Page 14 - Port of Baltimore - Issue 2 2024

[12] The Port of Baltimore ■ ISSUE 2 / 2024
EcoPort Environmental Management at the Port of Baltimore
Coyote Sightings Increase
at Masonville Cove
For U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service (USFWS) Urban Wildlife Biologist Ela-Sita Carpenter, Ph.D., coyote sightings at Masonville Cove are especially meaningful. After all, it was only her second day on the job in 2021 when the Baltimore native documented a pair of coyotes — a rare sighting at the nation’s first Urban Wildlife Refuge Partnership. Since then, coyote sightings at Masonville Cove — even during the daytime — have increased due to the pair successfully raising young.
According to the Maryland Department of Natural Resources, coyotes were first documented in Maryland in 1972. Maryland and Delaware are the last two states in the contiguous United States to be colonized by coyotes.
“If you see a coyote, don’t be afraid. Most will want to avoid people. Making noise — shouting, clapping, whistling — and waving your arms will encourage it to move along,” said Dr. Carpenter. “It’s also important to keep human food away
At Masonville Cove, the presence of coyotes and their young, along with bald eagles, numerous migratory bird species and even a turkey, suggests restoration efforts have made Masonville Cove a successful home for wildlife.
from coyotes. A tossed apple core may teach coyotes that people are an easy food source, which could lead to negative interactions between us.” 
TRAIL CAM PHOTO BY
ELA-SITA CARPENTER, PH.D./USFWS
MID-BAY ISLAND PROGRESS:
Informing, Engaging Stakeholders
PHOTO BY ENGINEERING SUBCONTRACTOR / GAHAGAN AND BRYANT ASSOCIATES
Construction at Barren Island began
in 2023. Project partners are making a particular effort to keep watermen informed to ensure they know important construction and safety updates.
Stakeholder engagement continues for the Mid-Bay Island Project, a beneficial use project to use dredged material to restore two eroding Chesapeake Bay islands located in Dorchester County.
Like Poplar Island, Mid-Bay is a win-win. This 2,100-acre environmental restoration project on James and Barren Islands will also provide capacity for over 40 years of projected dredged- material management needs, which adds up to approximately 90 to 95 million cubic yards of dredged material. Placement of the dredged material from the Chesapeake Bay channels
will commence around the year 2030, taking over for Poplar Island.
In an effort to inform and
educate the public, the Maryland
Port Administration (MPA) and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers have hosted community meetings, listening sessions, project public hearings, poster sessions and tours of Dredged Material Management Program sites. The local community was actively engaged, and targeted meetings with local watermen provided a forum
for productive discussion about minimizing the impact on their ability to make a living. 
SIGN UP AT maryland-dmmp.com/placement-sites/mid-bay-island if you’d like to receive updates on the Mid-Bay Island Project, including upcoming events and newsletters.