NH oysters benefit from Moose Plate funds

The state sells special $30 conservation license plates -- also known as moose plates because they depict a moose -- with proceeds going to programs that protect and restore natural, historical and cultural resources.

One of the recent recipients was the Nature Conservancy's New Hampshire chapter, which is using its $24,000 grant to restore native oysters in the Great Bay estuary by rebuilding a reef in Newmarket.

Officials say Great Bay oysters act as an important filter in the estuary, but the area has lost 90 percent of its natural oyster beds since 1990 due to disease, over-harvesting and excessive silt.