DORCHESTER COUNTY, Md. - The Maryland Department of Natural Resources has awarded more than $4.5 million in grants to support seven living shoreline projects across the Eastern Shore.
The funding is part of the state's Roots for Resilience initiative, which focuses on protecting vulnerable coastal communities and restoring natural habitats threatened by erosion and sea-level rise.
Projects in Dorchester and Somerset counties will help safeguard hundreds of acres of salt marsh habitat while protecting shorelines, infrastructure and wildlife. The grants will support one construction-ready project and six additional projects in the design phase.
Officials say the work will help advance a goal of protecting 400 acres of high-quality marsh habitat by 2029.
According to Maryland's DNR, grant recipients include local governments and conservation organizations working on projects at Wroten Island, Smith Island, Deal Island, Fishing Bay, Taylors Island and other Eastern Shore locations.
