https://apnews.com/6b6dd238cee841ed8e5772722c6a1911

DURHAM, N.H. (AP) — Peering over the side of his skiff anchored in the middle of New Hampshire’s Great Bay, Fred Short liked what he saw.

Just below the surface, the 69-year-old marine ecologist noticed beds of bright green seagrass swaying in the waist-deep water. It was the latest sign that these plants with ribbon-like strands, which had declined up to 80% since the 1990s, were starting to bounce back with improved water quality. Seven rivers carry pollution from 52 communities in New Hampshire and Maine into the 1,020-square-mile (2,650-square-kilometer) bay.