Carroll Environment

06/02/2026

https://www.carrollcountymd.gov/government/directory/planning-land-management/resource-management/programs/floodplain-management-program/fema-firm-revisions/

This week, Carroll County received notice from FEMA that new Flood Insurance Rate Maps along our borders with Frederick and Howard County will become official on November 27, 2026. That means we have entered a six-month period of time where revised regulations must be adopted along with the new FEMA maps. Please reach out to Patrick Varga if you have any questions about FEMA floodplain maps or the code adoption process.

From time to time, the Federal Emergency Management Administration (FEMA) updates Flood Insurance Rate Maps (FIRMs).  These are the maps that show the risk any given structure or property has of being inundated by a 100-year flood.  Carroll County received FIRMs in 1981, which were then updated in...

06/02/2026

Small actions on our own properties can add up in big ways for water quality, soil health, and habitat. Tonight (6/2) at 6pm, join UMD Extension for a free webinar on the Bay-Wise Program! Learn the 8 keystone habits of the Bay-Wise Living Landscape Metric and the steps involved in getting your landscape certified as Bay-Wise.

This session will cover the 8 keystone habits of the Bay-Wis

06/01/2026

Don’t let that early bird get that worm just yet! Join the University of Maryland Extension’s Zoom Lunch & Learn about Non-native earthworms and their effects on the soil ecosystem! Katalin Szlavecz is a soil ecologist from John Hopkins University that focuses on how human activities have impacted soil physical, biological, and chemical properties. During her talk learn about invasive earthworms and how they impact the soil!

Fun Fact: Have you ever encountered a worm that thrashes erratically? If so, you saw an Asian Jumping worm which is a not native to the United States! Unfortunately, the majority of worms you encounter in your yard are these non-native worms and the ones native to our region are a rare sighting.

Katalin Szlavecz is a soil ecologist and Research Professor at the Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore MD. Her research focuses on how past and present human activities affect the soil physical, chemical and biological properties. She conducts field studie...

05/27/2026

Are you a trivia nut? Are you a fan of the elusive Sasquatch? Well Piney Run Park has an in with Sasquatch and has convinced him to come out of hiding for this special trail trivia hike! Test your environmental science skills and spot Sasquatch on the trail. Come Saturday May 30th from 7:30AM to 8:30AM.

There is a fee associated with this event.

Come hike and answer trivia questions with Sasquatch! Use Sasquatch clues to locate the environmental science trivia questions placed along a single trail. Answers can be turned into the boathouse. The quickest and most correct participant will get added to the leader board. Trivia hike with Sasquat...

05/25/2026

Happy Memorial Day! Today we honor the men and women who gave their lives serving the U.S. military and protecting our country. Sincerely, thank you, to all of our service members, veterans, and those who gave the ultimate sacrifice. God bless our troops!

05/22/2026

Piney Run Sampling
Spring has returned, which means Resource Management staff will be out on the reservoir every two weeks from April until November, monitoring the reservoir’s water quality. Within the reservoir, there are 3 fixed stations where staff collect physical, chemical, and algal data at various depths throughout the water column.

05/22/2026

Medicinal Plant Hike
Have you ever wondered if any of the plants you see in the wood's edible? Piney Run is hosting a Medicinal Plant Nature Hike on May 23rd from 10AM to 11AM. Just get out there and graze along the trail with Basil Levesque who will be leading the hike.

Registration is required, there is a fee and it is limited to 12 years and older.

Join us for a guided nature hike discussing edible and medicinal plants! Hike will be approximately 1 mile, recommended 12 years old and up.

05/21/2026

Carroll County and most of Central Maryland continue to experience drier-than-normal conditions. The Maryland Department of the Environment (MDE) has affirmed the region is currently in a Drought Warning Stage, one step below Drought Emergency. https://ow.ly/AjUJ50Z2SGO

05/20/2026

Today is world bee day! Bee a hero! Plant native wildflowers to give our local pollinators a lovely snack! Without bees we would be without most of our produce, and nuts. We should not only recognize and support honeybees, but did you know that Maryland has 7 species of native bees! They range from big Bumble bees to small Sweat bees. All of which have important roles in our ecosystem, and each deserve special attention on this special Bee Day. Even the smallest bees have big impacts.

Snap a photo of bees you see today and use or to share these bee-utiful busy bees.

https://www.fao.org/world-bee-day/en

05/19/2026

Piney – Largemouth Bass
Want to cast your line and get hooked on a feeling (and hopefully a 5-pounder) Join Part 1 of the Largemouth Bass Tournament at Piney Run Park from 6pm to 11pm! If you are feeling fin-tastic you can fish from the shore, pier, your own electric motorboat or rent a boat. For more information about the tournament see the link below.
Good luck to all those who participate and hope that you find yourself in the right place at the right time to reel in those Bass!

Largemouth Bass Tournament I Friday, June 19th 6:00pm –11:00pm Pre-registration Tournament fee is $15 per angler until 4 pm on Thursday, June 18th. Day of Tournament Registration fee is $20 per angler; $10/boat launch fee applies for private boats; vehicle entrance fee is waived. Rental boa...