Protecting Our Bays (IMAGE) University of Delaware Caption While there was a bay-wide decline of submerged aquatic vegetation (SAV) from the 1960s through the 1980s, restoring these once-abundant SAV beds has been a primary outcome of efforts to reduce loads of nutrients and sediments to the estuary and SAV cover has increased by 300 percent from 1984 to 2015. One of the largest recovered SAV beds lies in an area of the bay known as the Susquehanna Flats--a broad, tidal freshwater region located near the mouth of the Susquehanna River at the head of the bay. Credit Photo courtesy of Wei-Jun Cai and Jeremy Testa Usage Restrictions None License Licensed content Disclaimer: AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert system.