Maryland and Virginia Oyster Restoration Interagency Teams

The Maryland and Virginia Oyster Restoration Interagency Teams are responsible for identifying tributaries for large-scale oyster restoration and developing Oyster Restoration Tributary Plans for each waterway, in consultation with partners and scientists. Workgroup members include representatives from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) Baltimore and Norfolk districts, the Oyster Recovery Partnership, state agencies (including the Maryland Department of Natural Resources and the Virginia Marine Resources Commission), local organizations and consulting scientists. These teams are focused on planning restoration and monitoring in the tributaries that have been selected so far for tributary restoration: Harris Creek, Tred Avon, Little Choptank, and St. Marys River in Maryland; Lafayette, Lynnhaven, Piankantank, Great Wicomico, and Lower York River in Virginia.

Publications

2024 Chesapeake Bay Oyster Restoration Update

Publication date: April 4, 2025

A summary of progress made in 2024 toward the Chesapeake Bay Watershed Agreement’s "Ten Tributaries by 2025" Oyster Outcome.

View document [PDF, 2.9 MB] 2024 Chesapeake Bay Oyster Restoration Update

2022 and 2023 Maryland Oyster Reef Monitoring Report

Publication date: September 6, 2024

An analysis of Maryland's 2022 and 2023 oyster restoration success.

View document [PDF, 6.1 MB] 2022 and 2023 Maryland Oyster Reef Monitoring Report

2023 Chesapeake Bay Oyster Restoration Update

Publication date: May 13, 2024

This document includes details on large-scale oyster restoration, including acres of reef constructed and number of spat-on-shell planted, in Maryland and Virginia tributaries for calendar year 2023.

View document [PDF, 3.4 MB] 2023 Chesapeake Bay Oyster Restoration Update

2022 Chesapeake Bay Oyster Restoration Update

Publication date: Not listed

This document includes details on large-scale oyster restoration, including acres of reef constructed and number of spat-on-shell planted, in Maryland and Virginia tributaries for calendar year 2022.

View document [PDF, 2.3 MB] 2022 Chesapeake Bay Oyster Restoration Update

2021 Maryland Oyster Monitoring Report

Publication date: Not listed

This report describes the results of monitoring done from October through December 2021 on three- and six-year-old restored oyster reefs in Harris Creek, the Little Choptank River, and the Tred Avon River.

View document [PDF, 5.1 MB] 2021 Maryland Oyster Monitoring Report

View all publications‍

Our Watershed Agreement Goals & Outcomes

Sustainable Fisheries Goal

Oysters

Our Members

Stephanie Westby (Chair)
NOAA Chesapeake Bay Office stephanie.westby@noaa.gov
Andrew Larkin (Chair)
NOAA Chesapeake Bay Office Andrew.W.Larkin@noaa.gov
Christina Garvey (Staffer)
Chesapeake Research Consortium christina.garvey@noaa.gov
Andrew Button
Virginia Marine Resources Commission andrew.button@mrc.virginia.gov
Andrew Larkin
NOAA Chesapeake Bay Office Andrew.W.Larkin@noaa.gov
Andy Lacatell
The Nature Conservancy alacatell@tnc.org
Angela Sowers
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers - Baltimore District angela.sowers@usace.army.mil
Brent Hunsinger
brent.hunsinger@riverfriends.org
Brent James
brent@lrnow.org
Chris Ludford
ludfordbros@gmail.com
Chris Moore
Chesapeake Bay Foundation cmoore@cbf.org
David Bruce
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) david.bruce@noaa.gov
David O'Brien
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) David.L.O'Brien@noaa.gov
David Schulte
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) David.M.Schulte@usace.army.mil
Gabrielle Saluta
Virginia Institute of Marine Science (VIMS) gsaluta@vims.edu
Heather Lockwood
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) Heather.Lockwood@usace.army.mil
Jackie Shannon
Chesapeake Bay Foundation jshannon@cbf.org
Jay Lazar
NOAA Chesapeake Bay Office jay.lazar@noaa.gov
Jennica Moffat
Oyster Recovery Partnership jmoffat@oysterrecovery.org
Jodi Baxter
Maryland Department of Natural Resources jodi.baxter@maryland.gov
Joe Rieger
Elizabeth River Project jrieger@elizabethriver.org
Joseph Bieberich
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) joseph.c.bieberich@usace.army.mil
Julie Luecke
Chesapeake Bay Foundation jluecke@cbf.org
Kerry Kennedy
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) kerry.m.kennedy@usace.army.mil
Kimberly Koelsch
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) Kimberly.C.Koelsch@usace.army.mil
Laura Clarke
lclarke@pewtrusts.org
Laurinda Serafin
Maryland Department of Natural Resources laurinda.serafin@maryland.gov
Lisa Kellogg
Virginia Institute of Marine Science (VIMS) lkellogg@vims.edu
Mark Luckenbach
Virginia Institute of Marine Science (VIMS) luck@vims.edu
Megan Wood
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) megan.a.wood@usace.army.mil
Olivia Caretti
Oyster Recovery Partnership ocaretti@oysterrecovery.org
Rachael Peabody
Virginia Marine Resources Commission rachael.peabody@mrc.virginia.gov
Rom Lipcius
Virginia Institute of Marine Science (VIMS) rom@vims.edu
Russell Burke
Christopher Newport University russell.burke@cnu.edu
Ryan Westpfahl
Chesapeake Bay Foundation rwestpfahl@cbf.org
Sarah Greenberg
Oyster Recovery Partnership sgreenberg@oysterrecovery.org
Tarig Omer
City of Virginia Beach (VA) tomer@vbgov.com
Thomas Olexa
U.S. Department of the Navy thomas.olexa@navy.mil
Todd Janeski
Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation Todd.Janeski@dcr.virginia.gov
Zachary Greenberg
Pew Charitable Trusts zgreenberg@pewtrusts.org
Ward Slacum, Jr.
wslacum@oysterrecovery.org