Poplar Island is a 3-mile-long (4.8-kilometer-long) island located on the
Chesapeake Bay
The Chesapeake Bay ( ) is the largest estuary in the United States. The Bay is located in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region and is primarily separated from the Atlantic Ocean by the Delmarva Peninsula (including the parts: the ...
, part of
Talbot County, Maryland
Talbot County is located in the heart of the Eastern Shore of Maryland in the U.S. state of Maryland. As of the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census, the population was 37,526. Its county seat is Easton, Maryland, Easton. The county was named ...
.
In the late 1800s it had a population of 100 living in the town of Valliant but it was abandoned by the 1920s due to erosion of the island. By the 1990s its land mass had dwindled down to a few acres. In 2001, a project led by the
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
, colors =
, anniversaries = 16 June (Organization Day)
, battles =
, battles_label = Wars
, website =
, commander1 = ...
to restore the island began using dredged material from the Chesapeake Bay's approach channels to
Baltimore
Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...
, located approximately 30 miles north/north-west of the island.
History
The island was first encountered by Europeans in 1573 by Spanish explorer
Juan Menendez de Marques.
English colonists
The colonial history of the United States covers the history of European colonization of North America from the early 17th century until the incorporation of the Thirteen Colonies into the United States after the American Revolutionary War, ...
began settling Poplar Island in the 1630s. Poplar Island served as a campsite for British warships during the
War of 1812
The War of 1812 (18 June 1812 – 17 February 1815) was fought by the United States of America and its indigenous allies against the United Kingdom and its allies in British North America, with limited participation by Spain in Florida. It bega ...
.
Poplar Island had split into three pieces by the late 1800s. At that time, the larger piece was home to the town of Valliant, a community of about 100 residents, with its own post office, school,
general store, and a
sawmill
A sawmill (saw mill, saw-mill) or lumber mill is a facility where logs are cut into lumber. Modern sawmills use a motorized saw to cut logs lengthwise to make long pieces, and crosswise to length depending on standard or custom sizes (dimensi ...
. Poplar Island's sawmill may have contributed to the island's erosion by cutting down trees, whose roots held the sandy soil together.
When surveyed in 1847, Poplar Island was , shaped in a -long crescent, bending around Jefferson Island (east).
[Martell, Nevin (September 24, 2015).]
In Chesapeake Bay, Poplar Island is a man-made miracle
. ''The Washington Post''.
In the relatively calm years between 1880 and 1920, about 15 families enjoyed community life on the island, which boasted productive farmlands, tobacco barns, a sawmill, schoolhouse, post office, and general store. By 1929, however, the island had been taken over by moonshiners. In a raid later that year, revenuers made five arrests and smashed a 1,000 gallon still. After that, the last permanent resident had left and the island became a hunting retreat. A clubhouse built on Poplar Island during the 1930s had two presidents among its vacationing guests,
Franklin D. Roosevelt
Franklin Delano Roosevelt (; ; January 30, 1882April 12, 1945), often referred to by his initials FDR, was an American politician and attorney who served as the 32nd president of the United States from 1933 until his death in 1945. As the ...
and
Harry S. Truman
Harry S. Truman (May 8, 1884December 26, 1972) was the 33rd president of the United States, serving from 1945 to 1953. A leader of the Democratic Party, he previously served as the 34th vice president from January to April 1945 under Franklin ...
. The clubhouse burned down in 1946.
By 1990, erosion had reduced the island's land to , most of which was its southern piece, Coaches Island.
Four tiny fragments to the north of Coaches Island were known as North Point, Middle Poplar and South Poplar.
Restoration with dredged material
Federal and state officials selected Poplar Island in the 1990s as a dumping site for material dredged from the shipping channels approaching Baltimore; dredge soil from Baltimore Harbor
Helen Delich Bentley Port of Baltimore is a shipping port along the tidal basins of the three branches of the Patapsco River in Baltimore, Maryland on the upper northwest shore of the Chesapeake Bay. It is the nation's largest port facilities fo ...
is polluted and is not being used in Poplar Island. The island when viewed in December 2017 on Google Earth
Google Earth is a computer program that renders a 3D computer graphics, 3D representation of Earth based primarily on satellite imagery. The program maps the Earth by superimposition, superimposing satellite images, aerial photography, and geog ...
satellite photos shows many odd colored pools of water and much environmental degradation. Poplar island is not yet a "wildlife refuge".
