SCORE by the numbers 10 years of oyster restoration 37 different reef sites spanning 200 miles of coastline 10,842 volunteers contributed 30,288 hours 4338 m 2 = 46,695 ft 2 = 1.1 acres of restored reef 25,000 bushels of oyster shell used to create 33,336 shell bags 1,000,080 pounds or 500 tons of shell deployed Over 100 community partners SCORE: 10 years of community based oyster restoration Allison Kreutzer 1, Nancy Hadley 1, Michael Hodges 1, Holly Dyar 1 1 – South Carolina Department of Natural Resources, Charleston, SC 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. BaggingMonitoringBuilding Kent Forrest Map of all current SCORE sites Edisto Island: Built 2003 and expanded in 2006 to include palate reefs, a new technique Previously built Outline color on dot corresponds to a picture Hunting Island: 2009 and 2010 A local group independently recycles and bags all the shell for this reef to be expanded each year! 0 Palmetto Islands County Park: Constructed in 2003 with Americorps bushels of shell bagged into 3000 bags and deployed in one week! 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. Camp Ho Non Wah: 2004 and 2009 Note the substantial marsh re-growth!! Trask landing Bluffton Each reef we have built over the past decade has provided its own set of challenges, lessons, and rewards. Daniel Island Because of the continued support of volunteers and overall success of the program, in 2010, SCORE was able to celebrate its 10 th anniversary by undertaking its largest project to date. 174 volunteers contributed 520 hours 6200 ft 2 or 0.15 acres 4310 bags deployed 1 reef 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. Memorial Waterfront Park – 2008 One of our best volunteer turnouts ever! Coosaw Cut: Built 2007 and sampled in 2008 Note the considerable growth of the oysters in just one year! D growth is ideal for habitat formation! South Carolina Aquarium – 2001 our most publicly visible site Cape Romain National Wildlife Refuge – 2002 Americorps volunteers