Take Home Memories
When visiting a beautiful place there is always the temptation to take home a memento of your experience. Just remember that the shell you pick up may be the home of some creature. The flower you pick may be endangered. If everyone takes even one thing from its habitat and you multiply that by hundreds of thousands of visitors - soon we have nothing left. Instead take photos, or draw or paint pictures of our beautiful treasures. If you do collect seashells take them only from between the tide and dune lines. Be sure to read and respect all the rules and restrictions for the place you are visiting.

Save Your Recyclable Trash
If you cannot take them with you, recycle your plastic and cans. Most communities, parks and recreation areas that you visit have a recycling program, at least for aluminum cans. Some also provide receptacles for plastic and paper. There are bins in Ocean City at: The White Marlin Mall, the Philadelphia Avenue Bus Station, Worcester Street, 28th Street, 39th Street, 66th Street, 94th Street, 130th Street, and 137th Street. More than half the trash in all landfills could have been recycled.

Conserve Water
Bring along your own bottled drinking water. Use facilities that promote water conservation and their own good practices. Staying in a hotel? If you would like to conserve water and limit detergent use, please re-hang your towels and washcloths. Many hotels and motels will wash only the towels placed on the floor. Daily laundering consumes energy and the ground water that replenishes the coastal bays and supplies your drinking water. There are over 90 establishments in the resort area who hang signs (like the one on the left) on the doors of their rooms to help remind you of how important water conservation is. Click here to find out more!

Park Your Car & Take A Bus
Fossil fuels account for a third of the nutrients in the coastal bays and paints, oil, batteries, gear lubricant, brake and transmission fluid are at high levels in the developed parts of the bays. There are now buses that travel through all of the ocean resorts and even some that have regular inland routes. Click here to find out more about this option in Ocean City, Maryland.

Don't Feed Seagulls
An explosion in the gull populations has resulted in unparalleled predation on endangered turtle and bird eggs and hatchlings. Seagulls are notorious nest robbers.

Group Travel
When hiking and biking, keep you numbers small. It is hard to keep a large group all together and on trails. If your group is large, divide into smaller groups and stagger your departure times. Always be sure to look for trash and recycling cans to dispose of your waste properly along the way.

Clean Boating
Chose a quiet day on the water and check out how pleasant a canoe or kayak paddle can be. Keep blowing trash contained and avoid dumping waste liquids. If you take a motorized boat, make sure your boat is properly maintained with no oil or gasoline leaks. Travel at slow speeds near shorelines to lessen the impact of waves caused by your boat's wake. Stay in marked channels and avoid shallow waters where the prop of your boat can disrupt underwater habitats and harm the creatures that live there. If you are fishing, take care to retrieve hooks and artificial bait whenever possible. Know and respect the size and season restrictions for anything you might catch.