A $13.5 million Maryland project turned dredged sand, silt and shell into roughly 70 acres

From Dredge to Delta: USACE, Partners Restore Roughly 70 Acres of Wetlands at Deal Island Wildlife Management Area A $13.5 million restoration project in Somerset County, Maryland, has successfully turned dredged river sediment into about 70 acres of tidal wetland habitat, according to the US Army Corps of Engineers Baltimore District Website.The project at the Deal Island Wildlife Management Area was carried out by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) Baltimore District with help from state and regional partners. The work transformed an eroding marsh into higher ground that provides important nesting habitat for threatened marsh birds while also helping keep a major commercial shipping channel open.The project used sand, silt, and shell removed from the lower part of the Wicomico River federal navigation channel, about five miles from the restoration site.The Wicomico River is an important shallow-water commercial route leading to the Port of Salisbury. The port is Maryland's second-largest commercial port by volume and handles important shipments of petroleum and grain for the Delmarva Peninsula.Regular dredging is needed to keep the river channel at its authorized depth of 1...