Our guest speakers will appear virtually but we will have an in-person gathering at the Potomac Presbyterian Church as usual, assuming COVID transmission rates in the county remain low. Doors open at around 7PM. Refreshments will be served.

Poplar Island: An International Model of Innovative Reuse

Speakers: Tim Carney and Kristina Motley

Poplar Island is an environmental restoration project located in the Chesapeake Bay in Talbot County, Maryland. The beneficial use project, started in the 1990s, relies on dredged material collected from the approach channels to the Baltimore Harbor to restore lost remote island habitat within the Chesapeake Bay. The project partnership between MDOT Maryland Port Administration, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, and Maryland Environmental Service has been in place for over 20 years and has seen the restoration of almost 400 acres of wetland habitat. Upland habitat and additional wetland habitat are planned, and the island is slated to be completed in the 2040s. Over 400 different species of wildlife have been documented, and over 30 different birds have been confirmed as nesting onsite.

Tim Carney and Kristina Motley are senior environmental specialists at Maryland Environmental Service, and Tim does bimonthly bird censuses on Poplar Island.