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Assessing Ecological and Physical Performance at Hudson River NERR

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From 2010 to 2018, the Science Collaborative supported several phases of the Hudson River Sustainable Shorelines Project, which engages a regional research team to quantify the ecological functions and physical stresses on the full range of Hudson River shorelines. This research is the basis for the development of information and tools needed by regulators, engineers, and resource managers to identify the best settings and approaches for sustainable shoreline protection in the Hudson River Estuary. The work has included the establishment of a distributed demonstration network of seven sites, with varying modes of sustainable shoreline construction, along the Hudson. From 2016-2018, the project team worked closely with regulators, engineers, and land managers to 1) develop and field-validate a rapid assessment protocol manual for physical and ecological functions of ecologically enhanced shorelines and 2) train local land managers in the protocols. This effort helped to solidify confidence in the suitability of novel shoreline techniques in the Hudson River Estuary and has enabled local managers to track performance into the future.

This website houses the Rapid Assessment Protocol for assessing the physical and ecological performance of nature-based engineered shoreline structures. You can also access additional resources associated with the Hudson River Sustainable Shorelines Project, including demonstration site case studies along the Hudson River.