping

One of the co-workers in my daughters office expressed to her a few days ago how upsetting it was to come to the Eastern Shore to camp and have to buy firewood at the campground instead of burning your own. My daughter, always eager to protect this great Eastern Shore, explained to her the dangers of insects being brought to our local trees if you burn your own and especially if you leave unused logs behind. Not being a camper I don't know the policies of the campgrounds but this article below sure makes sense.

The shore is losing enough trees and we don't need more insects than we can handle. I'd hate to think that the wooded areas that surround me could be invaded by insects brought here by uncaring campers.

LEWES -- Invasive insects have obliterated thousands of acres of forest in neighboring states. To protect Delaware's delicate trees and forestry industry, authorities warn campers to ensure their firewood is bug-free.

Wayne Kline, chief of enforcement for Delaware State Parks, said he's telling visitors not to bring in firewood from other states.

"We're trying to get the message out to watch what you bring and if you don't burn it all, take it home with you," he said.

Cape Henlopen State Park Superintendent Paul Faircloth said he doesn't turn away campers who haul their own firewood, but staff advise them to burn every piece of it and not leave anything behind.

"So if there are any critters in there, they're not hanging around to hatch and spread their little blessings around our park," he said.

A serious threat

Once those little blessings arrive, they can wreak havoc on trees that haven't adapted to the insects. Glenn Gladders, a forest health specialist for the Delaware Forestry Service, said most of the insects have hitched a ride on cargo vessels from other continents.

The Asian long-horned beetle and the emerald ash borer, two tunneling wood bugs from Asia, burrow into maple and ash trees, respectively. Neither has shown up in Delaware's forests, but Gladders said they've been found in Maryland and Pennsylvania, with the borer also invading Virginia.

Native to Asia, Europe and north Africa, the sirex wood wasp carries a fungus that indirectly kills the trees. Gladders said it's infected pine trees in New York and Pennsylvania.

Because Delaware is at the northern end of the tree's range, he said the wasp has not yet encountered the loblolly pine.

"We can't say for sure what will happen, but it's a big risk for us," he said. "Loblolly pine is the mainstay of our forest industry. It's the reason we take this really seriously."

But it could only take one person to put the whole industry at risk, according to Rob Line, manager of the Department of Natural Resources and Environment Control's Environmental Stewardship Program.

"You find a dead tree in your back yard, cut it down and chop it into firewood without thinking," he said.

The only thing protecting the state is its natural barriers, Line said.

"Delmarva is isolated in a peninsula, so we're the last to get a lot of the insects," he said.

Standing guard

Off Route 1, between Lewes and Milton, state forester Sam Topper checks a trap for signs of the emerald ash borer, the green-colored beetle that has spread to 14 states since 2002.

"We're responsible for 16 of the traps, checking them every couple weeks to see if they've shown up," he said.

Gladders said 190 of the two-foot-tall, triangular traps hang from trees across the state. They're covered in manuka oil, the only chemical that seems to attract the creatures, though he said the reason why is still mysterious.

Fourteen similar traps were distributed in the state's pine forests to monitor for the wood wasps. He said they use a mix of pinings, chemicals that are emitted by pine trees under stress, which have some of the same chemical properties as turpentine.

"The idea is the sirex wood wasps are attracted to trees under stress, because they're weaker," Gladders said. "The traps mimic that."

They also monitor the hives of native insects, such as the cerceris wasp, which is a natural predator of some of the invasive species, he said.

Although there isn't a lot state officials can do to protect the trees, Line said the monitoring programs will at least give some advanced warning of their presence.

www.delmarvanow.com

4-H Camp Registration ~ Deadline July 2, 2010

Accomack County 4-H Junior Camp will be held July 19th through the 23rd at Airfield 4-H Center in Wakefield, VA. The cost is $248 which includes the camp fee, lodging, meals, transportation via charter bus to and from camp and a camp t-shirt.

Children ages 9-13 may attend. Campers must be 9 years old by September 30th. Campers will have the opportunity to participate in classes such as swimming, canoeing, leather craft, riflery, theatrical arts, journalism, archery, fishing, robotics, cooking, animal science and new this year CSI detective.

Registration forms are available at the Accomack County Extension Office located at 23203 Front Street, Accomac between the hours of 8:30 AM and 5:00 PM Monday through Friday or you may call 787-1361 to have one mailed to you.

The last day to register for camp is Friday, July 2nd. Full payment of $248 is due upon registration.

www.shoredailynews.com