We have a really great video for you today about the ongoing efforts to keep the Bronx River clean and healthy.
The Bronx River–which runs through a dramatic gorge in the Garden–is New York City’s only freshwater river (the Hudson is a tidal estuary as far north as Troy, and the East River is a tidal strait). The river’s transformation from a dangerously polluted waterway in the mid-20th century to the healthy, clean home of New York City’s first beaver in 300 years is an ecological success story, with new chapters written daily.
So sit back and enjoy this trip down the Bronx River in a flotilla of canoes manned by volunteers from the Bronx River Alliance and a team of Garden horticulture interns.
Linda R. Cox is Executive Director of the Bronx River Alliance and Bronx River Administrator for the New York City Department of Parks & Recreation. Photos: Steve Zack for the Bronx River Alliance.
On an overcast evening last month, five canoes set off on the cool, still waters of the Bronx River amid the shaded forests of the Bronx Zoo and The New York Botanical Garden. We were four Bronx River Alliance staff and seven intrepid adventurers, all on the search for José the Beaver.
José, named in honor of Congressman José E. Serrano for his unstinting support of the Bronx River’s revitalization, has lived on the Bronx River since 2006. Nonetheless, he is seldom seen. Even Josue Garcia and Miguel Rodriguez, who led hundreds of paddlers down the river this summer, had not seen him. But this time we had chosen José’s favorite hour for activity—dusk. Our hopes were high. Five wildlife biologists were with us to help witness José’s life on the river.
We paddled upstream, passing under Fordham Road into the Botanical Garden, and there he was, floating in the water under a willow tree. With the top of his head and back visible, José swam away from the tree, gave two mighty thwacks with his tail, and dived under the water, suddenly gone, invisible.
