Hudson River Park Oyster Habitat Implementation

Project Description

On a team led by Moffat & Nichol, Biohabitats provided ecological advisory services for the design of the Hudson River Park Trust’s Tribeca Habitat Enhancement area. The areas between Pier 26 and Pier 34 along the Hudson River shoreline of Manhattan consisted of old pilings, debris, and soft substrate, which provided little habitat for the fauna living in the Hudson River. Hudson River Park Trust aimed to improve this habitat and perform monitoring of different restoration approaches.

Biohabitats researched alternative bottom habitat enhancement strategies including gabion cages filled with oyster shell, fish hut structures, piling encasements, ECOncrete®, and reef balls. Biohabitats provided an alternatives analysis of each strategy highlighting the pros and cons of each approach. Biohabitats advised the team regarding design layout of different strategies to maximize areas of oyster colonization, provide connectivity between habitat, and set up useful studies to evaluate restoration strategies and inform future projects.