Maryland digs deep to reclaim islands swallowed by Chesapeake Bay

Automatically composed with AI from the cited sources

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and Maryland Port Administration expect the restoration of Barren and James islands to cost $3.9 billion and stretch to 2067, with the MPA covering 35%. Work on Barren Island is already underway, and the James Island perimeter is scheduled to be laid within weeks; it will add 2,072 acres, surpassing the size of the ongoing Poplar Island restoration. The projects serve as placement sites for dredged material from Baltimore harbor shipping channels, an alternative to open-water disposal banned in the Chesapeake Bay since the 1990s.