Wetland Restoration

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Beneficial Use of Clean Dredged Material to
Restore Wetlands at Blackwater National Wildlife
Refuge
Dixie Birch, Glenn Carowan, and Bill Giese
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Remaining marsh shown in red
Blackwater
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Roughly 60 miles from the Bay Bridge by land
Blackwater is 31 miles from Poplar Island and 5
Miles from James Island by water
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Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge

• Established 1933
• 28,000 acre complex
• 1/3 marsh, 1/3 forest, 1/3 water

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Blackwater NWR is part of the Chesapeake
Marshlands National Wildlife Refuge
Complex Blackwater NWR Eastern Neck NWR Martin
NWR Susquehanna NWR Watts Island Bishops Head
Point Spring Island Barren Island
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Significance of Blackwater Wetlands
President Bush 2005 No net loss
of wetlands
Wetlands of International Importance (Chesapeake
Bay RAMSAR site) 1 of 6 priority wetland areas
by North American Waterfowl Management Plan The
Nature Conservancy one of the LAST GREAT PLACES
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Blackwater Watershed

• The Everglades of the North
• Exceptional Recreational and Ecological System
  Waters (ERES)
• Over 1/3 of all tidal wetlands in MD
• Northernmost 3-square bulrush marshes in the U.S.

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Internationally Important Bird Area American
Bird Conservancy
85 nesting songbird species 34 waterfowl
species 52 shorebird species 30 marsh and wading
birds 24 raptor species Over 350 bird species
annually

• Prothonotary Warbler

Barred Owl
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Biodiversity
Endangered Delmarva Fox Squirrel
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The Disappearing Marsh
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Wetland types that are decreasing at Blackwater
Palustrine emergent Palustrine
forested Palustrine scrub-shrub Estuarine
intertidal emergent Estuarine intertidal
forested Estuarine intertidal scrub-shrub
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Marsh Loss

• 8,000 acres or 12 sq. miles have been lost
• 150-400 acres lost/year

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Curt Larsen (USGS) Model of Sea Level Rise over
next 50 years
Slaughter Creek
Little Blackwater River
Blackwater River
Honga River
Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge LIDAR
NAVD88 _at_ 0.0ft
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Red is NAVD88 -0.3 to 0.0meters
1900 Model
Shorters Wharf Road
MHHW 1900
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Red 0.15 to 0.0 meters
1950
MHHW 1950
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Red 0.12 to 0.0 meters
1960
MHHW 1960
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Red 0.09 to 0.0 meters
1970
MHHW 1970
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Red 0.06 to 0.0 meters
1980
MHHW 1980
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Red 0.03 to 0.0 meters
1990
MHHW 1990
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Blue 0.0 meters
2000
MHHW 2000 NAVD88
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2010
MHHW 10 years
Blue is 0.03 meters
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2020
MHHW 20 years
Blue is 0.06 meters
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2030
Shorters Wharf Road
MHHW 30 years
Blue is 0.09 meters
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2040
MHHW 40 years
Blue is 0.12 meters
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2050
Wolf Pit
McGraws Island
Harts Ridge
Fishing Bay WMA
Blue is 0.15 meters
MHHW 50 years
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Causes of Marsh Loss

• Sea level rise
• Subsidence
• Erosion
• Salt water intrusion
• Invasive species - herbivory

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MARSH LOSS AT BLACKWATER
Stressed Marsh
Altered Hydrology and Salinity

• Wildlife Damage
• Nutria
• Resident Geese

Increased Wave Energy
Breaching of Peat Layer
MARSH EROSION
Increased Open Water
Wave Action
Destruction of Natural Levees
Sediment Loss
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Efforts to Restore Blackwater Wetlands

• Reduce salt water intrusion
• Extirpate nutria
• Reduce resident Canada geese
• 1980s Wetland Restoration of 12 acres
• 2003 Wetland Restoration of 15 acres

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Control Resident Canada Geese
Eliminate Nutria
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Nutria Extirpated from Blackwater Watershed
By 2005, over 9,000 nutria removed Monitoring
continues to eliminate new nutria Trapping
efforts expanded to State and Private Lands
Marsh Areas Recovering
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Three-square transplanted in 1982 restoration
project
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1982 Restoration Site in 2005
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1983 Restoration Site in 2005
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2003 Wetland Restoration Partners

• National Aquarium
• Army Corps of Engineers
• Friends of Blackwater
• Salisbury Zoo
• U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service

