Over the last three decades, an intensive effort to recreate Poplar Island has resulted in a vibrant flyway for more than 400 different species of wildlife and nesting habitat for more than 30 different birds. To see for yourself, join Chesapeake Forum for “A Trip Back to Poplar Island on Oct. 24th. This very popular tour regularly sells out. If that’s the case, a second tour will be added in the spring so be sure to add yourself to the waitlist!
In 1847, Poplar Island boasted more than 1,100 acres and during the early 1900s, the island supported a thriving community of about 100 residents, several farms, a school, a church, a post office, and a sawmill. By the 1920s, residents began leaving the island as more and more of its landmass fell victim to erosion. The island’s remains were still used as a retreat in the 1930s and 1940s, and Presidents Franklin D. Roosevelt and Harry S. Truman were among its visitors. By the early 1990s, all that remained of the original island were several small clusters of islets rising just above the surface of the water. Reduced to about four acres, Poplar Island’s disappearance seemed imminent.
In 1994 an interagency team decided that restoring remote island habitat lost in the Chesapeake Bay was of great environmental value, and signed a Chesapeake Bay Ecosystem Management Agreement committing to the beneficial use of dredged material from the navigational channels leading to the Port of Baltimore to restore island habitat. The island restoration project re-establishes the approximate size of the island in 1847.
The Chesapeake Forum tour covers a variety of topics pertaining to Poplar Island including the island’s history, the beneficial use of dredged material for habitat restoration, salt-marsh habitat, and wildlife sightings. Led by Maryland Senior Environmental Specialist Kristina Motley.
“Field Trip: A Trip Back to Poplar Island “ will be October 24th from 9 a.m – noon, in-person at the Maryland Environmental Service Tilghman Island dock. To register for this or any other Chesapeake Forum class, please visit https://chesapeakeforum.org.
Chesapeake Forum is a nonprofit dedicated to providing continuing education opportunities for residents of the Eastern Shore. If you would like to receive Chesapeake Forum’s monthly newsletter, please email to [email protected] with your name and preferred email.
Adrianne LASKER says
We are on the wait list and have been trying to go for YEARS! I hope this will be a win!
Thanks,
Adrianne LASKER