From hobbyists and extreme sportsmen to bald eagles and bottlenose dolphins, new episodes traverse the state to highlight Maryland’s majesty

Maryland Public Television’s (MPT) award-winning series Outdoors Maryland returns

for its 31^st season with new episodes airing November 13 and 20 at 7:30 p.m. on MPT-HD. Produced in cooperation with the Maryland Department of Natural Resources and Maryland Environmental Service, Outdoors Maryland presents thought-provoking stories that capture the state’s beauty as well as its diverse collection of ecosystems, people, and places.

Outdoors Maryland’s Tuesday, November 13 episode features three never-before seen segments:

• The Eagle’s Return: Harford County’s Conowingo Dam is one of the world’s best locations to see bald eagles in their natural habitat. Photographers travel from far and wide to gather at the dam to witness and document the beauty of America’s national bird as dozens fly, fish, and feed all around them. Viewers also learn about the important work of the Maryland Bird Conservation Partnership and the organization’s network of volunteers who monitor bird activity throughout the state.
• Pilot Park: There are many ways to enjoy the outdoors – including some that are motorized. In the usually quiet Baltimore County suburb of Middle River, a contagious enthusiasm invades the countryside as the junior birdmen of the Sunday Flyers – the Baltimore chapter of the Academy of Model Aeronautics – gather and take their model creations to the skies, invoking the spirits of Charles Lindbergh and Amelia Earhart.
• Ice Skippers: Ice boating – a cold weather sport with roots in northern Europe – has found its way south of the Mason-Dixon line. In fact, Deep Creek Lake in Garrett County boasts one of the world’s fastest-growing fleets of iceboats. In addition to seeing ice boats in action, viewers learn about the inception of ice boating during Europe’s Little Ice Age and discover the unique and outsized role Maryland has played in the history of American ice boating.

The Tuesday, November 20 installment of Outdoors Maryland features two more new segments:

• Tangier Time and Tide: Islands in the Chesapeake Bay have been coming and going for a long time – going, mostly. Poplar and Holland Islands are just two well-known populated Chesapeake islands that have vanished in the last 30 years. Now, the residents of Tangier Island, Virginia fear the same fate is in store for them and their homes as wave action, rising seas, and land subsidence threaten to wash the watermen's outpost away.
• The Highest Praise: Bottlenose dolphins have been sighted in the Chesapeake Bay as far back as the 1800s but reports of people seeing the mammals waned in the 20th century. Scientists aren’t sure why, but recently there has been a resurgence of dolphin sightings in the Chesapeake. Viewers join teams of research scientists from Georgetown University and the University of Maryland as they investigate the causes and scale of the bottlenose dolphins sudden return to the Chesapeake Bay.

Over the past three decades, Outdoors Maryland has produced more than 700 stories on topics ranging from science-oriented environmental issues to segments about unusual people, animals, and places around the state. The series has earned more than 50 awards including Emmy® Awards from the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences, National Capital Chesapeake Bay Chapter, including one for an episode from the series’ 30^th season.

Outdoors Maryland airs on Tuesdays at 7:30 p.m. on MPT-HD. Consult MPT’s schedule online at mpt.org for additional broadcast dates and times.

For more information about the series, visit mpt.org/programs/outdoors-maryland.

About MPT

Launched in 1969 and headquartered in Owings Mills, MD, Maryland Public Television is a nonprofit, state-licensed public television network and member of the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS). MPT’s six transmitters cover Maryland plus portions of contiguous states and the District of Columbia. Frequent winner of regional Emmy® awards, MPT creates local, regional, and national television shows. Beyond broadcast, MPT’s commitment to professional educators, parents, caregivers, and learners of all ages is delivered through year-round instructional events and the super-website Thinkport, which garners in excess of 14 million page views annually. MPT’s community engagement connects viewers with local resources on significant health, education, and public interest topics through year-round outreach events, viewer forums, program screenings, and phone bank call-in opportunities. For more information visit mpt.org.