Hudson RiverNet
News from the Hudson River Estuary Program

2018 Hudson River Estuary Program Accomplishments

We are pleased to present the 2018 Hudson River Estuary Coordinator’s Report to highlight our work and the steps DEC is taking to ensure a healthy, vibrant river for future generations. We could not accomplish this mission without the help of our many state, federal, academic and environmental partners, local communities, watershed groups, and citizen scientists. As we look forward to 2019, we thank all of you! Take note of some of this year’s accomplishments:

• DEC’s Estuary Program provided $2,631,954 for projects in 83 locations.
• To date, 98 Hudson Valley municipalities and six counties have signed the Climate Smart Pledge. Climate education programs reached 6,000 municipal officials, planners, and members of the public.
• The Estuary Program and its partners provided science-based training to more than 562 community leaders in 46 communities on topics related to climate change, sea-level rise, water resources, habitat conservation, and land use and watershed planning.
• With our partners, we have mapped stream crossings at public roads in 47 percent of the watershed to identify which culverts block the movement of fish and are too small for flood flows.
• The 16th annual Day in the Life of the Hudson and Harbor brought more than 6,000 students and teachers to 90 waterfront sites from Troy to New York Harbor to collect scientific data on the river’s ecology using hands-on field techniques.

More than 3,000 volunteers participated in our citizen science and stewardship programs. Among them:

• 450 people planted 3,700 native trees and shrubs at 33 sites along 1.3 miles of streams.
• 65 recreational anglers helped DEC monitor 2,200 striped bass.
• 800 citizen scientists counted and released over 146,000 eels into upstream habitats.
• 52 trained participants monitored roads in 20 communities and assisted 1,771 amphibians during migrations to vernal pools.

We look forward to continuing this important work with you in 2019 and wish you a healthy Hudson and a Happy New Year!