Outdoors Maryland Season 34

A new look; the same compelling stories 

Season 34 Premiered November 15 at 7:30pm 

Airing on Tuesdays at 7:30 p.m.

In season 34, Outdoors Maryland continues to captivate viewers with memorable stories and dazzling videography whiledebuting a fresh look. New episodes celebrate our state’s diverse natural resources – from the beaches of Assateague Island to the mountains of Western Maryland and everywhere in between. 

Meet wildlife – such as the diamondback terrapin – and the people working to protect it.  Experience some of the best outdoor recreation the state has to offer, like the rugged beauty of the Appalachian Trail, and soar above some of Maryland’s most scenic and popular state parks for a bird’s-eye view of rock climbing, kitesurfing, and mountain biking. 

Episode 3406
Air Date: January 17, 2023

Dinosaur Hunt 
Produced by Sarah Sampson 
Videography by Nick Caloyianis 

Could an endangered prehistoric fish, once thought to be on the verge of extinction in the Chesapeake Bay, be spawning in the Nanticoke River and its tributary, the Marshyhope Creek? Once prized for its eggs, caviar, the bony-plated Atlantic sturgeon can grow up to fourteen feet long. Join biologists with the Maryland Department of Natural Resources as they hunt for– and find– the Bay’s largest native fish. 

Trail Shredders
Produced by Josh Davidsburg
Videography by Tim Pugh  

Patapsco State Park, known by mountain biking enthusiasts as the”Moab of the East,” is home to some of the most difficult trails in the region. Maintaining trails like these isn’t easy, and a lot of thought and planning goes into making them fun, safe and challenging.  

South Mountain Magic 
Produced by Stefanie Robey 
Videography by Tim Pugh

Get to know some of the mythical creatures rumored to frequent the forested slopes of Frederick County’s South Mountain, including the Snarly Yow, Snallygaster, and other legends of the landscape.

Episode 3405
Air Date: December 13, 2022
Nature’s Great Engineers 
Produced by Jack Harris 
Videography by Dave Earnest 

The North American beaver could do wonders for the hydrology of an area – if only we would let it. Tensions between man and beaver have been high since colonization four centuries ago, but could we finally be learning to live with nature’s great engineer? 

An Uphill Battle 
Produced by Jack Harris 
Videography by Dave Earnest  

For many of the brave souls that attempt to hike the entirety of the Appalachian Trail in one season, Maryland represents the spiritual halfway point. With plenty of flora, fauna, and history to observe and enjoy, the Old Line State’s portion of the fabled trek is a unique experience for thru-hikers and day hikers alike. 

Episode 3404
Air Date: December 6, 2022
A Course for Change
Produced by Andrew Paterson 
Videography by Tim Pugh 

Get to know Imani Black, founder of the nonprofit organization Minorities in Aquaculture, as she works to increase minority engagement with the Chesapeake Bay. Imani’s love for aquaculture began as a child, when she attended a summer camp at the University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science’s Horn Point Laboratory. Today, she inspires children and adults alike. 

Walking the Line 
Produced by Geoff O’Gara 
Videography by Isaiah Gibson 

An intrepid band of volunteer surveyors follow in the footsteps of Charles Mason and Jeremiah Dixon as they work to find and preserve the stone monuments that make up the Mason-Dixon line. Surveys of the line – the border between Maryland and Pennsylvania – are required every ten years. This time around, the Maryland Geological Survey is working to get the stones on the National Register of Historic Places. 

Flights of Fancy 
Field Producer: Irene Magafan 
Videography by Richard Chisolm 

Each year, monarch butterflies undertake a fantastic journey from one end of North America to the other. Find out how these insects – weighing no more than a paperclip – manage to fuel their famed migration, and why their numbers have been declining in recent years.

Episode 3403
Air Date: November 29, 2022
Tradition on Ice 
Produced by Andrew Paterson 
Videography by Nick Caloyianis 

In Western Maryland, ice fishing season on Deep Creek Lake is short – only about two months in a good year – but sweet. Join Department of Natural Resources biologist Matt Sell, his 7-year-old son, and a group of friends as they spend a day on the ice, where the camaraderie is as important as the catch. 

Into the Wild
Produced by Megan Bryant 
Videography by Michael Estrabillo 

Join mother-daughter duo Jody and Emma Wenzel as they embark on a weekend in the great outdoors as part of the “Becoming an Outdoors-Woman” program run by the Department of Natural Resources. Follow along as they learn to track whitetail deer, spot rare birds in the treetops, and participate in a Japanese relaxation technique known as “forest bathing.”

Parks by Air 
Produced by Mike Sobola 

A follow up to the Emmy award winning Water by Air, Parks by Air offers viewers a birds-eye view of Maryland’s most scenic and popular state parks, where outdoor enthusiasts dare to embark on exhilarating adventures.  

Episode 3402
Air Date: November 22, 2022
Appalachian Giants 
Produced by Stefanie Robey 
Videography by Nick Caloyianis 

Waterdog. Appalachian alligator. Walking catfish. Snot otter. A notorious recluse that makes its home in the fast-flowing mountain streams of Appalachia, the giant salamander known most commonly as a “hellbender” has long befuddled those who have crossed its path. A slimy, gray oddball that lurks, camouflaged, amongst the rocks, the hellbender is also an indicator species, and as Maryland Department of Natural Resources biologist Dan Feller explains, its decline spells trouble for the ecosystem at large. 

Of Tradition and Technology  
Produced by Josh Davidsburg 

Luke McFadden is a waterman, making a living steeped in a proud Chesapeake Bay tradition. But in addition to working the water, the tech-savvy 26-year-old is working social media, streaming videos via TikTok to millions of fascinated followers. 

Raising Reefs 
Produced by Andrew Paterson 
Videography by Michael Estrabillo 

Oyster reefs were once plentiful, but overfishing and disease has reduced the oyster population to a fraction of historic levels. David Sikorski of Coastal Conservation Association Maryland enlists students at Calvert County’s Huntingtown Elementary School to help create artificial reefs that will be populated with oyster larvae grown at Morgan State University’s Patuxent Environmental & Aquatic Research Laboratory.

Episode 3401
Air Date: November 15, 2022
A Diamond in the Marsh 
Produced by Sarah Sampson 
Videography by Dave Earnest & Michael Estrabillo 

Warmer temperatures and sea level rise brought about by climate change threaten to impact the reproductive patterns of Maryland’s state reptile, the diamondback terrapin. Chris Rowe, an associate professor at the University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science, is studying a population of terrapins at the Naval Air Station Patuxent River with the goal of predicting how significant that impact will be. Meanwhile, Rebecca Stump, a natural resource specialist with the US Navy, works with a team of volunteers to survey and protect terrapin nests and hatchlings. 

A Wing and a Prayer 
Produced by Andrew Paterson 
Videography by Bryan Contreras & Michael Estrabillo 

Barrier island nesting grounds near Ocean City and Assateague Island are rapidly disappearing, which is unwelcome news for three species of shore birds: the common tern, royal tern, and black skimmer. The Maryland Department of Natural Resources, in partnership with Audubon Mid-Atlantic and the Maryland Coastal Bays Program, has deployed a raft that will serve as an artificial island, allowing scientists and conservationists to protect and monitor the birds and their nests.