Garrett County Gazette, December 2023

Arrowhead Cove Dredging Commences

The project got into action with the first load of sediment  removed from Arrowhead Cove on 12/1/2023. This cove was selected as a priority area for a pilot dredging project to remove accumulated sediment from the lakebed.

Why is this important? As a stream-fed impounded lake, Deep Creek Lake began to accumulate sediment as soon as the dam was completed.  Sediment has a number of negative impacts on the recreational use of the lake, mostly in that it reduces the amount of shoreline that can be serviced by a dock over time.  This project will not only improve the navigation of Arrowhead Cove, but serve as a benchmark for the cost and feasibility of dredging future coves.

There is a “Brunch and Learn” event on the project being sponsored by the Deep Creek Watershed Foundation on Dec 14th.  The County is maintaining a update page with photos as well. Below Deekie checks out the current status of the project.

At a recent meeting of its Board of Directors, theProperty Owners’ Association of Deep Creek Lake (POA) formed a committee to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the lake which will occur in 2025. The POA invited representatives from a variety of organizations to participate in this committee, and on November 28th, the first meeting of the Deep Creek Lake 100th Anniversary Committee was held. Along with the POA, representatives from the following organizations participated in the meeting: Brookfield Renewable, Deep Creek Watershed Foundationv (DCWF), Garrett County Board of Realtors, Garrett County Chamber of Commerce, Garrett County Government, Garrett County Historical Society, Maryland Department of Natural Resources, Deep Creek Lake Yacht Club, and the Deep Creek Lake Sailing Association (aka the Turkey Neck Yacht Club).

The committee discussed a number of potential projects and events. One of the first projects discussed was the development of informational kiosks at various places with maps, historical information and personal stories of lake memories. Plans also included the creation of a commemorative coin, publishing a special commemorative book, commissioning a video and creating a dedicated website to store all of the photos, information and stories gathered for the project. The committee also discussed holding a number of events throughout 2025, including a gala-style fundraiser, educational panels of experts on lake issues and a community-based lake heritage festival.

if you would like to contribute ANYTHING -whether it’s stories, pictures, memorabilia, or even your time – let me know. It’s going to be a great year of celebrating what makes Deep Creek Lake such a special place for so many of us!

New Water Flow Gauge Installed
The POA and DCWF recently teamed up to have a new water flow gage installed by the USGS on the Youghiogheny River.  The new gauge went online on November 1st upstream of the outflow of the dam, and will provide input data into the DCWF’s Deep Creek Water Model.   This model will provide improved predictability of the amount of water in DCL to include calculated groundwater recharge from the watershed. The US Geological Survey maintains water gauges with flow rate, temperature and water level throughout the US accessible here: https://maps.waterdata.usgs.gov/mapper/index.html. The map below shows the lake, with the new gauge circled. BTW, the gauge at the State Park bridge provides current lake level and temperature.

There’s a really great variety of events in there – including going to a local high school play – so be sure to pick up your passport to plan out your next year in arts!

New Outdoor Recreational Institute

Local business leaders and education officials have utilized $1.4 million in grant funding to create the Outdoor Recreational Economy Institute at Frostburg State University to promote the outdoor recreational economy in Western Maryland.

The mission of the institute is to train a workforce while seeking to recruit outdoor recreation and lifestyle manufacturing businesses to the region. In addition to FSU, Allegany College of Maryland and Garrett College are participating by offering coursework for students based on the needs of the outdoor economy.

As an owner of a (micro) business dedicated to making maps  focused on outdoor recreation (by the way, they are all 10% off on my website through Dec 15th!), this is a really exciting concept! There is not much detail on the Institute right now, but I’ll be following the development of this initiative closely.

You all know that off-road biking isn’t my thing, but it is THE thing for lots of people and I am happy to spread the word on these types of events.  There are 5 (well 4, since one has already passed) fat tire bike rides coming up this season.  Put on partly by Deep Creek Adventure Bureau,  the Highland Fat Bike Series is about pumping up fat biking and not just about racing, so come come on out for these rides  – two are in Garrett County and if there’s snow for the Jan 13th ride at the McHenry Community Park, we’ll have the trails groomed for you!

Even before the shift in 2020, this ratio was already on the rise starting in 2017.  During 2021 and into 2022, properties were frequently selling for list price or above and only in the past year has that abated somewhat.

For sellers – still a great time to put your property on the market. If it’s properly priced and marketed you should see it sell for close to the listing price fairly quickly.

For buyers – there is a bit more negotiating room now, but still be ready to jump on properties you like and be prepared to pay about 95% of the listing price.