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National Aquarium to start building Harbor Wetland

Rendering of Harbor Wetland
Staff working on wetlands on the Harbor
Rendering of Harbor Wetland
Posted at 3:27 PM, Oct 16, 2023
and last updated 2023-10-18 18:33:37-04

BALTIMORE — Ready for a new "floating public park" on the Harbor, that showcases "Baltimore's pre-industrial history as a tidal salt marsh?"

Next month, the National Aquarium will start building Harbor Wetland, a group of manmade wetland "islands" designed to attract native species like blue crabs, American eels, Eastern oysters and night herons.

Rendering of Harbor Wetland
Rendering of Harbor Wetland

The Aquarium announced the project today. It will be unveiled next summer, between Piers 3 and 4, and will be open during the Aquarium's operational hours at no charge.

Rendering of Harbor Wetland, southeast view
Rendering of Harbor Wetland, southeast view

Harbor Wetland is being sponsored by CFG Bank. The Aquarium says it's an innovative exhibit that recreates "the natural salt marsh habitat that once thrived in Baltimore City."

The Aquarium first installed a 200-square-foot floating wetland in 2010, which it says was the first time the technology was introduced in a brackish tidal system in the U.S.

National Aquarium President & CEO John Racanelli said in a statement:

Within the important redevelopment underway all around the Inner Harbor, our Harbor Wetland space helps set the stage for both the economic and ecological success of downtown Baltimore in the years ahead.
Staff working on wetlands on the Harbor
Staff working on wetlands on the Harbor

More information on the exhibit is available here.