North Carolina used dredged material to rebuild an eroding bird island near Wanchese

The restoration also comes as North Carolina's coastal bird nesting islands face continued erosion (Representational photo) A North Carolina island that had been losing land to erosion has been restored using material removed while clearing a nearby navigation channel. The dredged material, which would otherwise have been placed offshore, was used to rebuild Wells Island near Wanchese and create open, sandy habitat for nesting waterbirds. Within a week of the restoration work, wildlife officials found American Oystercatchers and a group of terns exploring the newly created habitat, according to North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission (NCWRC).The restoration was completed in March through a collaboration between the US Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), Gator Dredging and the North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission (NCWRC). The work was linked to a dredging project near Wanchese that was needed to maintain a section of the Old House Channel.The project was designed to serve two purposes. It would help keep the navigation channel open while also giving material removed from the channel a useful purpose. Instead of simply placing the material offshore, officials used it to res...