Efforts to restore the native oyster population in Great Bay recently got a welcome financial boost. The state chapter of The Nature Conservancy has received a $24,000 grant from the New Hampshire Conservation License Plate Program to help rebuild an oyster reef at the mouth of the Squamscott River in Newmarket.

The License Plate Program enables New Hampshire motorists to purchase a $30 “Moose Plate” to support the protection and restoration of the state’s natural and cultural resources. A 2009 grant from the program helped the Conservancy reconstruct oyster reefs in the Lamprey and Oyster rivers.

Disease, pollution and over-harvesting have led to a 90 percent decline in Great Bay’s natural oyster beds since 1990. Oysters help filter out excess nutrients and provide reef habitat for fish while also producing a local food source.

The Nature Conservancy has partnered with the University of New Hampshire to rebuild oyster reefs. Since 2009, they have added four acres of reef and 1 million oysters to the estuary. The recent grant will help them continue their efforts. For more information, visit www.nature.org/nhoysters.