Underwater grasses continued to mount a comeback in the lower Chesapeake Bay last year, while a steady recovery also continued in upper portions of the Bay.
Areas in between were a different story, as declines in the mid-section of the Chesapeake more than offset improvements elsewhere.
Overall, data from the 2024 aerial survey showed a mixed bag of results, with the Baywide acreage of underwater meadows — one of the Chesapeake’s most critical habitats — decreasing by about 1% but with diverse trends in different areas…