Assateague Island suffers somewhat from Multiple Personality Disorder. There are a lot of groups overseeing this small, thin stretch of sandbar. There's Assateague State Park in Maryland. And there's Assateague Island National Seashore , run by the National Park Service. The National Seashore is further split into a Maryland District and a Virginia District. That's because of the wild ponies. The Virginia herd receives regular attention and veterinary care because these are the horses rounded up and auctioned off every July in Chincoteague. The Maryland herd is basically left feral. There's even a fence along the state line to try to keep the herds separate. (That's the only such physical division between states in the country. Remember that when you are on Jeopardy.)

The Barrier Island Visitor Center is on the Maryland side of the Seashore. It's on the right hand side of the road before you cross the bridge over Sinepuxent Bay. The interactive, well-designed displays explain what barrier islands do and the surprising number of habitats found there. You can pick up maps for the dunes, forest, and marshland trails. Winter is a very good time to take to the trails, since the bug population has either headed south or hunkered down for the season. You can spot plants and birds much more easily. Even odds on spotting the ponies. They seem to have their own schedule about when and where they appear.

Every weekend, the rangers hold a number of interactive explorations which start at the Barrier Island Center. There's an aquarium feeding which explains the underwater life of the island, and three themed 1-hour walks to explore the marshes, dunes, and beach. Another program, "Storms!," shows rare footage from past hurricanes and nor'easters, as well as footage from November's visit by Ida, to dramatically demonstrate the effect of the weather on barrier islands. (If you want to see what Ida did to Assateague, go to http://tinyurl.com/ykbo3qy)

The program schedule is updated every two weeks. You can download the schedule and description of the programs at http://www.nps.gov/asis/index.htm. You can also call the visitor center at 410-641-1441.