I support this petition wholeheartedly. Approximately two years ago I began the process of restoring native oyster beds in Westerhouse Creek. Small clusters and individual oysters that survived the depredations of disease suggested that resistant strains of native oysters remained. In an effort to build to strength (using the simple notion of natural selection), I consolidated oysters in cages and in a reconstructed rock. The result at the end of the first year was impressive. From a small number of oysters, I was able to recruit spat on average of 400-500 per square meter. I achieved recruitment in cages and mesh bags and in the form of so-called "brush" oysters. Viability in terms of natural increase is not the problem.

What I also observed was the degree to which the creek bottom was incredibly unstable--and there are two major contributing causes that are immediately apparent. First, intensive agricultural practices produce soil run-off with the result of excessive silting. Second, bulkheading forces sand and silt along an increasingly dynamic bottom. The culprit in terms of oyster population degradation in Westerhouse Creek is loss of bottom through silting and shoaling. The effects of both are readily visible--and reversible. Strong legislation that preserves all "farm" lands--including those that are intertidal and marine is essential. The benefits would be economic and environmental.