Oyster Reef Restoration at Chincoteague National Wildlife ... › download › summit › 2016 ›...

Kevin Holcomb

Supervisory Wildlife Biologist

Chincoteague National Wildlife Refuge

U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service

Bo Lusk

Marine Steward

Virginia Coast Reserve

The Nature Conservancy

Oyster Reef Restoration at

Chincoteague National Wildlife Refuge, VA

8th National Summit on Coastal and Estuarine Restorationand

25th Biennial Meeting of The Coastal Society

December 13, 2016

DE

MD

VA

Chincoteague NWR, Virginia

Assateague Island, VADEL-MAR-VAMid-Atlantic

Chincoteague NWR, Virginia

Project Overview

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, The Nature Conservancy, and Virginia Marine

Resources Commission, constructed three living shorelines and two-and-a-half acres

of oyster reefs, above mean low water, that will:

increase resiliency of saltmarsh habitat and adjacent infrastructure to

withstand future storms

provide ecosystem services such as nutrient removal, uptake of

sediments, water filtration, increased water quality and increased

biomass, and habitat for other marine organisms

Assateague Bay (Service Road) SiteService Road / Assateague Bay Site

Beach Road / Little Toms Cove Site

Shell Plant Delineation at Little Toms Cove Site

Example: 7 ft. Oyster Castle Array & Layout

Oyster Castle Arrays at Little Toms Cove Site

Oyster Castle Arrays at Assateague Bay Site

Outreach

Social Media Outreach

Oyster Castle Arrays at Little Toms Cove Site

Oyster Spat on Castles ~7 months

Oyster Spat on Castles ~7 months

Oyster Castle Arrays at Assateague Bay Site

Monitor recruitment, growth, and density of oysters on castles and shell plants.

The Nature Conservancy’s Oyster Habitat Restoration Monitoring and Assessment Handbook (Baguett et al. 2014)

Wave Attenuation Monitoring

Two wave gauges are deployed simultaneously to measure wave height and energy on the landward and seaward side of each reef.

Wiberg, P.L., et al. In Preparation. Wave attenuation by oyster reefs in shallow coastal bays.

Example: Pre and Post Oyster Castle Deployment

• constructed 3,550 linear feet of living shoreline, totaling 13,750 oyster castles at two sites:Little Tom’s Cove/Beach Road (1,400’)Assateague Bay/Service Road (2,150’)

• constructed 2.5 acres of oyster reef composed of dredged fossil oyster/clam shell in Tom’s Cove

• engaged volunteers and citizen scientists• successful media outreach and interpretation• created a living demonstration area for visitors to witness coastal resilience in action

Project Outcomes

Acknowledgements

SeaDuce, LLC

Thank you!

Kevin Holcomb

Chincoteague National Wildlife Refuge

(757) 336-6122 x2319

Kevin_Holcomb@fws.gov

Bo Lusk

Virginia Coast Reserve

(757) 442-3560

blusk@tnc.org