A University of New Hampshire professor who has long worked on behalf of the Great Bay Estuary has been recognized for his efforts. Fred Short received the Lifetime Achievement Environmental Merit Award from the New England branch of the Environmental Protection Agency on May 11.

Short is a professor of natural resources and the environment who has become a leading expert in the field of seagrass conservation and restoration worldwide. He has been a faculty member at UNH for nearly three decades, frequently conducting ecological research out of the Jackson Estuarine Laboratory on the Great Bay Estuary.

Short leads a program called SeagrassNet, which monitors seagrass health in 115 locations across 32 countries. He has authored or coauthored close to 100 scientific journal articles and three books, writing on topics such as “How Climate Change Will Affect Seagrass” and “The Global Decline of Seagrasses.”

In 2009, Short received the Coastal America Partnership Award, which is issued by the U.S. president, for his work on an eelgrass restoration project in Rhode Island. The EPA merit award recognizes valuable contributions to environmental awareness and problem solving.

He accepted the award at Faneuil Hall in Boston.

“Fred has given his time and expertise to help facilitate the preservation and restoration of marine ecosystems,” the EPA citation reads.