Maryland
From a Mountaintop, UMD Alum Encounters Toxin-Emitting Olive Bushes,…
Whyman had long harbored a love of the outdoors. As a child in
Maryland, her parents grew exotic plants like Chinese silvergrass and a
mimosa tree in their yard. (Now, Whyman knows those plants were
invasive.) “I spent a lot of time letting insects crawl on me, digging
for bugs, watching bees and ants under a magnifying glass,” she said.
She became a junior farmer at Wheaton Regional Park’s Old MacDonald
Farm, where she took care of chickens, sheep and goats.
After graduating from the University of Maryland with a degree in
English, Whyman worked for years as an editor and freelance writer
before going back to school at American University, where she earned an
MFA in literature. While there, she created an independent study to work
one-on-one with a biology professor and gain foundational knowledge in
conservation biology.
Whyman was inspired in her quest by the 2019 book “Wilding,” in which
British author Isabella Tree tells the story of returning her farmland
to an untamed state. Now, on her Virginia mountaintop, Whyman is working
to tip the balance to native plants, especially in the 75 acres of open
meadow atop the mountain. There, invasives like Japanese stiltgrass and
spotted knapweed competed for space and resources with native species
like little bluestem, milkweed, and prairie rose.
“What if I could return this mountaintop to its natural glory?”
Whyman writes. “It would serve as a living example of how to restore
native meadows! Pollinators would come from all around! I pictured sheep
grazing on one of the hillsides.”
Working with experts from the Smithsonian Conservation Biology
Institute and the Natural Resources Conservation Service, Whyman
encountered a bushel of challenges. The prolific autumn olive bush,
which emits nitrogen into the soil that can create toxic algal blooms in
streams and rivers, kept popping up in new places. Thorny bramble
quickly took over acres of fields. And the suffocating vine known as
mile-a-minute for its ability to invade new territory sunk its leafy
teeth throughout the property.
She also learned the nitty-gritty of land restoration: the critical
role played by prescribed burns, the near impossibility of eradicating
invasive plants, the inherent imprecision of conservation efforts.
“I thought there would be one right answer: Here’s what you should
do,” she said. “And people did give me guidance and say, ‘We think the
best approach is X.’ And then someone else might say, ‘Well, I think the
best approach is Y.’ And someone else would say, ‘It could be Z.’ That
was really eye-opening—the idea that it’s a science and it’s also kind
of an art.”
In “Bad Naturalist,” Whyman “complicates traditional conceptions of
nature and belonging,” wrote Publishers Weekly. “The result is an
enchanting complement to Isabella Tree’s ‘Wilding.’”
Today, Whyman and her husband spend about 85% of their time at their
mountaintop home. Now she is turning her attention to this year’s burns
and deer management. She still hopes to raise a small flock of sheep.
“I hope readers will come away with a feeling of hopefulness, that
they’ll be inspired to look more closely at the natural world where they
live,” she said. “If you’re in the city, maybe you’ll see birds on a
ledge, or plants growing along a sidewalk. Just ask questions, because
attention breeds action.”
Calling all outdoorsmen and women — Maryland’s Lower Shore is home to some of the best hiking, walking and running trails on the East Coast.
Here’s a closer look at four picturesque parks and preserves with nature trails in the Berlin, Salisbury and Ocean City area.
Assateague Island
Assateague Island offers a wide variety of paved and unpaved trails open for hiking and 37 miles of flat beach terrain for wandering and beachcombing. Assateague Island’s Maryland District features a Life of the Dunes trail, Life of the Forest trail, Life of the Marsh trail.
Furnace Town
Furnace Town is nestled between the Pocomoke State Forest and Nature Conservancy’s Nassawango Creek Preserve. The popular historical site offers three Nature Conservancy Trails, three Maryland Forest service Trails, and a 26-acre outdoor museum and recreation area.
