05:58 PM PDT on Thursday, October 27, 2005

By GARY CHITTIM / KING 5 News

MANCHESTER, Wash. - Biologists say they heard rumors of rare oysters growing wild in a bay on a Puget Sound navy facility.

It turns out the rumors are true.

You might not expect a heavily secured Navy fuel depot to be home to an ecological wonder.

But Manchester, Wash. has a little secret called little Clam Bay.

"This is a phenomenal ecosystem we have here," said Capt. T. J. Dargon, Navy Northwest Region chief of staff.

In addition to the migrating coho salmon, hungry birds and animals lining the banks of the bountiful bay, are scientists trying to restore Puget Sound's only native oyster. And they're just beside themselves.

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The rare Olympia oyster, harvested nearly to extinction during the Gold Rush, has been found thriving at a Navy fuel depot near Bremerton.

Little Clam Bay is packed with natural growing Olympia oysters.

Apparently while the oysters were being harvested nearly to the point of extinction during the gold rush, nobody thought to look in Clam Bay.

Then the Navy took possession and sealed it off from public access and development.

But now members of the Puget Sound Restoration Fund are being invited by the Navy to enjoy the Olympia oyster jackpot.

At first they just came in to collect the rare oysters and relocate them all over the area. But then they realized the little bay offered them a unique opportunity to grow them.

"This place, Little Clam Bay, could actually serve as an oyster nursery where we could produce seed naturally," said Betsy Peabody, from the Puget Sound Restoration Fund.

The group hopes to persuade Olympia oysters to attach themselves to host shells some bags workers have left for the purpose. And it's working.

"We've had as many as 30 small oysters set per single cold shell," said Tristan Peter-Contesse, from the Puget Sound Restoration Fund.

Apparently the cool, clear waters of Little Clam Bay are perfectly suited to Olympia Oysters along with all the marine life that finds sanctuary here.

It's a little patch of natural habitat enjoying the full protection of the U.S. Navy.

Before losing out to over-harvesting and the introduction of new species, Olympia oysters fed native tribes for centuries.

Due to efforts like these the oysters are making a comeback in Puget Sound, now thriving on several beaches.