Returning Satilla River to its natural course

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Savannah District, celebrated the successful completion of closing man-made cuts in the salt marsh of the Satilla River with a ribbon cutting in Brunswick last week.

The main focus of the first phase of the project was the closure of two man-made cuts in the salt marsh in Camden County, Georgia, located approximately 10 miles south of Brunswick.

The cuts were called Dynamite Cut and Old River Run.

The work completed was part of the Noyes Cut Ecosystem Restoration Project which has the primary purpose of increasing tidal exchange throughout the system, restoring salinity gradients to Dover Creek, and reducing shoaling on Umbrella Creek.

“I’m happy to be here to celebrate the return of the Satilla River to its natural course, the way our ancestral caretakers once saw it,” said Jaime Pinkham, principal deputy assistant secretary of the Army for civil works.

“I’m also happy to celebrate the first Bi-partisan Infrastructure Law project to be completed. You are trendsetters for working so hard to restore the estuaries. I hope others will continue this trend.”

The Bi-partisan Infrastructure Law allowed the Corps to award a $3.1 million contract to the Barnett Southern Corporation based in Washington, Georgia, to construct the project.

The contractor did the on-site work with contract management and oversight provided by the Corps.