27. Benefits of Cleaning Up the Hudson River
Eaglet in nest. Photo by Pete Nye.
Water-dependent birds, once common along the Hudson and in New York Harbor, disappeared for many years because the river and its environs were becoming polluted and waterbird habitat was diminishing.
Now, in response to successes in environmental cleanup and habitat protection, these birds are returning. In 1997, for the first time in more than a century, a young eagle was fledged from a nest along the river. By 2007, there were eighteen bald eagle nests along the estuary.
