National Public Lands Day and National Hunting and Fishing Day were both September 25th, and Gov. Hogan chose to honor it by committing to Maryland’s outdoor future.
This past week, Hogan created the Office of Outdoor Recreation within the Department of Natural Resources, which overseas hunting and fishing as well as our diverse state park system.
“One of our state’s hallmarks is the stewardship of our lands and waters by the Marylanders who love them…Today we are honoring this partnership for the outdoors while assuring that it continues to grow with the establishment of Maryland’s first Office of Outdoor Recreation” said Hogan.
This new office will work with the DNR and the Maryland Department of Commerce to enhance the state’s outdoors recreation economy. This move is in response to the Maryland Outdoor Recreation Economic Commission also established by Governor Hogan in 2017, whose recommendations the Office is tasked to implement. That year, “MORE” estimated that the Maryland outdoor recreation economy created 109,00 jobs while generating $951 million in tax revenue. Consumer spending topped $14 billion, and $4.4 billion in turn paid local wages and salaries.
Maryland has committed much to ecotourism under Governor Hogan, especially in Western Maryland. In 2018, tourism-related gains in tax revenues in Garrett County were nearly triple that of the state average. In 2019, Wolf Den Run State Park opened in an economically distressed corner of Garrett County to cater towards off-road vehicles, and the St. John’s Rock ORV Trail was also significantly improved. Deep Creek Lake State Park expanded to build more mountain biking trails and attract a different niche of the outdoors industry.
Hogan appointed J. Daryl Anthony as the Office’s first executive director. Anthony is originally from Garrett County and graduated from Frostburg State University in neighboring Allegany County. His career with the DNR began in 1983 as a ranger at Patapsco Valley State Park in Howard County. In 2015, Hogan appointed him Assistant Secretary of Land Resources, where he oversaw the Maryland Forest Service, Park Service, Environmental Trust, Wildlife and Heritage Service, as well as many educational programs.
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