Hudson River Fishes and their Environment

Channel Morphology in the Hudson River Estuary: Historical Changes and Opportunities for Restoration

Daniel Miller, John Ladd, William C. Nieder

doi: https://doi.org/10.47886/9781888569827.ch3

Abstract.—Dredge and fill activities associated with navigational channel maintenance have occurred in the northern third of the Hudson River estuary since the late 18^th century and have caused significant losses of intertidal and shallow-water acreage—areas likely important as nursery habitats for fish. The habitat loss suggests restoration efforts in the estuary should focus on replacing these habitats with functional equivalents. Replacing these lost habitats will involve tradeoffs between the lost habitats and those habitats that currently occupy this section of the river. An evaluation of these tradeoffs will require more complete mapping of existing upland and aquatic habitat in the Hudson River estuary watershed and evaluation of the functions of these various habitats.