In order to keep the Port of Baltimore open for business, shipping channels must be deep enough for cargo ships to travel through. Shipping channels in the Chesapeake Bay and the Baltimore Harbor must be dredged because the Chesapeake Bay has an average depth of 21 feet, while the shifts require a maximum draft of 50 feet. Placement sites are used to contain the sediment dredged from these channels.

 

Prior to construction, placement sites are carefully planned and designed, and potential impacts to the environment are assessed before they can receive dredged material. If the assessment identifies ways that the environment will be impacted during construction, mitigation is then required. Mitigation projects encompass the restoration of 70 acres of water, including the placement of 2,000 reef balls and restoring 20 acres of shallow water habitat; as well as the enhancement or creation of 54 acres of land, including 11 acres of wetlands and one acre of fringe marsh.

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Join your students in learning about the benefits of Masonville DMCF and related mitigation projects while identifying the many animals and plants that have benefitted from these projects.