There’s an effort under way to re-establish oyster populations in the lower Hudson River. This comes in the wake of the dismantling of the Tappan Zee Bridge and construction of the replacement Mario M. Cuomo Bridge. Over the summer, structures to encourage the growth of oyster reef habitats were placed in more than five acres of the river, near the bridge. WAMC’s Hudson Valley Bureau Chief Allison Dunne spoke with Katie Mosher. She’s the director of restoration of the Billion Oyster Project, which worked on the habitat.
New York Governor Andrew Cuomo announced in late August that the oyster reef structures had been placed in the Hudson River. Construction of the Mario Cuomo Bridge had required the relocation of some oyster habitats. Plus, says Mosher, dredging disturbed the habitat bottom.
A maritime high school called the New York Harbor School, on Governors Island, is the flagship school of the Billion Oyster Project, and its students take on a leadership role in Billion Oyster Project’s work. They along with hundreds of volunteers from the tri-state area lent a hand in the Hudson River project.
