Secretary of Natural Resources John Paul Woodley, Jr., has announced the formation of the Oyster Heritage Program to help restore oyster populations in Virginia waters under a unique public-private partnership.

"Governor Gilmore and I are dedicated to the restoration of the oyster population because of their significant contributions to water quality, to the economic health of our seafood fisheries, and to the quality of life in Virginia," Secretary Woodley said. "The broad range of participants in the program is evidence of the powerful consensus of support behind the Oyster Heritage Program."

The Oyster Heritage Program was formed by the Department of Environmental Quality and the Virginia Marine Resources Commission to establish a partnership of Virginia state agencies, federal agencies, nonprofit organizations and business groups. Participants in the program have agreed to combine resources for a large-scale oyster restoration effort in the Commonwealth.

"The Virginia Oyster Heritage Program is an exciting prospect for developing public-private partnerships in helping restore Virginia oysters," DEQ Director Dennis H. Treacy said. "As this cooperative project comes together, DEQ's Coastal Program will be able to focus the resources of many local, state and federal agencies on this one important challenge."

"We are delighted to be able to join with the Department of Environmental Quality in this new program," said William A. Pruitt, Commissioner of Marine Resources. "This new money will allow us to carry our ongoing oyster reef program to a higher level. These three-dimensional reefs were initially developed in 1994 by Dr. James Wesson of our staff."

The Oyster Heritage Program has three goals: to provide a sustainable fishery for Virginia watermen; to improve water quality as oysters filter nutrients and sediment from the water; and to create habitat for the many species of finfish and shellfish that obtain food and shelter from oyster reefs.

Phase one of the program includes construction of eight 1-acre oyster reefs on the Rappahannock River. Each of these 8- to 10-foot-high broodstock sanctuary reefs will be surrounded by about 25 acres of 10-inch-deep oyster shell, at a total cost of about $384,000 per site. Total cost for the first phase of work in the Rappahannock is estimated at more than $3 million. As funds become available, the program will focus on restoring oysters in other Virginia waters.

Other elements of the program include monitoring of the reefs to evaluate their success, and communication efforts to help inform the public about oyster restoration.

The Oyster Heritage Program includes state, federal and private organizations that are working together on oyster restoration. To help raise funds for this program, the Virginia Oyster Reef Heritage Foundation has been established. The foundation will raise the private funds needed to match challenge grants and public agency grants that are made for the program.

Public and private funds generated for the program so far total about $2.6 million from the following agencies and organizations: the Virginia Coastal Program, the Virginia Marine Resources Commission, the Virginia Environmental Endowment, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the Chesapeake Bay Foundation and the Virginia Manufacturers Association.