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Peregrine Falcon

Harbor Seals

Mummichog

Striped Bass

Atlantic Silverside

Round Bullhead

Fan Worms

Sea anemone

Barnacles

Mud Crab

Whip mud worms

Hooked mussel

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Oyster spat

Skilletfish

The Hudson River is a 315-mile river that flows from north to south primarily through eastern New York in the United States. The river originates in the Adirondack Mountains of Upstate New York, flows through the Hudson Valley, and eventually drains into the Atlantic Ocean, between New York City and Jersey City.

Asian Shore Crab

Channel catfish

Zebra mussels

Oriental shrimp

Eelgrass beds

Between approximately 1947 and 1977, GE released between 500,000 lbs and 1,500,000 lbs of Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) into the Hudson River. The PCBs came from the company's two capacitor manufacturing plants at Hudson Falls and Fort Edward in New York, about 50 miles north of Albany.

People and animals who eat at the top of the heavily contaminated food chain ingest concentrated amounts of PCBs. This can lead to cancer, and hormonal and reproductive disruptions. High levels of PCBs in the brain and nervous system of one generation effect the cognitive abilities of the next.

The impact of Hurricane Sandy's storm surge was enormous, causing widespread pollution of the Hudson River and New York Harbor by a variety of toxic chemicals, including petroleum and fluids from cars and boats, contaminants from flooded subways, roads, parking lots and tunnels; and contaminants washed from shoreline industrial sites, as well as commercial and residential buildings

We need all the efforts to restore the Hudson River to its status as the region's gem. By and large, industries and municipalities have ceased their polluting ways and have developed a respect for the resource. However, sustained vigilance is needed to ensure that the great gains in water quality are not reversed.

Get invloved!

When transplanted to the fertile environment of the Hudson, exotic and invasive species from other lands often have few predators and spread rapidly. These invading species, which include the Eelgrass and Zebra mussel, have had major impacts on the ecology of the estuary