Poplar Island Environmental Restoration Project: Challenges in Waterbird Restoration on an Island in Chesapeake Bay R. Michael Erwin, Jason Miller, and Jan G. Reese ABSTRACT At 460 hectares, the Paul Sarbanes Environmental Restoration Project at Poplar Island, Talbot County, Maryland, repre- At 460 hectares, the Paul Sarbanes Environmental Restoration Project at Poplar Island, Talbot County, Maryland, represents the largest “beneficial use” dredged material project of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (a cooperative project with Maryland Port Administration). Restoration of island habitat is necessary and valuable to the Chesapeake Bay ecosystem.

Poplar Island Habitat Restoration Project Poplar Island Modification Reconnaissance Study FINAL REPORT TABLE OF CONTENTS EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ES-1 1.0 INTRODUCTION 1-1 1.1 PROJECT OBJECTIVE 1-1 1.2 PROJECT HISTORY AND DESCRIPTION 1-1 1.3 PREVIOUS RELATED STUDIES 1-2 1.4 PROJECT SCOPE & ORGANIZATION 1-3 2.0 BASE MAPPING 2-1 2.1 GENERAL 2-1

This Today, Poplar Island is an international model for the beneficial use of dredged material. The project involved the restoration of an eroded island located along the eastern shore of the Chesapeake Bay in the U.S. By restoring remote island habitat, Poplar Island has become a safe haven for reptiles, mammals, and migratory birds. The Paul S. Sarbanes Ecosystem Restoration Project at Poplar Island is an island restoration project sponsored by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers–Baltimore District, and the Maryland Port Administration. A jewel in the middle of the Chesapeake Bay, Poplar Island is a shining example of the possibilities of the beneficial reuse of sediment dredged from Bay shipping channels. Poplar Island dredged sediments have considerably higher concentrations of nitrogen and phosphorus—up to 100 times … By using the most modern technology, wetland and upland habitats have been integrated into the island restoration from the outset of the project. In the last 150 years, it has been estimated that 10,500 acres of this habitat type have been lost in the middle-Paul S. Sarbanes Ecosystem Restoration Project at Poplar Island, Talbot … At 460 hectares, the Paul Sarbanes Environmental Restoration Project at Poplar Island, Talbot County, Maryland, represents the largest 'beneficial use' dredged material project of the U. S. Army Corps of Engineers (a cooperative project with Maryland Port Administration). The dredged sediments used to reconstruct Poplar Island have a unique quality when compared to more typical wetland restoration projects. The restoration of Poplar Island in the Chesapeake Bay off Maryland is seen as a model for rebuilding the eroded wetlands at Shooting Island. The Poplar Island Environmental Restoration Project is one of the success stories regarding the development of a cost-effective and environmentally acceptable dredged material placement site for the Port of Baltimore. Abstract. PROJECT DESCRIPTION: As project managers, GBA led a design team of 8 firms to conduct environmental studies, preliminary coastal & dredging engineering concepts, and prepare a final coastal engineering design with construction plans, specifications, and cost estimates for the restoration and environmental enhancement of approximately 1,110 acres at Poplar Island in the Chesapeake Bay.