The Bay Restorer www.oysterrecovery.org

Restoring Our Oyster. Cleaning Our Bay. Preserving Our Future.   January/February 2013 

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Don't forget to take advantage of tax benefits by donating to ORP now!
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New and Improved ORP Website!

 

ORP is proud to announce that after months of hard work we have launched our new and improved website.  

 

Check it out at www.oysterrecovery.org!

   
Upcoming Events
Mark Your Calendar
 
March 6: One For the Bay!
  
ORP is excited for a new partnership with The Nature Conservancy which will be launched in March.  Together we will be having monthly Bay-restoration themed happy hours at McCormick and Schmick's in Washington, DC.  Give "One For the Bay" by attending our monthly events and supporting ORP and TNC recovery efforts in the Chesapeake Bay.  Together we will help Build A Reef in Harris Creek.

First Happy Hour will be:
  
Wednesday, March 6th from 5:00 PM onwards at McCormick and Schmicks on K Street in Washington, DC

These "One For the Bay" happy hour events will take place at the K Street McCormick and Schmick's from 5-7PM on the first Wednesday of every month in 2013!
  
Oyster News
  
 
     
Oyster Trivia

Oyster Trivia

 

Recycled oyster shell is important for Bay restoration because it:

 

a. Provides homes for baby oysters

b. Creates habitat for marine life

c. Is the most natural, cost effective and effective material for repopulation   

d. All of the above!   


Read the next issue of The Bay Restorer to learn the answer!
Shell Recycling PSA 

  
  

 

Sunset Dock of the Bay      

While ORP might not be planting throughout winter, we have been busy working on a number of other projects to promote and enhance our restoration efforts.

  1. First Ever Shell Recycling Legislation in Maryland.  ORP is supporting the Maryland House and Senate to pass a bill that would incentivize the recycling of oyster shells by offering a $1 tax credit per bushel recycled. More info below!
  2. New ORP Website. After months of planning and hard work, ORP launched our new website. Visit www.oysterrecovery.org to check it out.  Don't forget to visit our new online store.
  3. One For the Bay! Give "One for the Bay" and help ORP and The Nature Conservancy Build a Reef in Harris Creek. See "Upcoming Events" for details.
  4. Vote for ORP!  Help recognize the "Oyster Recovery Partnership" as What's Up Annapolis' Best Local Nonprofit Group and "Mermaid's Kiss Oyster Fest" as Best NonProfit Event.  There are a lot of potential categories to vote for, but these nonprofit  are on the Service Page 5. CLICK HERE TO CAST YOUR VOTE!

Thanks again to everyone who supported ORP during our 2012 End of the Year Campaign throughout the holidays and into the New Year. ORP had our most successful giving season to date. These donations are instrumental to ORP's future restoration and plantings and we appreciate all of your generous support! 

 

-- Stephan Abel, Executive Director, ORP

 

Click Here to LIKE OUR FACEBOOK PAGE

 

Shell Recycling Legislation in Maryland

 

Shell Pile Celebration Shucked oyster shell is vital to the State's efforts to enhance the native oyster population. Oyster shell is the most natural, cost effective and efficient material to repopulate the Bay's native oyster population and used by the UMD Horn Point Laboratory Oyster Hatchery to create spat on shell (shell with baby oysters attached) that is used to rebuild derelict oyster reefs.

  
Current and future demands for oyster shell exceed available and projected supply from historical sources.  However, recycled shell offers the State a cost effective way to gather additional shell that is currently being thrown into landfills. 

 

To meet restoration needs and reduce the amount of waste in our landfills, House Bill 184 and Senate Bill 484 have been introduced to the Maryland State Legislature.  These bills allow an individual or corporation to receive a tax credit which incentivizes shell recycling.  Read the House Bill HERE and Senate Bill HERE.   

 

ORP is a strong supporter of this legislation and if passed into law will allow the continuation of oyster restoration efforts and aquaculture in the Chesapeake Bay.

 

If you would like to write your representatives a letter of support for the passing of these Bills, please reach out to your respective legislators.  A list of the MD Legislature can be found HERE.  Use the "Who Represents Me?" link in the top right corner of that page to list your representatives and send them support messages simultaneously.  CLICK HERE for support letter templates.  

Snakeheads At The Harbour!

Thanks to Profish Ltd. for hosting it's second annual Snakehead dinner on Monday, January 28. This event was held at Tony and Joe's Seafood Place at Washington Harbour on the beautiful Georgetown waterfront.  Profish generously donated a portion of the ticket proceeds to the Oyster Recovery Partnership. 
  
The Northern Snakehead Fish is a highly invasive species with the potential to quickly affect native ecosystems. With no natural predators in our local environment, these fish are able to move to the top of their marine habitats and decimate other aquatic animals. The snakeheads used for this event were caught at the 2nd Annual Potomac Snakehead Tournament presented by Whackfactor Outdoors.

