by Robert Pirani, Director of Environmental Programs and Co-Chair of the City's Wetlands Transfer Task Force
For those of us in love with old maps, nothing could be more fun that the "Manahatta Project." Eric Sanderson of the Wildlife Conservation Society (a.k.a. the Bronx Zoo people) has set out to virtually recreate Manhattan before the European's arrived and all the fuss started. Using the British military's 1782 survey maps, natural histories, ecology, and a little creativity, Steve and his colleagues have reconstructed the Island as Henry Hudson saw it in 1609. You can check it out at the New Yorker's online website.
One of first things you might notice is the irregular shoreline and marshes that once ringed the Island. These tidal wetlands hosted herons, ducks, and songbirds that nested or foraged on their seasonal travels up and down the North Atlantic. They were a nursery for young striped bass and sturgeon that once (and still) plied the Harbor. The Island's soft edge had a sponge-like capacity to absorb storm surges from hurricanes and nor'easters.
New York Harbor once boasted about 100 square miles of these marshes. Now, only 14 remain. The opportunity to set one aside for the future is rare, and the political will to do so perhaps even more so.
That's why conservationists cheered last week when Mayor Bloomberg announced the preservation of Arlington Marsh. The 70-acre salt marsh is a cornerstone of a major wetlands complex on the northwest corner of Staten Island. Its protection has been a priority for a generation of advocates and scientists at The Trust for Public Land, US Fish and Wildlife Service, and other agencies. Thanks to the Mayor, and the support of Councilmen James Gennaro and Mike McMahon, the marsh will be transferred to the New York City Department of Parks & Recreation and dedicated as public parkland.
The announcement came as the New York City Wetlands Transfer Task Force, created in 2005 to formulate strategies to ensure the survival of the City's urban wetlands, submitted its recommendations to Mayor Bloomberg and City Council Speaker Christine Quinn. The Task Force recommended the transfer of 80 parcels totaling just over 220 acres to Parks, and identified hundreds more worthy of additional investigation.
Perhaps as important, the Task Force outlined what might be included in an overall wetlands policy for the City, including guidance to public agencies on disposition of underwater lands, mitigation of in-water piers and bulkheads, and oversight of smaller private wetlands. Creation of such a policy is also a recommendation of PlaNYC, the Mayor's 2030 sustainability plan, which includes a strategy to improve water quality across the Harbor by employing pilot projects to test practices like installing roof gardens, capturing rain water on site in cisterns, and greening streets.
Manahatta exists only in relic patches. New York's maritime history has drastically reshaped tidal connections between land and sea in the Hudson estuary. Bulkheads, relieving platforms, fill, and rip-rap built to protect property and accommodate ships have taken the place of marshes and tidal flats. The Harbor as Hudson saw it is not coming back. But restoration science, conservation action and political will can together recreate much of the structure and function of the Harbor Estuary.
For those of us in love with old maps, nothing could be more fun that the "Manahatta Project." Eric Sanderson of the Wildlife Conservation Society (a.k.a. the Bronx Zoo people) has set out to virtually recreate Manhattan before the European's arrived and all the fuss started. Using the British military's 1782 survey maps, natural histories, ecology, and a little creativity, Steve and his colleagues have reconstructed the Island as Henry Hudson saw it in 1609. You can check it out at the New Yorker's online website.
One of first things you might notice is the irregular shoreline and marshes that once ringed the Island. These tidal wetlands hosted herons, ducks, and songbirds that nested or foraged on their seasonal travels up and down the North Atlantic. They were a nursery for young striped bass and sturgeon that once (and still) plied the Harbor. The Island's soft edge had a sponge-like capacity to absorb storm surges from hurricanes and nor'easters.
New York Harbor once boasted about 100 square miles of these marshes. Now, only 14 remain. The opportunity to set one aside for the future is rare, and the political will to do so perhaps even more so.
That's why conservationists cheered last week when Mayor Bloomberg announced the preservation of Arlington Marsh. The 70-acre salt marsh is a cornerstone of a major wetlands complex on the northwest corner of Staten Island. Its protection has been a priority for a generation of advocates and scientists at The Trust for Public Land, US Fish and Wildlife Service, and other agencies. Thanks to the Mayor, and the support of Councilmen James Gennaro and Mike McMahon, the marsh will be transferred to the New York City Department of Parks & Recreation and dedicated as public parkland.
The announcement came as the New York City Wetlands Transfer Task Force, created in 2005 to formulate strategies to ensure the survival of the City's urban wetlands, submitted its recommendations to Mayor Bloomberg and City Council Speaker Christine Quinn. The Task Force recommended the transfer of 80 parcels totaling just over 220 acres to Parks, and identified hundreds more worthy of additional investigation.
Perhaps as important, the Task Force outlined what might be included in an overall wetlands policy for the City, including guidance to public agencies on disposition of underwater lands, mitigation of in-water piers and bulkheads, and oversight of smaller private wetlands. Creation of such a policy is also a recommendation of PlaNYC, the Mayor's 2030 sustainability plan, which includes a strategy to improve water quality across the Harbor by employing pilot projects to test practices like installing roof gardens, capturing rain water on site in cisterns, and greening streets.
Manahatta exists only in relic patches. New York's maritime history has drastically reshaped tidal connections between land and sea in the Hudson estuary. Bulkheads, relieving platforms, fill, and rip-rap built to protect property and accommodate ships have taken the place of marshes and tidal flats. The Harbor as Hudson saw it is not coming back. But restoration science, conservation action and political will can together recreate much of the structure and function of the Harbor Estuary.
@RegionalPlan
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