With help from DLITE, the new Boaters Guide to the Coastal Bays will help send the message of enjoying nature in a gentler way. Completed last month, the 34" X 21" guide displays a map of the northern coastal bays from the Verrazano Bridge at Assateague to 125th Street and includes seagrass areas, boat ramps, shoaling areas, marinas, channel markers, clamming areas, restaurants, 6-knot zones, and Jetski prohibitions.

The map's backside includes tips on areas to avoid, boating and Jetski laws, fishing facts, a hypothermia chart, marker explanations, a sunset table, phone numbers and information on keeping boating trips as low-impact as possible.

The project cost around $15,000 with Maryland DNR putting in $10,000 of the funding through a NOAA grant. Some 10,000 guides, bearing the DLITE logo, have been distributed at more than 30 local tackle shops, marinas, boat clubs and boat ramps. The MD Natural Resources Police and US Coast Guard Auxiliary is handing out the guides during inspections, stops, and boating safety courses.