This project is intended to allow for the long-term restoration of the island while keeping the Chesapeake's deep-draft shipping channels open, maintaining Baltimore as a major port, and halting the earlier practice of open-water dumping. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers began reconstruction of the island in 1998 with the erection of dikes
Dyke (UK) or dike (US) may refer to:
General uses
* Dyke (slang), a slang word meaning "lesbian"
* Dike (geology), a subvertical sheet-like intrusion of magma or sediment
* Dike (mythology), ''Dikē'', the Greek goddess of moral justice
* Dikes, ...
to contain the dredged material. As of January 2011, the project's total cost was estimated at $667 million. and is, according to schedule, going to be completed in the year 2029.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
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 ...
initiated the Poplar Island restoration project, because it was concerned about the accelerating loss of "remote island habitat" in the Chesapeake Bay and the damaging effect it was having on birds, waterfowl and other wildlife. Poplar Island was seen as a mutually beneficial project because Baltimore and the Corps of Engineers, the lead agencies in the project, needed a new place to put dredge spoils, and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service needed new land. The agencies cooperated under the slogan of "economy and environment", because the project helps preserve the local economy (120,000 Maryland jobs depend on the port of Baltimore) while restoring precious habitat for the Chesapeake's wildlife.[Blakely, Stephen (June 29, 2012).]
Poplar Island: Success In The Bay
. ''Soundings''.
Hart Miller Island
Hart Miller Island is located at the mouths of Back River and Middle River, where they empty into the Chesapeake Bay east of the City of Baltimore in Maryland. It was formerly two separate islands, Hart Island and Miller Island, but it is now ...
, another highly eroded island in the Chesapeake Bay, received dredged material over a 25-year period. By 2009, this island had been restored to of wildlife habitat and recreation land.
Dredged material from shipping channels in the Chesapeake Bay may also be used to restore James Island, as part of the Mid-Bay Island Restoration Project. James Island, located at the mouth of the Little Choptank River, had eroded to three tiny fragments. The project's plans call for adding to James Island with dredged material in order to restore the island to its historic footprint. Work on James Island depends upon the project's inclusion in federal grants for the Water Resources Development Act
Water Resources Development Act (WRDA), is a reference to public laws enacted by Congress to deal with various aspects of water resources: environmental, structural, navigational, flood protection, hydrology, etc.
Typically, the United States Arm ...
, however, and funding had not yet been approved as of March 2011.[Jackson, Nancy Menefee (March–April 2011).]
MPA Dredging Operations Continue to Make Port Safer and Enhance Environment
. ''Port of Baltimore Magazine''. Maryland Port Administration
The Maryland Department of Transportation (MDOT) is an organization comprising five business units and one Authority:
* Maryland Transportation Authority (Transportation Secretary serves as chairman of the Maryland Transportation Authority)
* M ...
. p. 22. Retrieved April 20, 2011.
Wildlife sanctuary
Since its reconstruction with dredged material began in 1998, Poplar Island had grown to 1,140 acres by 2005. Plans call for the addition of another 575 acres. Half of the island's acreage will be turned into wetlands and half into uplands. The project will use 68 million cubic yards of dredged material protected by 35,000 feet of containment dikes, built with 75% federal funding and 25% state funding. Only "clean" material, dredged from approach channels, is being used on Poplar Island. The Poplar Island restoration project will not use material dredged from close to Baltimore, which may be contaminated with heavy metals.
The island is the home of approximately 175 different species of birds, including terns and osprey. More than 1,000 diamondback terrapin
The diamondback terrapin or simply terrapin (''Malaclemys terrapin'') is a species of turtle native to the brackish coastal tidal marshes of the Northeastern and southern United States, and in Bermuda. It belongs to the monotypic genus ''Malaclem ...
s have been reported hatching annually on the island in recent years.
Chesapeake Bay biologists consider Poplar Island's restoration to be a huge success for the diamondback terrapins, a brackish water turtle — and Maryland's “official state reptile.” Terrapins started laying eggs on the island almost as soon as construction workers started building the sand berms and beaches, and the island now hosts the nation's largest terrapin research and propagation project. Terrapins here enjoy a nearly 99 percent survival rate (compared with 10 percent or less elsewhere) because there are no foxes or raccoons, their major predators. This prompted the Fish and Wildlife Service to undertake an active environmental education and volunteer program on in the island, including the popular Terrapin Bay."
Both the Poplar Island and Hart-Miller Island restoration projects are overseen b
Maryland Environmental Service
an independent Maryland State agency responsible for finding innovative solutions to the region's most complex environmental challenges and preserving the region's natural resources for generations to come.
References
External links
Maryland Environmental Service
{{authority control
Maryland islands of the Chesapeake Bay
Landforms of Talbot County, Maryland
Uninhabited islands of Maryland
Articles containing video clips