• Dense underwater grasses grow to the water's surface on the Susquehanna Flats

    Chesapeake Quarterly Magazine

    Life on the Susquehanna Flats (June 2026)

    Home to the largest grass bed in the Chesapeake, the Susquehanna Flats are unlike any other part of the Bay. On this shallow delta, geography and ecology combine to support droves of waterfowl and fish species, influence water quality, and stoke human industry and pastimes.

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  • a sole lighthouse sitting in a calm ocean on a sunny day. there is no visible land—the lighthouse comes directly out of the water and is about 3 stories tall.

    Welcome

    Maryland Sea Grant works to apply science to protect and restore the Chesapeake Bay and Maryland’s coastal resources. We fund and explain scientific research to help leaders and communities deal with our state’s major environmental challenges, and promote a sustainable coastal economy.

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  • Research

    Support for sound scientific research and those who undertake it is at core of Maryland Sea Grant's mission. With a special focus on the Chesapeake Bay, we have a tradition of fostering innovative scientific inquiry and analysis. We emphasize projects that offer practical applications for the protection and restoration of Maryland’s coastal resources.

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  • Education

    Maryland Sea Grant works to increase marine science literacy across the full spectrum of education, from children in grade school to Ph.D. candidates. We are committed to helping inform and equip students to take on the long-term challenges of protecting the environmental and economic sustainability of Maryland’s coastal resources.

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  • Communities

    Through its Extension program, Sea Grant reaches out to Maryland—to its residents, community and government leaders, and industries. Our experts travel to towns and cities across the state where we work with Marylanders to help them respond to environmental and social changes. Our goal is to foster healthy communities that can live sustainably within the Chesapeake Bay watershed.

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Maryland Sea Grant College

Maryland Sea Grant College, a university-based partnership with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, is a service organization administered by the University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science. We fund research, education, and outreach throughout the state of Maryland. Our offices are located in College Park, Maryland. Learn more about us.
 

Maryland Sea Grant affirms our commitment to collaboration with all communities. We promote research, education, communication, and extension work throughout the Chesapeake Bay and Maryland’s coastal waters, supporting people of all backgrounds and experiences.

  • Collaboration through Conversation

    The Engaging Faith Communities for Coastal Resilience project uses collaborative learning to engage churches, government decision-makers, and NGOs in climate change adaptation discussions. Learn more about the benefits of this approach through this video, produced with funding from NOAA by Maryland Sea Grant in partnership with the UMD Department of Anthropology.

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  • Forecasting Sea Level Rise for Maryland

    Scientists release new projections for future sea level rise for the Chesapeake Bay and for Maryland, Virginia and nearby Mid-Atlantic coastal areas. In these regions, sea levels are rising faster than the global average. More videos from Maryland Sea Grant.

     

  • Growing Oysters to Clean the Bay

    Bay-area residents interested in restoring water quality in Chesapeake Bay can help through oyster gardening, growing oysters off a dock. Most of those dockside oysters will end up on sanctuary reefs where they will go to work filtering water at the rate of 50 gallons a day. More videos from Maryland Sea Grant.

  • Poplar Island Marsh Study

    Poplar Island in the mid-Chesapeake Bay is now being developed as a holding site for sediment dredged from the Bay's shipping channels. Scientist Lorie Staver is studying the ongoing regrowth of grasses planted to stabilize the island and to provide habitat for wildlife. More videos from Maryland Sea Grant.

  • Breathing Lessons For the Bay

    Three decades ago, scientists working on Maryland's Patuxent River showed how sewage discharges robbed the river of oxygen, creating dead zones that can kill fish and crabs. Their discoveries led to the current Bay cleanup campaign. More videos from Maryland Sea Grant.

  • Anthropologist on the Bay

    Do the watermen of the Chesapeake Bay
    share similar values? Is their outlook rooted in their work, their sense of community? Anthropologist Michael Paolisso took those questions to Deal Island, an isolated enclave along Maryland's Eastern Shore. More videos from Maryland Sea Grant.

  • Lifeguard Academy

    Summer brings sun, fun, and surf, but the surf contains threats to swimmers: rip currents that can sweep them out to sea. See how the Ocean City, Maryland, Beach Patrol saves lives. More videos from Maryland Sea Grant.

  • Walter Boynton: A Life in Science

    A native of New England, Walter Boynton began his science career as a summertime assistant at the Chesapeake Biological Laboratory in Solomons, Maryland. Over the next 40+ years he became a leading marine researcher and advocate for science-based approaches to restoring the Chesapeake Bay.

Cover of Chesapeake Quarterly magazine issue "Life on the Susquehanna Flats"

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Life on the Susquehanna Flats

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