Health of the harbor

Health of the Harbor, produced for HEP by the Hudson River Foundation, is the first ever Harbor-Wide Monitoring Report. It combines the information from the New Jersey Harbor Dischargers Group and the New York City Harbor Survey monitoring programs for more comprehensive geographic coverage of the estuary. The report, first announced in a press release on April 26, 2004, tracks trends in a series of indicators that shed some light on whether conditions in the estuary are improving. The indicators used in the report were chosen at a workshop held in 1995, attended by over 100 environmental managers, scientists, citizens, and others interested in monitoring the health of the estuary. While not all of the recommended indicators could be included due to lack of data, the report tracks progress in a series of indicators, ranging from dissolved oxygen levels to acreages of wetlands to concentrations of toxic contaminants in sediment. The report's findings indicate overall improvement in the estuary's condition, although some serious challenges remain.