This spring, ShoreRivers will be designing wetland restoration projects located on three different farms in the Chester River watershed, and will assess stream restoration opportunities throughout its region on Maryland’s Eastern Shore. This work is made possible through four grants from Chesapeake Bay Trust totaling more than $321,000, and will result in significant reductions of nutrient and sediment pollution to our waterways.

ShoreRivers has prioritized three farms—one each on the lower, middle, and upper Chester River—on which to design headwater wetland and floodplain restoration projects. These projects will employ a “treatment train” method to maximize nutrient and sediment removal as well as habitat uplift. The approach on each farm will target the interface between the agricultural production area and the “natural areas” downstream through use of existing swale areas, grassed waterways, ditches, and marginal crop ground. Restored areas will 1) slow water in storm events that cause downstream degradation of critical stream and wetland habitat, 2) treat runoff and captured groundwater through innovative and highly efficient treatment practices, and 3) restore downstream habitat to maximize the ecological uplift and function of natural areas.

In related work, ShoreRivers will be assessing and prioritizing stream restoration opportunities throughout its region. Streams and ditches adjacent to, in, or near agricultural activities are increasingly at risk for sediment erosion and nutrient delivery as storm events intensify in response to climate change. Degraded streams can receive large volumes of water in a short period of time, contributing to erosion and destabilization of the stream banks and delivering agriculturally-sourced nutrients to downstream estuarine rivers and the Chesapeake Bay.

ShoreRivers is pleased to bring significant state and federal resources into the region to support integral work for healthy rivers on behalf of our communities. Follow the progress of these projects @shorerivers on Facebook; @shoreriversorg on Instagram; or subscribe to the monthly e-newsletter at shorerivers.org/subscribe.