CRISFIELD — For the second year in a row Janes Island State Park is a recipient of a Small Grants/Big Impact Award from the Friends of Maryland State Parks.

This year the proceeds will reconstruct and replace osprey platforms that have fallen into disrepair on the island. Their condition has been pointed out to park personnel by local residents and park visitors who all agree they are an important resource to be restored.

Park Ranger Brian Bokulic, who submitted the funding request, noted that there are six man-made osprey nests around Janes Island. Ospreys are a “seasonal visitor” to the Chesapeake Bay region from early spring to late fall and salt marsh environments are important to their habitat.

“Providing suitable nesting structures will allow the same ospreys to return to Crisfield every year,” he wrote in his application. “The plan would be to make 4 new osprey nesting platforms to replace the ones that are down or damaged. Additionally, we will install predator guards. We will utilize the existing footprint of the osprey platform and assess and maintain as needed.”

The state park provides direct access to Tangier Sound and the fish it hunts for and building and maintaining these platforms “will contribute to the conservation of osprey for generations to come.”

A model of an osprey nesting platform will be built for the Nature Center as an interpretive display. In 2021 park rangers installed three barn owl nesting boxes which like the bald eagles use the osprey platforms as a perch and resting area.

There are 19 projects across Maryland sharing in the $31,280 granted by the Friends of Maryland State Parks this year, with one at Pocomoke River State Park for construction of a new commercial canoe and kayak rack for the boat house.

Janes Island received funding in 2022 from the Friends group for construction of two “inspiration garden” areas — one an oyster garden using floats and the other featuring native plants in a raised bed.