DNR home page Wye Island Natural Resource Management Area Wye Island NRMA is located in the tidal recesses of the Chesapeake Bay between the Wye River and the Wye East River. A major emphasis at Wye Island is to provide suitable habitat for wintering waterfowl populations and other native wildlife. With over 30 miles of shoreline another resource management project is stabilization of the ever eroding shoreline.
Service learning opportunities abound at Wye Island.
For over 300 years, Wye Island was privately owned and managed for agricultural use, including tobacco and wheat farming. Two of the most noteworthy owners were William Paca and Charles Beale Bordley. Mr. Paca, third governor of Maryland and one of the signatories of the Declaration of Independence, owned half of the island north of Dividing Creek. Mr. Bordley was a distinguished lawyer and jurist who owned half of the island south of Dividing Creek. In the 1770's Mr. Bordley gave up his law career to devote his life to farming and make Wye Island totally self-sufficient.