Barren Island is small, uninhabited landmass in the Chesapeake Bay, just off the coast of Dorchester County, Maryland. It is located at . It is known to be a

mute swan The mute swan (''Cygnus olor'') is a species of swan and a member of the waterfowl family Anatidae. It is native to much of Eurosiberia, and (as a rare winter visitor) the far north of Africa. It is an introduced species in North America, home ...

nesting ground.USGS Patuxent Wildlife Research Research Showcase: The Exotic Mute Swan in Chesapeake Bay
National Park Service. Retrieved on 2008-05-10.

Ecological Restoration

The Friends of Blackwater Refuge worked in conjunction with the

National Aquarium There are several institutions known as the National Aquarium: Africa * National Marine Aquarium of Namibia Asia * National Museum of Marine Biology and Aquarium, Taiwan Europe * National Aquarium Denmark * National Marine Aquarium, Plymouth, Eng ...

in Baltimore on a major marsh restoration project at Barren Island in the Chesapeake Bay. Barren Island is located twelve miles south of the

Choptank River The Choptank River is a major tributary of the Chesapeake Bay and the largest river on the Delmarva Peninsula. Running for ,U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map, accessed April 1, 20 ...

and is part of the

Chesapeake Marshlands National Wildlife Refuge Complex Chesapeake Marshlands National Wildlife Refuge Complex is a National Wildlife Refuge complex in the state of Maryland located near the Delmarva Peninsula. Refuges within the complex * Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge * Eastern Neck National Wi ...

; the island is adjacent to the Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge. The efforts of this partnership, which includes the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers,

NOAA The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (abbreviated as NOAA ) is an United States scientific and regulatory agency within the United States Department of Commerce that forecasts weather, monitors oceanic and atmospheric conditio ...

, the

FWS The United States Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS or FWS) is an agency within the United States Department of the Interior dedicated to the management of fish, wildlife, and natural habitats. The mission of the agency is "working with oth ...

, the

National Fish and Wildlife Foundation The National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF) is an American foundation that was chartered by Congress in 1984 to increase the resources available for the conservation of the nation's fish, wildlife, plants and habitats. Authority The Natio ...

, and Maryland Conservation Corps have resulted in the planting of over 302,000 native marsh grasses with the help of 927 volunteers totaling 7,700 volunteer hours. Aquarium staff and the Friends of Blackwater Refuge have returned to the site semi-annually to monitor the success of the restoration project. Topographic, vegetative and fish utilization data have been collected. Initial monitoring indicates that the project has been successful as wave energy is being absorbed and sediment is in fact being accreted. A very natural marsh community which includes small invertebrates that live in the sediments, larger invertebrates including crabs and shrimp and fish and birds can be found in the more mature parts of the site that were planted in 2001. The more recently planted areas appear to be progressing well toward a similar community.

References

External links

* https://web.archive.org/web/20140719081501/http://www.aqua.org/care/conservation-initiatives/barren-island Maryland islands of the Chesapeake Bay Landforms of Dorchester County, Maryland Uninhabited islands of Maryland {{DorchesterCountyMD-geo-stub