DURHAM, N.H. - Fred Short, professor of natural resources and the environment at the University of New Hampshire and a leading expert in seagrass conservation and restoration worldwide, has received the Lifetime Achievement Environmental Merit Award from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) New England region. Commended for being a "strong voice for the conservation and protection of Great Bay and its resources," Short received the award at Boston's Faneuil Hall Wednesday, May 11, 2011. The EPA merit awards recognize valuable contributions to environmental awareness and problem solving.

Short, a UNH faculty member for nearly three decades, has done extensive research and advocacy on the ecology of New Hampshire's Great Bay estuary, where UNH's Jackson Estuarine Laboratory is located. His expertise is in seagrass conservation and restoration, and he is considered by his peers to be an international expert. He leads a global science-based monitoring program called SeagrassNet, which monitors seagrass health in 115 locations in 32 countries. He has authored and co-authored close to 100 peer-reviewed scientific journal articles and three books. He published articles on such topics as "How Climate Change Will Affect Seagrasses" and "The Global Decline of Seagrasses."

In 2009, Short was honored with a Coastal America Partnership Award, the only environmental award of its kind given by the U.S. president, for his contributions to a project that restored eelgrass to coastal salt ponds in Rhode Island.

"Fred has given his time and expertise to help facilitate the preservation and restoration of marine ecosystems," the EPA citation said. Short received letters of nomination from nine of his former UNH Ph.D. and master's degree students as well as international post-docs and was cited for being an effective communicator and mentoring scores of people. At UNH, he has taught courses in wetlands restoration, sustainability, and global environmental awareness.

For more information on the awards ceremony and other New Hampshire individuals and groups who were also honored, go to http://www.epa.gov/region1/ra/ema/2011recipients.html.

More information about Fred Short is here: http://marine.unh.edu/jel/faculty/fred2/fredshort.htm.
The University of New Hampshire, founded in 1866, is a world-class public research university with the feel of a New England liberal arts college. A land, sea, and space-grant university, UNH is the state's flagship public institution, enrolling 12,200 undergraduate and 2,300 graduate students.
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Photograph available to download: /unhtoday/news/cj_nr/2010/oct/bp27resources.jpg
Caption: Fred Short, professor of natural resources and the environment at the University of New Hampshire and a leading expert in seagrass conservation and restoration worldwide, has received the Lifetime Achievement Environmental Merit Award from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) New England region.