RK's 2014 patrol season begins
April 7, 2014
Riverkeeper Team
We’ve started patrols this year with an 18 foot skiff on loan. I’m interested in testing the utility of a fast shallow draft boat which allows patrols to areas where we have been draft restricted. The trade off is complete exposure to the elements so this boat is “weather” restricted. We’ll see how she works out. The Fletcher will be back in the water very soon and is already heavily scheduled May through November.
For example, I’m able to get up very close to marsh and creek areas which are normally too shallow for the Fletcher. This is Freemont Marsh in Sleepy Hollow. Tracy Brown at Riverkeeper has started a wonderful environmental education project in the local headwaters feeding this marsh.
Found a dead Shad near the Tarrytown Lighthouse. Seems only recently dead. This is a Gizzard Shad – a resident species which does not migrate in from the sea. American Shad (which do) should not be migrating into the Hudson quite yet.
Pile driving continues at the Tappan Zee construction site. Cranes are driving piles from south to north on each side of the ship channel. I can hear the pile driving strikes inside my home in Nyack two miles away.
Related campaigns
Water quality monitoring
Riverkeeper is the go-to source for information about the quality of the water along the Hudson River and its tributaries
Remediating and preventing contamination
Cleaning up decades of pollution and preventing more requires scientific understanding, targeted legal action, and sustained advocacy
Protecting and restoring habitats
The Hudson River watershed is home to a breathtaking diversity of life. Protecting and restoring our aquatic habitats is critical for their renewal and for a healthy future for all life in the watershed