$8.7 Million In State Funds For Somers Cove Marina

Crisfield, Md. – Governor Wes Moore has announced 20 MILLION DOLLARS in state funds for 24 public boating projects in Maryland, including Somers Cove Marina in Somerset County.

The Maryland Department of Natural Resources will provide $7 million in General Obligation Bonds and a little over $1.7 million from the Waterway Improvement Fund to improve the marina.

Somers Cove Marina is the largest publicly-owned marina in the state. Officials from the DNR say the funds will go towards the $30 million renovation project, including a bulkhead replacement and facility improvements.

“It’s part of a significant state investment in that community,” Maryland DNR Capital Projects Director Eric Luedtke said.

Luedtke said recreational boating is Maryland’s largest outdoor recreation industry.

“It contributes billions of dollars to the state’s economy every year,” he said. “It’s particularly important to the communities that border the Atlantic Ocean and the Chesapeake Bay and our major rivers.”

He said the project will also be particularly beneficial to the local community in Crisfield and Somerset County.

“Crisfield and Somerset County generally have experienced some economic challenges over time, particularly as the harvesting of oysters, which historically built the town, faded over the decades,” Luedtke said. “So Somers Cove and the additional revenue it can bring in from transient boaters is vital to helping make sure that there are adequate jobs and economic activity in this way.”