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Advisory Committee for Dams and Sediment in the Hudson River

JUNE 30, 2017--The Hudson River watershed is severely altered by hundreds of dams on its numerous tributaries, many of which no longer serve any useful purpose.


These dams fragment and alter habitat, inhibit movement of migratory and resident fish, impede safe passage by canoe and kayak and pose hazards to the public in general. The first Advisory Committee meeting for Dams and Sediment in the Hudson River (DaSH) was held on June 19 at Norrie Point Environmental Center/State Park in upstate New York. The project team consists of Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute, UMass (Amherst), the Hudson National Estuarine Research Reserve System (NERRS) and the Consensus Building Institute. The 3-year project, funded by NOAA, plans to focus on tributaries closely associated with three tidal NERRS marshes, Iona, Tivoli, and Stockport Flats in the Hudson estuary. The project goals are to answer several questions related to sediment transport associated with Hudson River tributary dam removal including whether downstream deposition benefits tidal marshes. The study is expected to fill data gaps associated with the particular challenges posed by dam removal.

The Advisory Committee's guidance is a requirement of the NERRS Science Collaborative which is managed by the University of Michigan Water Center. NOAA along with other municipal, state and federal partners, academics, non-profits, dam owners, marsh managers, and consultants are members of this advisory group. Staff from NOAA's Assessment and Restoration Division and Restoration Center who have previously cataloged barriers to fish passage on 67 tributaries to the Lower Hudson are providing key input as members of the Advisory Committee. Study results are expected to fill scientific gaps and allow for more informed decisions by resource managers and regulators and should benefit restoration planning efforts by the Hudson River Natural Resource Trustees.

For further information, contact Lisa.Rosman@noaa.gov.

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Group of people posing for picture.
Advisory Committee for Dams and Sediment in the Hudson River (DaSH). Image credit: New York State Department of Environmental Conservation/Hudson River National Estuarine Research Reserve.
People standing around a table with objects on it.
Various sampling equipment will be used to collect sediment cores for physical and chemical characteristics to inform sediment transport and dam removal. Image credit: NOAA.
Last updated Tuesday, May 2, 2023 1:50pm PDT