SCORE by the numbers

1. SCORE: 10 years of community based oyster restoration Allison Kreutzer1, Nancy Hadley1, Michael Hodges1, Holly Dyar1 1 – South Carolina Department of Natural Resources, Charleston, SC 29412 Trask landing Bluffton - 2002 Daniel Island Because of the continued support of volunteers and overall success of the program, in 2010, SCORE was able to celebrate its 10th anniversary by undertaking its largest project to date. The SCORE Program The South Carolina Department of Natural Resources established the South Carolina Oyster Restoration and Enhancement program (SCORE) ten years ago, in late 2000, with the goal of enlisting volunteers to recycle oyster shell and construct oyster reefs. By using volunteers to build the reefs, the SCORE program educates the public on the ecological benefits provided by oysters while also restoring valuable habitat. These volunteers, ranging in age from 8 to 80, have participated in shell recycling, shell bagging, reef building, reef assessments, and water quality monitoring. Due in part to the stability afforded by the mesh bag and in part to careful site selection, SCORE reefs have a remarkable success rate, with at least 80% of SCORE reefs comparing favorably to natural oyster reefs after only 2-4 years. SCORE reefs have also been demonstrated to stabilize shorelines and foster marsh grass expansion. SCORE by the numbers 10 years of oyster restoration Memorial Waterfront Park – 2008 One of our best volunteer turnouts ever! 10,842 volunteers contributed 30,288 hours 174 volunteers contributed 520 hours 25,000 bushels of oyster shell used to create 33,336 shell bags 2010 - 3D growth is ideal for habitat formation! 6200 ft2 or 0.15 acres 1,000,080 pounds or 500 tons of shell deployed Coosaw Cut: Built 2007 and sampled in 2008 Note the considerable growth of the oysters in just one year! 4310 bags deployed 37 different reef sites spanning 200 miles of coastline 4338 m2 = 46,695 ft2 = 1.1 acres of restored reef Over 100 community partners Map of all current SCORE sites Hunting Island: 2009 and 2010 A local group independently recycles and bags all the shell for this reef to be expanded each year! 0 Bagging Building Monitoring Edisto Island: Built 2003 and expanded in 2006 to include palate reefs, a new technique From the beginning engaging and educating volunteers has been the most important goal of SCORE. Though it is exciting that our continual success has allowed us to expand our restoration footprint, the real benefit of our growth as a program is the increasing number of people who are more aware of the benefits provided by oysters and, therefore, are more likely to take action to protect this natural resource and their coastal environment. Cape Romain National Wildlife Refuge – 2002 Camp Ho Non Wah: 2004 and 2009 Note the substantial marsh re-growth!! Americorps volunteers Lessons learned The public is eager to help – they just need to be enabled. The public will work hard and get filthy for a worthy cause. Oysters in South Carolina are substrate limited. If you put out shell, the oysters will come. No reef has failed for lack of spatfall. Sedimentation is the biggest obstacle to successful reef development. Marsh grass will grow back behind oyster reefs – it takes 2-3 years for the process to begin but then it proceeds more rapidly. SCORE reefs support vibrant communities of diverse fauna, even after only one year. Volunteers can successfully sample reefs to evaluate finfish utilization. Reefs which look poor at 2-3 years may look OK by 5 years. This seems to be particularly true at muddy sites. Each reef we have built over the past decade has provided its own set of challenges, lessons, and rewards. 1 reef Previously built Outline color on dot corresponds to a picture Palmetto Islands County Park: Constructed in 2003 with Americorps. 2250 bushels of shell bagged into 3000 bags and deployed in one week! South Carolina Aquarium – 2001 our most publicly visible site Are Habitat-Forming! Oysters Kent Forrest