environmental restoration

Little Hell Gate Salt Marsh and Freshwater Wetlands

Working in close partnership with the City of New York/Parks & Recreation Natural Resource Group (NRG), RISF is restoring freshwater wetlands and constructing a salt marsh at the Park's Little Hell Gate Inlet. The project is made possible through EPF funds awarded by the Office of State Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation (OPRHP) and Clean Water/Clean Air Bond Act/Water Quality Improvement funding from the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) with matching funds from the New York City Department of Environmental Protection (DEP). Design work and schematics for this project are being developed through two earlier New York State Department of State (DOS) EPF grant awards, with local matching funds from New York City Council Members Pedro Espada, Philip Reed and Peter Vallone.

The projects will provide essential habitat at the Park for migrating and breeding birds and the fish and invertebrates on which they feed, as well as natural filtration to non-point source pollution into the Harlem and East Rivers and the Long Island Sound, improving water quality and fostering a healthy local ecosystem.

Shoreline Reconstruction

EPF and Bond Act funding will also allow RISF to address a range of problems and increase access along approximately 4.5 miles of shoreline, through a phased effort beginning at the Little Hell Gate Inlet and moving counter-clockwise along the Island's edge. At southern portions, RISF will repair deteriorating sections of seawall and will reclaim and restore areas where a natural edge, extending beyond the seawall, is covered with construction debris. At the northern end of the Island, we seek to enhance habitat and recreational potential in and around expanses of natural shoreline. In coming years, these projects will help us realize the Park's enormous potential for shoreline recreation.