A new and improved underwater habitat is taking shape as construction of the three-dimensional oyster reef in the St. Mary’s River is well underway. A partnership was forged between local Rotary clubs, St. Mary’s College of Maryland (SMCM) and the St. Mary’s River Watershed Association (SMRWA) with the goal of making this concept a reality and last week the contractor, Colliflower & Peterson, began building the first phase. Six mounds four feet high and twenty feet in diameter will adorn the five-acre plot in front of the college. Professors Chris Tanner and Bob Paul, of SMCM, applied more than a decade’s worth of research when creating the comprehensive plan for the reef’s construction and will develop a model of best practices and sustainability, with the help of their students, through subsequent monitoring and evaluation of the project. Acknowledging how oysters once thrived when they grew on natural reefs that rose up from the bottom and allowed the beneficial bivalves access to more nutrient-rich environments throughout the water column, the partners moved forward with this action to restore the suffering oyster population, thereby improving water quality in the river and positively impacting the larger ecosystem. “This is a wonderful way to [...]
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