Underwater bay grasses, or SAV, depend on good water quality to grow and naturally expand. For this reason, efforts to reduce pollution in the water can have a positive influence on restoring bay grasses. In addition to pollution reduction measures, there are a number of programs to collect seeds and plant bay grasses in the Bay and its tributaries. These plantings are located in areas without bay grasses but where water quality should support growth. These newly established grass beds then produce seeds, allowing for natural revegetation of adjacent areas.
In 2003, Bay Program partners set a goal to plant 1,000 acres by 2008 as part of a strategy to accelerate protection and restoration of bay grass beds in areas of critical importance to the Bay’s living resources.
Amount completed since 2003 (baseline year)
Tracking started in 2003; little or no large-scale restoration was done before that year. Total to date is 148 acres.
Amount completed in 2008
About 8.5 acres were planted in FY 2008.
The effort to plant underwater grasses has had mixed success in recent years. Managers continue to evaluate the best and most cost-effective methods for planting bay grasses.
Both funding and capacity for bay grass planting will need to be increased dramatically to meet the goal to plant 1,000 acres. To date, the NOAA Chesapeake Bay Office and the USACE Engineer Research and Development Center (ERDC) have funded almost all of the large-scale planting, and neither agency has been able to increase the funding enough to meet the annual need.
Learn more about underwater bay grasses and restoring bay grasses.
Jennifer Greiner at (800) 968-7229 ext. 783
Chesapeake Bay Program Office