Poplar Island is known throughout the world as a singular and continuing ecological and economic success. Join Poplar Island outreach educator Kristina Motley and Chesapeake Forum on Wednesday, Jun 5th to learn how dredged material is being used to restore habitat on this critical Chesapeake Bay island AND keep the port of Baltimore open to shipping.
Motley will explain the concept of “beneficial use” in Poplar Island: An International Model of Innovative Reuse with a classroom session on June 5th and a Field Trip on June 10th. Learn about Poplar Island’s unique story and continuing habitat successes. Find out how the beneficial use project, started in the 1990s, relies on dredged material collected from the approach channels to the Baltimore Harbor to restore lost remote island habitat within the Chesapeake Bay.
The project partnership between Maryland Department of Transportation, Maryland Port Administration, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, and Maryland Environmental Service has been in place for over 20 years and has seen the restoration of almost 400 acres of wetland habitat. Upland habitat and additional wetland habitat are planned and the island is slated to be completed in the 2040’s. Over 400 different species of wildlife have been documented and over 30 different birds have been confirmed as nesting onsite.
Kristina Motley is a Senior Environmental Specialist (SES) with the Maryland Environmental Service (MES), where she has worked on the Paul S. Sarbanes Ecosystem Restoration Project at Poplar Island for four and a half years. As an SES on Poplar Island, her work is focused on outreach, including conducting in-person onsite tours, offsite lectures and events, school programming, and online content creation
Poplar Island: An International Model of Innovative Reuse is two sessions, Wednesday, June 5th from 10 – 11:30 a.m. and a FIELD TRIP on Monday, June 10th from 9 a.m. – noon. $30. To register, visit https://chesapeakeforum.org.
Chesapeake Forum is a nonprofit organization dedicated to providing lifelong learning opportunities to residents of the Eastern Shore. To receive Chesapeake Forum’s newsletter, please send your name and contact information to info@chesapeakeforum.org.
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One important fact has been trampled by this narrative. Doing the project has required that people not live there because of the toxic nature of the spoil. Places like Smith Island, Ragged Island, and other places being considered for ‘saving’ will have to agree to the same conditions. Sure there is economic impact.from the channel dredging and wildlife sanctuaries will be created but all at a cost of permanent removal of landowners and historic residents of those people who were bought out and lost their homes and heretage to shipping progress.
Scientists at the Horn Point Laboratory have had a significant role in the transformation of Poplar Island to a bird sanctuary based on successful plantings of sustainable grasses and other aspects of restoration.