$75,000 Awarded to Map Oyster Population in the Lower Hudson River Estuary

Mapping will fill a gap in oyster distribution data between the Piermont Pier south to Yonkers

The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) announced the award of $75,000 to Henningson Durham & Richardson Architecture and Engineering, P.C. (HDR) to map the lower Hudson River oyster population. The survey of American oyster (Crassostrea virginica) distribution in an approximately 10-mile section of the Hudson River estuary from Piermont Pier to the City of Yonkers will complement past and planned sampling efforts to the north and south of the targeted reach. The project is administered by NEIWPCC in partnership with DEC’s Hudson River Estuary Program.

Intensive sampling of oysters north of the target area to Croton Point was conducted between 2013 and 2014 to identify benthic impacts and potential mitigation actions resulting from the construction of the Mario M. Cuomo Bridge. More recently, funding has been made available to conduct similar data collection in New York Harbor and the Hudson River as far north as the City of Yonkers. Examination of the density of samples taken north of Piermont Pier and the anticipated sampling south of Yonkers demonstrated a need to supplement sampling in the target area.