In October, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers announced that small-scale geotechnical drilling was scheduled to begin in Dyke Marsh Wildlife Preserve in preparation for a proposed interagency project to restore up to 100 acres of freshwater tidal marsh.
A 2009 study of Dyke Marsh by the NPS and the U.S. Geological Society found that the ecosystem would be entirely lost by 2035 without restoration efforts.
Dyke Marsh, managed by the George Washington Memorial Parkway, is home to more than 300 species of plants and 270 species of birds, including the only known breeding population of marsh wrens in the region.
The marsh has been altered through 40 years of mining and other human factors, leaving the area exposed to storm waves, susceptible to erosion, and unable to sustain itself.
In 2013, Congress recognized Dyke Marsh as an invaluable resource to the greater Washington region and allocated $24.9 million to restore the site.
The restoration efforts are anticipated to begin summer 2017 and expected to take four years. The wetlands at Dyke Marsh will be restored using clean sandy material and planted with native wetland vegetation. The peninsula to the south of the marsh that had been previously removed will also be restored.
source: U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
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