Maritime Activity Reports, Inc. (Photo: The Maryland Port Administration) The Maryland Department of Transportation Maryland Port Administration (MDOT MPA) and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) are marking a milestone of environmental stewardship this month on the landmark restoration of Poplar Island near Talbot County. Simultaneously, the agencies are advancing plans for their next partnership using dredged materials to preserve and protect Maryland’s waterways: the Mid-Chesapeake Bay Island Ecosystem Restoration. Since 1998, Poplar Island has been Maryland’s primary site for reuse of sediment dredged from shipping channels leading to the Helen Delich Bentley Port of Baltimore. Construction for the island’s final expansion, adding four new wetland cells and one upland cell, was completed January 20. The expansion adds 575 acres and capacity for 28 million cubic yards of material.