NYC Parks will join the NY-NJ Harbor & Estuary Program, the Bronx River Alliance, and representatives from federal, state, city, university and community organizations who are conducting a wide range of research projects along the Bronx River. These planned monitoring efforts are expanding our knowledge of the health of the River, while helping government agencies and the public make decisions about water quality improvements, habitat restoration, and recreational use of this important urban waterway.
Teams of professional and citizen scientists will introduce themselves and demonstrate their methods at Shoelace Park's canoe launch at Bronx Park and 219th Street. A larger media availability with representatives from the participating organizations and elected officials will occur at noon at Hunts Point Riverside Park, with research demonstrations taking place along the Bronx River throughout the course of the day.
Research projects being highlighted include:
Water quality monitoring, including pathogen sampling (citizen scientists working with the Bronx River Alliance and Rocking the Boat, with support from the NY-NJ Harbor & Estuary Program and the Environmental Protection Agency).
Sampling of nutrient loading and aquatic microbes, including bacteria and phytoplankton (Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory at Columbia University)
Sampling freshwater fish communities (NY State Department of Environmental Conservation)
Forest sampling for ecological assessment of floodplain forests (Natural Areas Conservancy)
Assessment and mapping of native oyster and ribbed mussel extent (NY/NJ Baykeeper, Hudson River Foundation, NYC Parks Natural Resource Group)
Mapping of ecological restoration management along Bronx River Riparian Corridor (NYC Parks, Natural Resource Group)
Assessment of potential invasive plant (Japanese knotweed) (NYC Parks, Natural Resource Group, Bronx River Alliance)
Survey of introduced clam populations (Columbia University and Bronx River Alliance)
Green Infrastructure in the Bronx River Watershed (NYC Department of Environmental Protection)
Monitoring of green infrastructure performance (NYC Soil & Water Conservation District and Drexel University)
Survey of aquatic and wetland plants and benthic macroinvertebrates (The New York Botanical Garden and NYC Parks and Recreation)
Assessing the effect of dams on migration and movement of American eels (Wildlife Conservation Society and CUNY Queens College)
Recording of Bronx River water flow (U.S. Geological Survey)