A resource for people and their environment
The Department of Interior Supports Native Oyster Restoration
Crassostrea ariakensis.
Photo by Julie Slacum, USFWS
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The decrease in the native Eastern oyster (Crassostrea virginica) in the Chesapeake Bay can be attributed to three major factors: over-harvesting, disease, and habitat loss. Due to the decrease in native oysters, the states of Maryland and Virginia proposed the introduction of a non-native species of oyster (Crassostrea ariakensis) into the Chesapeake Bay.
In response to this proposal, the U.S. Congress directed the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to prepare a Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement (PEIS). A series of alternatives to this introduction were proposed ranging from taking no action at all, to introducing the non-native oysters and discontinuing native oyster restoration.
The Department of the Interior has reviewed the Draft Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement (DPEIS) for Oyster Restoration in the Chesapeake Bay, Including the Use of a Native and/or Non-native Oysters and provided the following summary comments:
The Department remains concerned that if the preferred alternative in the final EIS includes the use non-native Suminoe oyster it is unlikely that the goal to restore the ecological and economic function of the Native oyster could be achieved. In addition, use of non-native Suminoe oyster alternatives will permanently interfere with restoration efforts using the native Eastern Oyster.
The Department believes that the best strategies for restoring the function of native Eastern oysters are to use a combination of native Eastern oyster alternatives identified in the PEIS. This combination includes expanding oyster restoration using native Eastern oysters, expanding native Eastern oyster cultivation in aquaculture in both Virginia and Maryland, and expansion of native Eastern oyster sanctuaries, coupled with greater enforcement of sustainable harvest limits.
A PDF copy of the letter is available here.
Restoring the Resources
 Credit: USFWS |
Along the Mispillion River in Kent County, Delaware, an eroded, degraded marsh has been transformed into vital habitat for local wildlife. The 56-acre private site consists of one of the river’s original meanders and associated wetland with more than 2,000 feet of river frontage. On October 2, representatives from the public-private partnership that made the project possible gathered to celebrate its success with a tour of the site.
This restoration, which was completed in June, is a Natural Resource Damage Assessment and Restoration (NRDAR) project for the DuPont Newport Superfund Site located in Wilmington, Delaware. The Trustees, Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control (DNREC), National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (US FWS), were authorized to recover damages to trust resources associated with a release of a hazardous waste at the NewPort site. Read more . . .
Poplar Island is back!
 Credit: Gary Stolz Snowy egret |
Records from the 1600’s described Poplar Island as being over 2,000 acres. By 1990, erosion reduced the island to remnants totaling less than 10 acres. The Poplar Island Restoration Project, started in 1998, is restoring the island and 1,100 acres of wetland and upland habitat using dredged material from Baltimore’s shipping-channel. Currently, the island is quite flat with marshes but few shrubs or trees. Read more . . .
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