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3 sites
Observation site
Wildlife Drive
Shorters Wharf
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Methods

• Restore 15 acres of tidal wetlands at 3 sites
• Plant 70,000 marsh grass units
• Monitor plant success
• Sediment containability

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Initial Containment
Installation of Straw Bales and Wooden Stakes
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Water Depths were often too deep for thin
layering and required 1 to 1.5 feet of fill
Floating Excavator moved pipeline
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Dredge
Wildlife Drive
Wildlife Drive Cells
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Shorters Wharf
Shorters Wharf Road
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Dredge slurry 10 sediment and 90 water
Overall sediment containment was successful
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Hydro-seeding and Hand-planting were used no
fertilization necessary
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May 2003
Volunteers planted 70,000 units combined of
Olneys 3-square (Schoenoplectus americanus),
salt marsh bulrush (Schoenoplectus robustus), and
smooth cordgrass (Spartina alterniflora)
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Photo Station Documentation
June 2003
August 2003
Compare permanent photo stations over time to
assess sediment and vegetation sustainability
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May 2003
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June 2003
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August 2003
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August 2004
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2004 Results
80-90 plant survival SAV volunteered within
cells Excellent sediment containment
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Whats Next?
Recreate the Lost Marsh
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Blackwaters Comprehensive Conservation Plan
(CCP) calls for restoring wetlands to 1933
conditions
Additional restoration is needed to meet
this management goal
-Dennis King Liz Price, CBL -Uni. of MD
Geography Dept., Coastal Marsh Project
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Dredge Material Placement
Total dredging needs for approach channels in MD
portion of Chesapeake Bay is about 3 to 4
million cubic yards annually Dr. Dennis King
and Liz Price Chesapeake Biological Lab
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Draft Tiered Environmental Impact Statement
3 Options 1.Expansion of Poplar
Island 2.Mid-Bay Islands
3.Blackwater/Dorchester County
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Problems with siltation date back to Ancient Rome
Port of Ostia
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1st
3rd
2nd
Ancient Romans moved the Port of Ostia 3 times
due to siltation
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Use clean Dredged Materialto Restore the Marsh
Restoring 8,000 acres (12 miles2) at 1 foot
requires 12,907,000 cubic yards 2 feet requires
25,813,000 cubic yards 3 feet requires
38,720,000 cubic yards 5 feet requires
64,533,000 cubic yards
Dennis King, Liz Price, CBL
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Other Partners in Dorchester County also want to
restore Wetlands
Tudor Farms
Fishing Bay
-Dennis King Liz Price, CBL -Uni. of MD
Geography Dept., Coastal Marsh Project
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Use Clean Dredged Materialto Restore the Marsh
Restoring 12,200 acres at 1 foot requires
19,683,000 cubic yards 2 feet requires
39,365,000 cubic yards 3 feet requires
59,048,000 cubic yards 5 feet requires
98,413,000 cubic yards
Dennis King, Liz Price, CBL
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Dorchester Restoration provides placement
opportunities for dredged material for 12 to 50
years and would restore the watershed
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Bucket and barge to move clean dredged material
James Island could be used as a
re-handling station
James Island
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Dennis King and Liz Price CBL, Uni. of MD
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Using fresh or brackish water would minimize any
saline impacts from clean dredged material
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Future Wetland Restoration Benefits
1. Ecosystem and Environmental Restoration 2.
Placement of Substantial amounts of Dredged
Material 3. Easy Public Access, Community
Involvement, Public Support 4. Prevent additional
wetland loss
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5. Watershed restoration benefits finfish,
shellfish fisheries, wildlife, and the overall
health of the Chesapeake Bay Ecosystem
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Wetland Restoration is feasible and
beneficial, and is critical to avoid additional
wetland loss at Blackwater NWR
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Blackwater Restoration can only be
achieved through the use of clean dredged
material.

Currently, we do not know of any other options to
restore these valuable wetlands
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For Blackwater to use clean dredged material, a
feasibility study is needed. Estimates for the
cost of this study are 5 to 6 million over 3-5
years.
We have existing authority to restore these
wetlands under the Eastern Shore Authority
(same authority for James, and Barren Islands)
After the feasibility study is completed, need
authorization under the Water Resources
Development Act because this is a beneficial use
project
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Citizens Advisory Group and Technical Working
Group. If you would like to serve on a
group, Please contact Dixie Birch Email
dixie_birch_at_fws.gov Phone [phone], ext. 118
Pilot study in fall 2005 using 2 acres of material