Abstract
In the fall of 1981, the Corps of Engineers dredged the Federal channel from Chesapeake Bay to Honga River, Dorchester County, Maryland. Approximately 135, 831 m3 of fine-grained sediments were hydraulically deposited at a single unconfined location in shallow water from 1,188–1,859 m from the dredge. Fish and wildlife habitats were developed by controlling the direction of the discharge pipe to provide designed dredged material elevations and configuration, and by conducting post-disposal landscaping. Ten months following dredging, the stable dredged material placement site consisted of ca. 4.4 ha of floweringSpartina alterniflora (247–652 stems/m2) derived from seeding, ca. 2.0 ha ofSpartina patens (30 to 689 stems/m2) derived from transplanting, ca. 2.0 ha of unvegetated bird nesting area at elevations up to 0.6 m above theS. patens, 2.4 ha of tidal flat sparsely vegetated byS. alterniflora, and a 4 ha tidal pond. The nesting area was abundantly used by least terns during the spring and early summer of 1982. The project costs were approximately 40% less than a traditional confined dredged material placement option.
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Earhart, H.G., Garbisch, E.W. Habitat development utilizing dredged material at Barren Island Dorchester County, Maryland. Wetlands 3, 108–119 (1983). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03160734
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03160734