NH conservation group builds oyster reefs
STRATHAM, N.H.—More than 50 tons of recycled shells are being deposited into a New Hampshire river this week to boost the local oyster population.
The state chapter of The Nature Conservancy is working to rebuild oyster reefs by bulking up the natural habitat near a railroad trestle over the Squamscott River.
Foster's Daily Democrat reports (http://bit.ly/PqJvH8) the group uses a barge loaded with a crane to scoop up 1-ton bags of recycled clam and oyster shells and dump them into a strip on the river bed. It hopes to lay down two acres on the bottom of the waterway.
The thin layer of shell acts as the foundation for oyster spawn to set on naturally.
About 500,000 new oysters are expected to reside on the new reefs in the fall.
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Information from: Foster's Daily Democrat, http://www.fosters.com
