The Hudson River was named the nation”™s second-most endangered river for 2019 in a new report issued by the environmental nonprofit American Rivers.
The river”™s high placement on the 2019 list ”“ its”™ first inclusion since 2001 ”“ was based on the proposed U.S. Army Corps of Engineers project that would build storm-surge barriers along the river to prevent a repeat of the flooding that occurred during Superstorm Sandy in 2012. American Rivers warned the project “could have catastrophic consequences” for the ecosystem, with the potential to “choke off tidal flow and restrict the migration of fish.” American Rivers also warned that the Hudson River is being changed for the worse due to dramatic shifts in the wider environment.
“We are already feeling the impacts of climate change in the Northeast, including storm surge and sea level rise, and it”™s only going to get worse,” said Eileen Shader, director of river restoration for American Rivers. “We have an opportunity on the Hudson to demonstrate how protecting river safety and public health should go hand-in-hand in an era of climate change.”
The Hudson was the only Northeast river in this year’s top 10 rankings, with New Mexico’s Gila River topping the list.
