Hoyer: President's Budget Abandons Oyster Recovery

Statement

WASHINGTON, DC - Congressman Steny H. Hoyer (D-MD) released the following statement today rebuking the President for eliminating funding in his fiscal year 2006 budget for the Oyster Restoration Project which is coordinating the revival of oysters in the Chesapeake Bay.

"I am extremely disappointed with the President's cuts to programs dedicated to cleaning up one of our nation's most treasured natural resources, the Chesapeake Bay, particularly in light of the federal, state, and local partnership necessary to make any real improvements to the Bay's restoration.

"I am particularly disappointed that funding for the Oyster Recovery Project has been eliminated from the President's budget. In 1993 the Maryland Oyster Roundtable completed an action plan to restore the ecological and economic benefits of oysters in the Chesapeake Bay. The plan designated seven tributary rivers (Chester, Choptank, Magothy, Nanticoke, Patuxent, Severn and Potomac) as oyster recovery areas, where efforts would be undertaken to replenish the oyster populations of the Bay. The goal is to increase the oyster population 10-fold from the 1994 levels by the year 2010.

"Since 1999, I have led the effort in the House of Representatives to secure nearly $25 million in federal funding for the Oyster Recovery Project and, since 2000, the Oyster Recovery Partnership has planted over 400 million spat at 33 locations in the Bay.

"The entire cost of the Oyster Recovery Project through 2010 is expected to be $75 million, with $50 million being provided by the federal government and $25 million from the state of Maryland. However, the goals of this proven program which is critical to making progress in our efforts to preserve the Bay will not be met if the federal government does not carry its weight by providing its share of the funding. We should not be going down the road of eliminating programs that point to success and are addressing serious environmental challenges.

"The President has presented budgets in the past that eliminated this program or provided an insufficient amount of federal funds and Congress has restored or increased the amount of funding every year. I will continue to advocate on behalf of the Oyster Recovery Project and will work to restore funding for this important partnership in the appropriations process again this year."

Charlie Frentz, Executive Director of the Oyster Recovery Partnership added, "Congress has supported this project for a number of years, and now that we're showing progress we should be encouraging the continuation of such an effective partnership. We've just turned a corner in oyster relief and are showing quantifiable progress, so we were hoping that the federal support which is so valuable to us would continue. We can continue to make a positive, discernable difference in oyster restoration in the Bay."

The Oyster Recovery Partnership is undertaken jointly by the Oyster Recovery Partnership (a non-profit that coordinates the efforts of the government agencies), the Army Corps of Engineers, NOAA, Maryland DNR and the University of Maryland's Center for Environmental Sciences.

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