 

The celebrity guest for the event was John Riggins, Redskins Super Bowl MVP - and host of TV's new show "Riggo on the Range."

 

One of the biggest surprises of the night was Flying Dog Brewery's presentation of the proceeds from their Oyster Stout.  Flying Dog, Maryland's largest brewery, is committed to supporting local causes, including Chesapeake Bay oyster restoration.  The Pearl Necklace Oyster Stout became a year-round release for Flying Dog this past April.  Proceeds will be able to replant approximately 750,000 oysters back into the Bay.  Thanks to Flying Dog for their creative and supportive partnership!

    

ORP with John Riggins
ORP and Maryland's DNR Seafood Marketing team with Redskin's legend John Riggins.

Partner Spotlight 

 

Maryland Grain Producers Utility BoardThis month, ORP would like to highlight the Maryland Grain Producers Utilization Board (MGPUB) for their support of oyster restoration in the Bay.

 

ORP received a generous multi-year grant from the Maryland Grain Producers Utilization Board to be used in continuing and expanding our Shell Recycling Alliance as well as for planting spat on shell into the Harris Creek Oyster Sanctuary.  In 2012, this grant directly assisted ORP in achieving our goals and was responsible for the planting of millions of spat on shell on Lodges Oyster Reef in Harris Creek.

 

The Maryland Grain Producers Utilization Board (MGPUB) funds projects that increase the viability and profitability of Maryland grain production and improve the understanding of agriculture.  Grant funding is made possible through the Maryland grain checkoff program, whereby grain farmers contribute funds to support market development, education, and research. For example, checkoff funded projects have enhanced Maryland growing practices, expanded markets, and improved water quality. Through this program, farmers help their own industry and those consumers that benefit from farm products. 

 

ORP is excited about our joint partnership with MGPUB and will continue to plant oysters and recycle shells with their support.

ORP Welcomes New SRA Members
  
The Oyster Recovery Partnership's widely-recognized program, the Shell Recycling Alliance consists of over 150 restaurants, caterers and seafood distributors from the mid-Atlantic region, as well as citizen volunteers who collect used oyster shells from area businesses to aid in restoring the Chesapeake Bay. Oyster reefs are one of the most endangered marine habitats on the planet, but eating oysters can also help save the Bay. For every shell recycled, ORP can plant 10 new oysters back into the Bay. 
Bryan Recycling Shell
ORP's Shell Recycling Alliance provides 15% of Maryland's shell needs at current oyster production levels!

In the past year, ORP has collected nearly 15,000 bushels of used shell from our SRA partners bringing our total to nearly 30,000 bushels or 120 tons!
 
Our newest SRA members: 
  

Annapolis:

The Point Crab House and Grill

Sam's on the Waterfront

   

Baltimore, MD:

Hightopps Backstage Grille

Ten Ten

 

Deale/Galesville:  

Petie Greens

Thursdays Steak and Crabhouse

 

For a complete list of participating restaurants click here. Please patronize these wonderful partners!  

About the Oyster Recovery Partnership

Oyster Recovery Partnership logo
Nearly 20 years ago, the Oyster Recovery Partnership was commissioned as a cooperative coalition of multiple partners that contribute toward a large-scale restoration program that plants disease-free oysters back into the Chesapeake Bay. As a result of this successful Partnership, nearly 4 billion oysters have been planted on 1,500 acres of oyster reefs and 120 tons of shell have been recycled to provide homes for new oysters. As Maryland's leading non-profit restoring oysters in the Chesapeake Bay, the Oyster Recovery Partnership also operates the region's Shell Recycling Alliance, supports the State's Marylanders Grow Oysters program and provides shellfish aquaculture and fishery support services. Learn more.

 

Restoring Our Oyster. Cleaning Our Bay. Preserving Our Future. This is the mission of the Oyster Recovery Partnership (ORP) -- a 501(c)(3) non-profit based in Annapolis, MD. ORP actively promotes, supports and restores oysters for ecologic and economic purposes. We engage in numerous Chesapeake Bay-related projects by conducting science-based "in-the-water" and "on-the-land" recovery efforts, while conducting public outreach and education in our quest to protect our environment, our heritage, and our knowledge of the Chesapeake Bay, its marshes and rivers and the life that it sustains.

 

A copy of our current financial statement is available upon request by contacting the Oyster Recovery Partnership, Inc. at 1805A Virginia Street, Annapolis, MD 21401 or 410.990.4970. Documents and information submitted to the State of Maryland under the Maryland Charitable Solicitations Act are available from the Office of the Secretary of State for the cost of copying and postage. Oyster Recovery Partnership, Inc. is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization -- donations to which are tax deductible to the fullest extent allowed by law.
 
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