CBEC demonstrates the power of beneficial use

Located in Grasonville near Kent Island, the Chesapeake Bay Environmental Center — known as CBEC – has been the site of living shoreline and marsh enhancement projects for more than 23 years.

From work that turned concrete rubble from Baltimore’s Memorial Stadium into oyster habitat, to innovative techniques of thin-layer placement of dredged material, CBEC has long been on the cutting edge of restoration and continues to inspire marsh and shoreline work in other parts of the Bay.

This year, CBEC is planning to use sandy dredge material to create pocket beaches and put another 25,000 plants in the ground to build coastal resilience and wildlife habitat.

Funding from DNR’s Resiliency through Restoration program and the Waterway Improvement Fund are also supporting a thin-layer dredging placement project to combat marsh loss and restore habitat at CBEC.

“The restoration work at CBEC demonstrates the power of beneficial use—transforming dredged material from a byproduct into a resource for enhancing wetlands, protecting shorelines, and improving water quality,” said Maggie Cavey, DNR’s beneficial use planner.

Learn more about the power of beneficial use at the Maryland Department of Natural Resources website.