Seeds of hope

CRISFIELD - The rest of the year, the floating lawnmower contraption piloted by Warren Teets is used to chop up invasive aquatic grasses that clog propellers and hinder boating.

But for seven days each spring, the device is used in an attempt to restore the vital native underwater grasses that are crucial to a thriving blue crab population in the Chesapeake Bay.

Since 2003, the state has run a program that involves harvesting seeds from eelgrass beds that flourish in the salty waters off the Lower Eastern Shore. The seeds are then planted in other parts of the bay in an attempt to establish more grass beds.

As with most...