On Chesapeake Bay, an Island Saved from Sinking, Part 1

This is SCIENCE IN THE NEWS in VOA Special English. I'm Bob Doughty. VOICE TWO: And I'm Shirley Griffith. Today we tell about efforts to save an island in the American state of Maryland. Poplar Island lies about fifty-five kilometers south of Baltimore, in the Chesapeake Bay. This historic waterway opens into the Atlantic Ocean. VOICE ONE: People sailing on the Chesapeake Bay often comment about the beauty of the area's water and wetland birds. Uncounted birds have lived in the area for centuries. But by nineteen ninety, an island important to the birds was sinking. Winds, water and time had reduced Poplar Island to only a few pieces of land. All the land together measured only one and one half hectares. Sometimes, water threatened to cover all of what remained. Birds lost areas where they traditionally lived and reproduced. But now birds are returning to the island. Poplar Island is in the process of rebirth. VOICE TWO: Many birds make a home on Poplar Island today. The island now measures four hundred sixty-one hectares, about the same size as in the eighteen eighties. The birds will have even more space in the future. The island is expected to grow by another two hundred thirty-three hectares. Poplar Island shows what can happen when many people and organizations cooperate. In nineteen ninety-four, engineers and government agencies joined to plan a possible rescue of Poplar Island. The United States Army Corps of Engineers, the Maryland Port Administration and other groups became partners in the effort. Environmental activists and people who live near the island supported the campaign. VOICE ONE: The planners thought a Poplar Island rescue could help the port of Baltimore. They wanted to find a new place to put material dug up from shipping channels leading to the port. Each year, container ships carry thousands of tons of goods to Baltimore. The ships need deep waters for the trip. The shipping channels must be dredged, or cleared, of silt, a fine-particle material. One plan called for dropping the dredged material in deep waters. But environmental activists and people who lived along the coastline objected. They said the dredged material would reduce water quality. So, the planners asked, why not re-use the material to rebuild Poplar Island? The planners believed the idea would meet the needs of the port of Baltimore. A rebuilt island also would help return thousands of water birds to the Chesapeake Bay. VOICE TWO: The project was approved in nineteen ninety-six. The following year, the Army Corps of Engineers signed a Project Cooperation Agreement with the state of Maryland. The agreement called for the Army engineers to lead the rescue of the island. Experts would return grasses, plants and trees to Poplar Island. Underwater plants would recover, leading more birds to return. The birds would build nesting areas and produce young on the island. And, the island could provide an example for other areas interested in similar projects. Work started in nineteen ninety-eight. The project is now called the Paul S. Sarbanes Ecosystem Restoration Project at Poplar Island. The name honors Mister Sarbanes, the Senator who led the campaign for the project in the United States Congress. Source: Voice of America