September 10, 2026

The Waterfowl Report with Deena Kilmon

Every year about this time, the Waterfowl Festival, the nonprofit conservation group behind one of the Eastern Shore’s most popular events, has produced over $6 million in land protection grants over the years and also student scholarships totaling $24,000 just in 2024,  sits down the Spy to provide some analysis of last year’s weekend celebration.

This year, executive director Deena Kilmon reports good news —very good, indeed, for the 53-year-old volunteer program. After a few years of mixed results and bad weather, Kilmon reports a record-breaking event with more than 17,000 people than in previous years.

Deena also makes the sobering point that the costs related to the three-day event have also increased. The expenses of infrastructure, public safety, and the need to provide reliable internet access to both visitors and vendors, as meant fees have gone up to meet those costs while also maintaining the organization’s mission to provide conservation grants and scholarships to the region’s high school students.

This video is approximately five minutes in length. For more information about the Waterfowl Festival, please go here.  The organization is taking applications for scholarships now for students who volunteered for the Waterfowl Festival. call their office for details at 410-822-4567 or download the form from their website. 

AI Disclosure: The Spy and its writers may use artificial intelligence tools to support accuracy and clarity in our reporting.

0 Responses

  1. Deena did a fantastic job telling it like it’s never been explained before. Brilliant beyond words she sure knows what she’s talking about. One smart cookie my friends.

Write a Letter to the Editor on this Article

We encourage readers to offer their point of view on this article by submitting the following form. Editing is sometimes necessary and is done at the discretion of the editorial staff. Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Subscribe to the Spy
Receive daily intelligence reports right to your inbox

SRM 3231 General Ad JUN'25 (300x500)
Ad 4 Talbot Spy Rotating Ad 300x500px Chuck Mangold Jr
Talbot Spy Free Admission.jpg
Reeder contemporary Nov 2024 rev3 copy 2.jpg
Family Fundays Sundays Talbot Spy updated
Waterfowl Festival 2026
Jan Kirsh April Pepper September
Pickering Creek something marvelous copy
Wye School 300 x 500.jpg
Spy Donor Thank You Ad
Talbot Spy online ad VFi 8.11.22.jpg
Spy ads (spy final) 2026
2.png
Morgan Stanley 1 copy
Qlarant Spy ad 8 13 2025.jpg
Piazza Market April Vietti wine.jpg
GunstonGolfTourn 300x500 1.jpg
Allegro Academy August 2026
Chesapeake Bay Fund 2.jpg
MSO March 2026
Private Duty Care 300 x 500 Jan 2024 copy
CCHS resize copy 1.jpg
unnamed 1
MSCF 300x500 2.jpg
Brampton Grape Expectations July 2026 ver 2 copy
Forum Spy Ad 8 20 26
Bay County Chorus April 2026 copy
1 2.jpeg
CBEC format 2 restore copy.jpg
FAS NOSE SPY 300x500.jpg
YMCA Membership generic copy.jpg
massoni spy spring 2026