Dredge Spoil
19 October 2009 | The Poplar Island Project
History: Poplar, Coaches and Jefferson Islands.
Westerly winds and waves have been wearing away Poplar Island's shores for years. In 1970 it was recorded that 1100 acres once held ground here but today the comprised acreage is only 70. This site "The Poplar Island project" is the site for the deposit of dredge material from the ship channels into Baltimore. It has been predicted that the islands will slowly grow back to their original size over the next 20 years. It seems to have worked. During Hurricane Isabel in 2003, even though three of the bulkheads were broken through, the planted marshes held their soil. As the project continues, this positive use for dredge spoil provides habitat for nesting and roosting birds and has also significantly alleviating the silting problem in Knapps Narrows to the south.