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Accession Number 5000987

Title Assessing the relative habitat value of restored versus natural coastal marshes to

migratory birds in Chesapeake Bay

Project Description The US Army Corps of Engineers has a national program entitled the Beneficial Use of Dredged

Material program that has as its mission using dredged material disposal in such as manner as to

enhance wetland areas for use by fish and wildlife resources. Several of these are designated in

the Chesapeake Bay on islands. The latest approaches encourage the use of geotextile tubes

instead of riprap and hard surfaces as containment dikes. We proposed to conduct research to

evaluate the use of such created wetland sites by migratory birds relative to those of natural,

control marsh sites. Such sites could potentially be used for nesting by certain shorebirds such

as Willets (Catoptrophorus semipalmatus) and colonial species such as Least Terns (Sterna

albifrons) and Common Terns (S. hirundo). Several years may be required before the project is

completed and before vegetation becomes established. Sites require monitoring over a series of

years to determine their success.

Keywords migratory birds, monitoring populations, monitoring species, wetlands restoration,

Principal R. M Erwin, USGS Patuxent Wildlife Research Center: rme5g@virginia.edu; Dennis Jorde, USGS

Investigators Patuxent Wildlife Research Center: Dennis_Jorde@usgs.gov;

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