Assateague Island to star in special episode of Outdoors Maryland on Maryland Public TV

Curious about the history, wildlife and geology of Assateague Island? Tune into Maryland Public Television this December for a special episode devoted to just that and more.

Maryland Public Television’s award-winning original series Outdoors Maryland, now in its 35th anniversary season, will launch an episode about the one and only Assateague Island — the 37-mile-long island along the coasts of Maryland and Virginia — on Tuesday, Dec. 5, 2023.

During the Dec. 5 episode of Outdoors Maryland, viewers will be transported to the unique and complex destination, the public television station shared in a news release. Outdoors Maryland is produced in cooperation with the Maryland Department of Natural Resources.

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Learn about Assateague Island’s history, wildlife and geology

Originally connected to Ocean City, Maryland, Assateague Island was formed abruptly in 1933 when a major hurricane carved the Ocean City inlet, firmly establishing Assateague’s reliance on change. Then, in 1962, a powerful storm dashed plans of an oceanfront development, leading to a sale of the land to the federal government.

Even the earliest inhabitants of the island were transient, likely visiting only seasonally to hunt and fish. Assateague Island’s animals and plants rely on the slow transformations brought by the sea and storms, but its very existence is threatened by the acceleration of climate change.

Throughout much of the Assateague Island special episode, Outdoors Maryland will share with viewers the island’s complicated, often contradictory relationship to change.

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Assateague Island’s animals will be stars, especially its horses

A rare constant on the island is its rich and storied diversity of animals and plants.

This special episode provides an introduction to the piping plover, a small coastal bird whose federally threatened status is held at bay by National Park Service staff on the island; the ribbed Atlantic mussels who make their home in Assateague’s marshes and who serve as filters for surrounding bays; and a pair of Kemp’s ridley sea turtles released into the island’s waters by The National Aquarium in Baltimore.

Assateague Island’s most famous residents, the wild ponies, also have a starring role in this episode. Their history is murkier than the marsh water, but the feral horses’ appeal is clear. More than three million visitors flock to the island annually, in large part for an up-close look at the horses roaming free through the Assateague Island National Seashore and Assateague State Park.

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Protecting Assateague Island from climate change and more

The Assateague Island special highlights the work of the United States Army Corps of Engineers, the Maryland Department of Natural Resources and the National Park Service to protect the island from the dangers of its natural fragility and the accelerated impact of climate change.

While there are regular efforts to replenish the island’s unique sandy beaches, secure its shifting dunes, and stave off a fluctuating saltwater balance that threatens the bottom of a complex food chain, there is also an embrace of the storms that periodically bathe the sands in seawater and the winds that create small but regular shifts in the island’s footprint.

Throughout the episode, viewers will come to learn that one mission of Assateague’s protectors is to defend the natural forces of change and let the mercurial island do what it is destined to do.

How to watch episodes of Maryland Public Television’s Outdoors Maryland

Since debuting in 1988, MPT has produced more than 700 Outdoors Maryland stories on topics ranging from science-oriented environmental issues to segments about unusual people, animals, and places around the state, as well as earned more than 50 awards over nearly 35 years of production.

Outdoors Maryland airs Tuesdays at 7:30 p.m. on MPT-HD and online at mpt.org/livestream. Concurrent with their broadcast debut, episodes are also available to watch on demand using MPT’s online video player and the PBS Video App.

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Olivia Minzola covers communities on the Lower Shore. Contact her with tips and story ideas at ominzola@delmarvanow.com.