Opportunities through the CW CESU
New RSOI: Assessment of oyster reefs in the Great Wicomico River, VA
PROJECT ANNOUNCEMENT
US Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) Engineer Research and Development Center (ERDC)
Title: Assessment of oyster reefs in the Great Wicomico River, VA
Announcement Type: Initial Announcement
Funding Opportunity Number: W81EWF-25-SOI-0010
Assistance Listing Number: 12.630
Date Issued: 26 June 2025
Key Dates: Phase I announcement will be open to receive statements of interest continuously until 12:00 noon Central Time (CT), 26 July 2025, at which point all statements of interest must be received.
If invited to Phase II, full proposal applications will be due at 12:00 noon Central Time (CT), 11 August 2025.
Estimated Award Ceiling: $100,000
Estimated Total Program Funding: $300,000: Period 1 = $100,000 (2 year POP); Period 2 =
$100,000 (2 year POP); Period 3 = $100,000 (1 year POP).
Agency Contact: Kisha.M.Craig@usace.army.mil
I. Program Description
A. Short Description of Funding Opportunity
ERDC seeks applications for: assessment of oyster reefs in the Great Wicomico River, VA.
B. Background
The Great Wicomico River, Virginia is a tributary of the Chesapeake Bay located on Virginia’s Northern Neck. In 2004, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Norfolk District (USACE) and the Virginia Marine Resources Commission (VMRC) constructed 85 acres of sanctuary oyster reefs, 53 acres of low-relief (2-4”) and 32 acres of high-relief reef (≥ 12”), with dredged “fossil” oyster shell on public oyster ground in the Great Wicomico River. Since monitoring began in 2006, the high-relief reefs have consistently and significantly out-performed the low-relief reefs in terms of the Chesapeake Bay Program’s Sustainable Fisheries Goal Implementation Team (GIT) Oyster Metrics with significant degradation of the low-relief reefs observed over time. Approximately 17- acres of low-relief reefs were rehabilitated in 2015.
The current Great Wicomico Rehabilitation Project includes the further rehabilitation (1.71 acres), adaptive management (14.15 acres), and new construction (2.38 acres) of oyster reefs in the Great Wicomico River. This work is expected to be completed by Fall 2025.
C. Program Description/Objective: (brief description of the anticipated work) Our objectives are to monitor and document the status of the new 2025 adaptive management, rehabilitation, and new construction reefs using criteria established by the Chesapeake Bay Program’s Sustainable Fisheries GIT Chesapeake Bay Oyster Metrics Report. According to the GIT metrics, an oyster sanctuary reef should achieve the target thresholds of 50 oysters/m2, 50 grams dry weight/m2, and a minimum of two-year
The reefs should undergo a physical assessment for density, biomass (dry weight), shell accretion, and size-frequency distribution. An assessment of other attached fauna for density and biomass is also desired. The data from the assessments will be used to inform adaptive management decisions and designs of other oyster restoration projects in the Chesapeake Bay.
There are approximately 18.24 acres across 7 reef sites (Reefs 1&2, 3, 4, 9, 10&11, 13, and 16) in the network that will need to be assessed. The work is anticipated to include Years 1, 3, and 5 monitoring in 2026, 2028, and 2030.