Bay's underwater grasses sprouting, but short of goals

The acreage of vital underwater grasses in the Chesapeake Bay is increasing, but remains far short of cleanup goals, scientists announced this morning.

Underwater grasses covered 78,260 acres of the bay and its rivers last year, an increase of 7 percent over 2004, according to a report released by the Chesapeake Bay Program, an Eastport-based joint program of federal and state governments. That acreage is just 42 percent of what the bay states hope to accomplish by 2010.

"We're seeing some pretty encouraging signs in some spots," said state biologist Mike Naylor, who was collecting grass seeds in Tangier Sound this morning....