Abandoned cars and tires and other assorted flotsam and jetsam were once all you could count on finding in the Bronx River. But starting at noon tomorrow, more than 100 scientists and volunteers will spend 24 hours counting great blue herons, snowy egrets, muskrats and flowering dogwoods along the river's banks.
NEW YORK — Abandoned cars and tires and other assorted flotsam and jetsam were once all you could count on finding in the Bronx River.
But starting at noon tomorrow, more than 100 scientists and volunteers will spend 24 hours counting great blue herons, snowy egrets, muskrats and flowering dogwoods along the river's banks.
The Bronx River BioBlitz is a collaboration between the Bronx and Westchester County, which are linked by the 23-mile waterway.
"The idea was to create an event around the Bronx River that crossed political lines," said Teresa Crimmens, environmental coordinator for The Bronx River Alliance, a group of 70 community groups, government agencies and schools that have been working to restore the river since 1997.
"We decided to address the river holistically, not in parts," said Jeff Main, senior curator of Westchester County Parks. "For us not to address the problem together would be counterproductive."
!ADVERTISEMENT!
The river runs from the Kensico Dam in Westchester, down through the New York Botanical Garden and the Bronx Zoo to the South Bronx, where it spills into the East River at Hunts Point. Once severely polluted and junk-strewn, the river and its wildlife have rebounded through conservation efforts.
"This is a swath of green through a very urban area," Crimmens said. "We want to draw attention to the Bronx River and share it with the communities that live around it."
During the day-long survey, volunteers from Westchester and the Bronx will team up with scientists to identify and count species of plants, insects, fish, birds and other animals along the river.
The information they gather will help guide future restoration plans.
"We always want to learn more so we can manage the river and restore it in the best way possible," Crimmens said.
"This will give us some information on how the river is doing ecologically," Main said. "We hope to find that it's biologically rich, even though it's an urban area. I'm hoping there will be some exciting discoveries."
Main said volunteers are likely to find wood ducks, voles and great blue herons, which have been returning to the river in ever greater numbers.
A simultaneous BioBlitz will take place in Berlin in the Tiergarten, a large urban park. After the event, scientists from New York and Berlin will share their findings.
To see more of the Daily News, or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.NYDailyNews.com.
Source: Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News
