MARYLAND, USA — Maryland Gov. Wes Moore is making strides to continue the state's critical oyster restoration work with the help of millions of dollars in funding, according to a Wednesday announcement.
The governor announced in a Board of Public Works meeting that $13.7 million in Capital Grants funding and a $9.1 million contract for the non-profit Oyster Recovery Partnership had been awarded. The funds are said to foster essential capital projects for museums, community centers, medical and athletic facilities, community revitalization, and historical buildings.
“The funds awarded today will help ensure that some of Maryland's most renowned institutions and most important economic drivers will continue to thrive and grow,” Gov. Moore said. “We are committed, through these investments, to moving Maryland forward.”
The Oyster Recovery Partnership is a non-profit organization that collects recycled shell and plants hatchery-reared oysters for reef construction in Maryland’s large-scale oyster restoration tributaries. The funding will support efforts to enhance native oyster populations. It will also help meet the goals of the Chesapeake Bay Watershed Agreement of 2014, as well as Maryland’s Oyster Restoration and Aquaculture Development Plan.
“This significant project is the largest oyster restoration project on the planet,” said Maryland Department of Natural Resources Acting Secretary Josh Kurtz. “We’ve met 99% of the Chesapeake Bay Watershed Agreement minimum threshold for oyster restoration in our tributaries and 77% of the high threshold.”
In addition, the board also approved $1 million for the Department of Natural Resources to conduct surveys to identify oyster habitats and plant hatchery-reared oysters on reefs in the Eastern Bay sanctuaries of the Chesapeake Bay.