Industry and the Environment

The Hudson River's dynamic ecosystem and landscape formed the backdrop for the transportation, commerce, and industry that brought prosperity to the region, but that industrial success also threatened the river. Before the Civil War, tanneries near pier 76 in Manhattan dumped waste into the water, and later the city's demand for shale endangered the Palisades escarpment in New Jersey. By the late nineteenth century, some scientists, businessmen, and politicians had begun to recognize the interconnectedness of woods, water, and wildlife, and in 1900 New York and New Jersey created the Palisades Interstate Park Commission to protect the river's southwest shore as a natural and recreational area. As pollution increased, Hudson River activists in the twentieth century emerged as leaders in the national environmental movement, while scientists and activists continued using innovative approaches to create cleaner water in both the Hudson River and New York Harbor.

New York, New York · United States