Atkinson Island is 150 acres in size, located at the very northern tip of Galveston Bay on the edge of Harris and Chambers County. It was donated by Conoco, Inc. as a nongame wildlife area. Wildlife includes shore and wading birds, raccoons, and rattlesnakes. Visitation is restricted to boat access only. The island was used as a case study for a wetland restoration project, using dredged materials. Dredged material has been extensively used to restore and establish wetlands. Where proper sites can be located and government and private agency cooperation can be coordinated, wetlands restoration is a relatively common and technically feasible use of dredged material. Wetlands restoration or rehabilitation using dredged material is usually a more acceptable alternative to creation of a new wetland. Many of the world's natural wetlands are degraded or impacted, or have been destroyed, and the recovery of these wetlands is more important than creation of new ones. Most former wetlands still have hydric soils, even though the hydrologic characteristics of the site may have been altered. When a new wetland is created, hydric soil conditions, appropriate hydrologic conditions, and wetland vegetation must all be introduced to the site. Creation of a new wetland would also mean replacing one habitat type with another, which is not always desirable. Long-term planning, design, maintenance, and management are necessary to maintain a created wetland. Wetland restoration using dredged material can be accomplished in several ways. For example, dredged material can be applied in thin layers to bring degraded wetlands up to an intertidal elevation, as has been done extensively in south Louisiana. Dewatered dredged material can be used in wind and wave barriers to allow native vegetation to regrow and restore the viability of a wetland. Dredged material sediment can be used to stabilize eroding natural wetland shorelines or nourish subsiding wetlands. Dewatered dredged material can also be used to construct erosion barriers and other structures that aid in restoring a degraded or impacted wetland. Atkinson Island was a wetland creation demonstration project by the Port of Houston, Texas. The dredged material dike was faced with a variety of erosion control test techniques, including geotextile tubes, paratex, erosion control fabric, and others. An improved strain of smooth cordgrass (developed by Natural Resources Conservation Service, USDA) was planted.