Maryland loses $1M in oyster restoration funding after Tred Avon River project is delayed

At least $1 million in federal money earmarked to build new oyster reefs on the Eastern Shore will instead go to Virginia after Maryland officials asked that the project be delayed.

An oyster restoration project in the Tred Avon River, a tributary of the Choptank River in Talbot County, began in 2015 and had been scheduled to resume early this year. The project is part of a wider effort to help oyster populations rebound throughout the Chesapeake Bay in Maryland and Virginia.

However, the Maryland Department of Natural Resources in December called for a delay, and despite calls from environmentalists and both of the state's U.S. senators to ignore the request, the Army Corps of Engineers said Tuesday it did not expect to restart the efforts until at least October.

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