Dredging Operations Technical Support Program. Long-Term Monitoring of Habitat Development at Upland and Wetland Dredged Material Disposal Sites 1974-1982

During the Dredged Material Research Program, six wetland and three upland habitat development projects were established at seven sites to demonstrate the feasibility of creating productive habitat on dredged material deposits. Wetland sites were Windmall Point in the James River, Virginia; Buttermilk Sound near the Altamaha River, Georgia; Drake Wilson Island in Apalachicola Bay, Florida; Bolivar Peninsula in Galveston Bay, Texas; Salt Pond Number 3 in South San Francisco Bay, California; and Miller Sands Island in the Columbia River, Oregon. Sites were also located in upland areas at Nott Island in the Connecticut River, Connecticut; Bolivar Peninsula; and Miller Sands. These sites have continued to be monitored since their construction (1975-77) until the present time. In addition, three natural marsh upland reference sites have been selected for comparison to the man-made sites. Data and research results are presented in this report. Results over an 8-year period indicate that all of the sites have developed and stabilized, and that they have all been highly successful. Despite a complete lack of management since construction, the sites maintain plant communities generally comparable to or more productive than those on the reference areas. Wildlife use exceeds that occurring on reference areas, and the sites are compatible with and contributing to the ecosystems of which they are a part. (Author)