Stadium rubble to Be Used for Oyster Reef

<br>BALTIMORE (AP) _ Concrete rubble from Memorial Stadium, the former home of baseball's Baltimore Orioles and football's Baltimore Colts, will be used to create an artificial oyster reef in the

Saturday, April 6th 2002, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

BALTIMORE (AP) _ Concrete rubble from Memorial Stadium, the former home of baseball's Baltimore Orioles and football's Baltimore Colts, will be used to create an artificial oyster reef in the Chesapeake Bay.

The Maryland Department of Natural Resources plans to plant more than 4 million baby oysters on the reef off the mouth of the Patapsco River.

``We're using one cultural icon to rejuvenate another,'' said Bill Goldsborough, senior fisheries scientist at the Chesapeake Bay Foundation, one of several conservation and sportsmen's groups helping build the reef.

Not everyone sees it that way.

``It's the last straw,'' said state Comptroller William Donald Schaefer, who fought unsuccessfully last year to stop the demolition of the downtown stadium, built in 1954 to honor World War II veterans. ``It's just saying to the veterans, 'We don't care about you. Let's throw 'em in the ocean.'''

DNR officials say the stadium's remains will be respectfully treated. The 8,000-cubic-yard reef will be an oyster sanctuary, off limits to harvesting, said Eric Schwaab, DNR's fisheries director.

Oyster diseases thrive in the saltiest parts of the bay. Fishery managers hope the reef's site in fresher water will make it a good home for disease-free oysters raised in a University of Maryland hatchery.

The proposal is expected to get a permit from the Maryland Department of the Environment. Construction should begin in the summer, Schwaab said.