Preparations for Dyke Marsh Project Underway

The USACE, Baltimore District, and the National Park Service (NPS), George Washington Memorial Parkway, are working on a project to restore up to 100 acres of freshwater tidal marsh within the 485-acre Dyke Marsh Wildlife Preserve in Fairfax County, Virginia.

Dyke Marsh is one of the best studied wetlands in the U.S. and is the largest remaining freshwater, tidal wetlands in the Washington metropolitan area.

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.

The restoration efforts are anticipated to begin summer 2017.

The team is currently designing the project and conducting investigations. Construction is anticipated to be completed in 2019.

NPS will continue to monitor of the site to ensure no invasive species become established and that restoration efforts are on track, as it takes time for habitat to develop and self sustain.

‘Friends of Dyke Marsh’ has just released this photo of the United States Army Corp of Engineers’ boat, during the work on the bathymetric studies in Pipeline Bay, which represents the first phase of marsh restoration at Dyke Marsh.

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