Pemberton Historical Park
Pemberton Historical Park, a 262-acre area featuring a trail system, outdoor amphitheater and more, was created in the 1980s. The park offers 4.5 miles of nature trails for walking and hiking only, allowing visitors to explore wetlands, forests and more of the natural world.
Nassawango Creek Preserve
Nassawango Creek Preserve’s primeval forest has an abundance of bald cypress and black gum trees. Visitors are invited to indulge in its four trails, the Nassawango Joe, Prothonotary Warbler, Ron Wilson Memorial Trail and Leifer Trail, as well as self-guided audio tours.
Olivia Minzola covers communities on the Lower Shore. Contact her with tips and story ideas at ominzola@delmarvanow.com.
The 21-year-old second baseman and 11th overall pick in the 2026 MLB Draft has deep ties to the D.C. region.
(Courtesy Washington Nationals)
Courtesy Washington Nationals
(Courtesy Washington Nationals)
Courtesy Washington Nationals
(Courtesy Washington Nationals)
Courtesy Washington Nationals
(Courtesy Washington Nationals)
Courtesy Washington Nationals
(Courtesy Washington Nationals)
Courtesy Washington Nationals
(Courtesy Washington Nationals)
Courtesy Washington Nationals
Washington Nationals’ first-round draft pick Chris Hacopian inked his first professional contract Wednesday, a moment made sweeter by the fact it was just a 30-minute drive from home to get to Nationals Park and put pen to paper.
The 21-year-old second baseman and 11th overall pick in the 2026 MLB Draft has deep ties to the D.C. region. He’s from Potomac, Maryland, and played his high school ball at Winston Churchill, where he was named the 2022 Maryland Gatorade Player of the Year and a 2022 Washington Post All-Met selection.
According to MLB.com, Hacopian grew up a Nationals fan, admiring the likes of Ian Desmond, Danny Espinosa and others. He also played his first two collegiate seasons at the University of Maryland, where his father Derek played before him, before transferring to Texas A&M for his junior season.
With the Aggies, Hacopian hit .319 with 11 home runs and 41 RBI across 42 games en route to being named First-Team All-Southeastern Conference and a Third-Team All-American by Baseball America, the Nationals said in a news release.
After inking his contract Wednesday, Hacopian donned his new jersey and ball cap and stepped onto D.C.’s beloved diamond as a part of the Nationals organization for the first time.
“That was so cool, oh my gosh. I’ve been in the stands like, 100 times, but being on the field is so different,” he said.
Hacopian was ranked 14th among MLB Draft prospects by MLB.com. The 6-foot-1-inch, 210-pound second baseman boasted one of the best bats in college baseball, according to MLB.com, with excellent control over the strike zone and feel for the barrel, along with solid pop.
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The state said the five recently traveled together to “a location in the U.S. experiencing an active measles outbreak.”
Maryland health officials confirmed five more measles cases, all in Carroll County.
“These individuals recently traveled together to a location in the U.S. experiencing an active measles outbreak,” the state Department of Health said in a release.
The agency said others may have been exposed on the afternoon of July 13 in the emergency department waiting room at Carroll Hospital Center in Westminster.
Another measles case recently prompted warnings from health officials in Maryland, Virginia and the District. On June 17, a Maryland resident traveled through Dulles International Airport and visited a D.C. urgent care clinic.
Measles is highly contagious. It can spread through the air through coughs, breathing, and sneezes. Early symptoms can include fevers of over 101 degrees, coughs, runny noses, watery eyes and face or body rashes.
It can take up to 21 days after exposure for the first symptoms to appear, and those who are not fully vaccinated or otherwise immune to measles are especially vulnerable.
The five new measles cases in Maryland bring the state’s year-to-date total to nine. The state health department confirmed three cases in 2025, and one in each of the previous two years.
“All Marylanders should review potential exposure times, watch for symptoms, and confirm they are up to date on their measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccinations,” the health department said.
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