People often complain about plans for the dumping of material dredged from shipping channels. But not on Poplar Island.

Nobody's there. In fact, without an intensive 20-year plan to collect sand and silt from the bottom of the Chesapeake Bay and dump it off Talbot County, the tiny cluster of four small islands would not exist at all, ravaged into near extinction by erosion, rising water levels and wind.

``This was one of those win-win situations,'' said Judi Scioli, spokeswoman for the Maryland Port Authority. ``You have people who really want to see the restoration of these islands.''

Once a vacation retreat for presidents Roosevelt and Truman, the little cluster of islands known as Poplar Island has all but disappeared in recent decades. But, for the last year, the state and the Army Corps of Engineers has been working on plans to rebuild the island marshes by erecting containment dikes and filling in the interior of the islands with dredge material.

That plan answers a real need for the Port Authority, which is desperately looking for places to dump the sand and silt cleaned out of Maryland's shipping channels leading to Baltimore.

In many cases, dumping dredge material raises the ire of environmental groups and local officials - such as with the proposal that clean sand be placed at Site 104, a spot in the Chesapeake Bay near the Bay Bridge.

On Poplar Island, however, the response has been far more positive, since it will recreate island homes for marsh birds, crabs and other wildlife.

With dikes erected around the islands, they should be able to stand erosion in the future.

``It will have marsh areas, away from people and animals that could harm birds, and other wildlife that will thrive there,'' John Surrick, a spokesman for the state Department of Natural Resources, told The (Easton) Star-Democrat in a recently published article.

But it is not an inexpensive project. Over about 20 years, the Army and the state will pay to have separate portions of the islands created. The total cost is expected to be about $430 million to restore the islands to their 1847 shape and size - about 1,100 acres.

Of the total cost, the state will pay about $112 million, with the Army Corps of Engineers picking up the rest.

The first phase of dike construction is already underway, and will be followed by creating about 640 acres of land with 20 million cubic yards of dredged material.

Just last week, U.S. Sen. Paul Sarbanes said that President Clinton has included in his federal budget proposal $9.5 million to initiate phase two of the project, which involves building the remaining 470 acres of the islands.

That will not only help to rebuild the island, but will also play a role in keeping the shipping lanes clear. That is a matter of vital importance to the Port of Baltimore.

Shipping companies Maersk Inc. and Sea-Land Service Inc. have named Baltimore as one of three finalists for the site of a new container shipping terminal.

Sarbanes said Tuesday he is ``committed to ensuring that the Port of Baltimore has the means and continued federal support to help it grow and meet the needs of its customers.''

At such a price, however, the state and federal governments would be hard-pressed to initiate such a use for dredge materials every time a shipping channel is cleared.

``Everyone believes this is well worth it because of the benefits it will have,'' said Ms. Scioli.