Project Spotlight: DNR’s Watershed and Climate Services Partners With Environmental Education Preserve To Build a Living Laboratory of Restoration Science
Projects create habitat and public access at Chesapeake Bay Environmental Center
Spartina patens and Spartina alterniflora planted as part of a DNR-funded living shoreline project at the Chesapeake Bay Environmental Center in 2023. CBEC photo
Located in Grasonville near Kent Island, the Chesapeake Bay Environmental Center — known as CBEC – has been the site of living shoreline and marsh enhancement projects for more than 23 years.
From work that turned concrete rubble from Baltimore’s Memorial Stadium into oyster habitat, to innovative techniques of thin-layer placement of dredged material, CBEC has long been on the cutting edge of restoration and continues to inspire marsh and shoreline work in other parts of the Bay.
CBEC is the headquarters of the Wildfowl Trust of North America, an organization focused on environmental education and Bay restoration. Open to the public, CBEC also offers a unique opportunity to see Bay restoration in action.
“With the past and current restoration and resiliency projects at CBEC, this very special public space can continue to support thriving communities for terrestrial and aquatic habitats,” said Carrie Decker, a natural resource planner at the Maryland Department of Natural Resources. “Keeping pace with storm surge, sea-level rise, and similar events will be a challenge, so creating and enhancing marsh and wetland areas is one of the ways we adapt to changing conditions.”
The Maryland Department of Natural Resources’ partnership with CBEC dates back to the first restoration work at the site in 2002, when it was established as one of the first living shorelines in Maryland. Restoration work included building two acres of tidal wetlands, restoring 400 linear feet of living shoreline, and building structures for oyster reefs, which together enhanced habitats for oysters and fish as well as diamondback terrapins.
Living shorelines, which use plants and natural elements to help protect the shore while also building habitat, are now a central feature of Maryland’s coastal restoration strategy. In 2004, Governor Robert Ehrlich and the Chesapeake Bay Program designated CBEC as a testing site for developing restoration techniques that could be applied elsewhere in the Bay.
A barge places rocks to help reinforce a shoreline at the North Point of the reserve. CBEC photo
More recent work has built on previous efforts. Funded by DNR’s Chesapeake and Atlantic Coastal Bays Trust Fund and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, two large projects in 2023 stabilized another half mile of shoreline and approximately 1 acre of marsh at the site. The northern point project enhances coastal marsh habitat and helps protect 100 acres of forested marshland behind it. Crews from Coastal Design and Construction installed three large groins—rigid structures placed perpendicular to the shoreline—on the southern end, known as Piney and Hood Points, to prevent further erosion from tidal action and boat traffic.
This year, CBEC is planning to use sandy dredge material to create pocket beaches and put another 25,000 plants in the ground to build coastal resilience and wildlife habitat.
Funding from DNR’s Resiliency through Restoration program and the Waterway Improvement Fund are also supporting a thin-layer dredging placement project to combat marsh loss and restore habitat at CBEC.
“The restoration work at CBEC demonstrates the power of beneficial use—transforming dredged material from a byproduct into a resource for enhancing wetlands, protecting shorelines, and improving water quality,” said Maggie Cavey, DNR’s beneficial use planner. “By strategically using sediment from nearby navigation channels, we’re not only restoring critical marsh habitat but also reducing disposal costs and maximizing environmental and community benefits. This project is a model for how beneficial use can be leveraged to support both navigation and habitat restoration efforts across Maryland.”
CBEC Executive Director Vicki Paulas and Carrie Decker, a DNR natural resource planner, at a planting event at CBEC. Photo: Carrie Decker DNR
As CBEC continues to evolve as a restoration site, the lessons learned from these projects are already shaping future efforts across Maryland. Maryland’s Chesapeake Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve staff and in-house drone surveys are closely monitoring the thin-layer placement project at CBEC, providing valuable data that will inform future projects. These insights are already lending to the development of training and guidance to support local planners and practitioners in implementing beneficial use and thin-layer placement techniques.
CBEC Executive Director Vicki Paulas said the projects at the preserve highlight DNR’s commitment to innovative restoration techniques and demonstrate the power of collaboration between state agencies and non-governmental organizations.
“These restoration efforts not only enhance biodiversity but also offer significant educational, recreational and research opportunities for the public,” Paulas said. “By safeguarding these vital habitats, we ensure that future generations can experience and learn from CBEC’s dynamic ecosystems, while fostering new habitats for a variety of estuarine species. The continued support from funding sources such as DNR is essential for small organizations like ours to protect and preserve these critical Bay resources.”
“The constant shifting of Maryland’s coastal landscape presents challenges as well as opportunities to test and refine restoration strategies,” said Dr. Natalie Snider, director of DNR’s Watershed and Climate Services.
By integrating lessons learned from CBEC and other sites, the state is adapting and evolving its approach to shoreline management. Whether through wetland enhancement, marsh migration, land acquisition, or shoreline adaptation, nature-based solutions remain at the forefront of Maryland’s efforts to protect communities and natural resources.
“CBEC’s history of restoration underscores the value of long-term investment in coastal resilience,” Snider said. “As new challenges emerge, the site will continue to serve as a model for strategic sediment management, habitat restoration, and innovative shoreline protection.”
Staff from DNR’s Watershed and Climate Services assist at a CBEC planting. DNR photo
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