NPR

Grass Is Back In The Chesapeake, And Crabs Will Follow

In the Chesapeake Bay, underwater seagrass beds are growing, sheltering crabs and fish. The long-awaited recovery depends on efforts by farmers to prevent nutrients from polluting the giant estuary.
Underwater grasses and a crab pot near Crisfield, Md. In the Chesapeake Bay, underwater seagrass beds are growing, sheltering crabs and fish. The long-awaited recovery depends on efforts by farmers to prevent nutrients from polluting the giant estuary.

For scientists who monitor the health of the Chesapeake Bay, the nation's largest estuary, simply watching grass grow underwater can be very, very exciting.

The floor of the Chesapeake Bay off Solomon's Island "had no grass since 1972," says , a marine scientist at the College of William & Mary, and there's a undertone of amazement in his voice.

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