Tài liệu ENVIRONMENTAL HISTORY of the HUDSON RIVER doc

En v i ron men ta l Hist ory

o f t h e Hu dson Ri v er

ENVIRONMENTAL STUDIES / NEW YORK

The diverse contributions to Environmental History

of the Hudson River examine how the natural and

physical attributes of the river have influenced human

settlement and uses, and how human occupation

has, in turn, affected the ecology and environmental

health of the river. The Hudson River Valley may be

America’s premier river environmental laboratory, and

by bringing historians and social scientists together

with biologists and other physical scientists, this book

hopes to foster new ways of looking at and talking

about this historically, commercially, and aesthetically

important ecosystem.

Native people’s influences on the ecological integrity of

aquatic and shoreline communities were generally local

and minor, and for the first 12,000 years or so of human

use, the Hudson River was valued mainly as a source

of water, food, and transportation. Since the arrival

of European colonists, however, commerce has been

the engine that has driven development and use of the

river, from the harvesting of beaver pelts and timber

to the siting of manufacturing industries and power

plants, and all of these uses have had pervasive effects

on the river’s aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems. In the

meantime, aesthetic movements such as the Hudson

River School of painting have sought to recover and

preserve the earlier pastoral landscape, anticipating

the more recent efforts by environmentalists that

have led to dramatic improvements in water quality,

shoreline habitats, and fish populations.

Despite the pervasive forces of commerce, the Hudson

River has retained its world-class scenic qualities.

The Upper Hudson remains today a free-flowing,

tumbling mountain stream, and the Lower Hudson

a fjord penetrated and dominated by the Hudson

Highlands. The Hudson’s unique history continues to

affect current uses and will surely influence the future

in remarkable ways.

R o b e r t E . H e n s h a w received his Ph.D. in

environmental physiology at the University of Iowa and

worked for twenty years as an environmental analyst

at the New York State Department of Environmental

Conservation. He has taught in the Department of

Geography and Planning at the University at Albany–

SUNY, and is a member of the Board of Directors of

the Hudson River Environmental Society. He lives in

West Sand Lake, New York.

H e n s

h a w

En v iron m

en ta l Hi st ory

o f t h e Hu d son

Ri v

e

r

S tat e U n i v e r s i t y o f Ne w Yo r k P r e ss

w w w . s u n y p r e s s . e d u

Human Uses that Changed the Ecology,

Ecology that Changed Human Uses

E d i t e d b y R o b e r t E . H e n s h a w

w i t h a F o r e w o r d b y F r a n c e s F . D u n w e l l

ENV IRONMENTAL

HISTORY

of the

HUDSON RIVER

ENV IRONMENTAL

HISTORY

of the

HUDSON RIVER

Human Uses that Changed the Ecology,

Ecology that Changed Human Uses

EDITED BY

Robert E. Henshaw

WITH A FOREWORD BY

Frances F. Dunwell

COVER: Progress (The Advance of Civilization) 1853, by Asher B. Durand, courtesy of the Westervelt Collection,

Westervelt-Warner Museum of American Art in Tuscaloosa, AL. See legend for Fig. lntro.2.

INSIDE COVER IMAGE: Novi Belgii Novaeque Angliae / Partis Virginiae tabula multis in locis emendate, 1685, by

Nicolaes Visscher with Schenk, Peter, Jr., courtesy of the Library of Congress. Based on a manuscript map by Adriaen

Van der Donck, 1648. See Fig. lntro.1. Three generations of Visschers produced 27 versions based on this map.

Published by State University of New York Press, Albany

© 2011 State University of New York

All rights reserved

Printed in the United States of America

No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever

without written permission. No part of this book may be stored in a retrieval system

or transmitted in any form or by any means including electronic, electrostatic,

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without the prior permission in writing of the publisher.

For information, contact State University of New York Press, Albany, NY

www.sunypress.edu

Production by Ryan Morris

Marketing by Fran Keneston

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Environmental history of the Hudson River : human uses that changed the ecology, ecology that

changed human uses / edited by Robert E. Henshaw.

p. cm.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN 978-1-4384-4026-2 (pbk. : alk. paper) — ISBN 978-1-4384-4027-9 (hardcover : alk. paper)

1. Human ecology—Hudson River (N.Y. and N.J.)—History. 2. Nature—Effect of human beings

on—Hudson River (N.Y. and N.J.)—History. 3. Natural history—Hudson River (N.Y. and N.J.)

4. Environmentalism—Hudson River (N.Y. and N.J.)—History. 5. Hudson River (N.Y. and N.J.)—

Environmental conditions. I. Henshaw, Robert E.

GF504.N7E68 2011

304.209747'3—dc22

2011014090

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

This book is dedicated to my father, Dr. Paul S. Henshaw, nuclear

biophysicist, from whom I learned the unity of physical and biological

sciences with the social sciences; and to Dr. G. Edgar Folk Jr., environ￾mental physiologist at the University of Iowa, from whom I learned

professional persistence.

Foreword ix

Frances F. Dunwell

Acknowledgments xiii

Introduction xv

Robert E. Henshaw

The Hudson River Watershed:

An Abbreviated Geography xxi

Robert E. Henshaw

PART I

History and Biology: Providing Explanations 1

Robert E. Henshaw

CHAPTER 1

Historical Facts/Biological Questions 3

Robert E. Henshaw

CHAPTER 2

Linkages between People and Ecosystems:

How Did We Get from Separate to Equal? 7

Stuart Findlay

CHAPTER 3

Symbioses between Biologists and

Social Scientists 13

Lucille Lewis Johnson

PART II

River of Resources 23

Robert E. Henshaw

CHAPTER 4

Hudson River Fisheries: Once Robust,

Now Reduced 27

Robert A. Daniels, Robert E. Schmidt,

and Karin E. Limburg

CHAPTER 5

Herpetofauna of the Hudson River

Watershed: A Short History 41

Alvin R. Breisch

CHAPTER 6

Human Impacts on Hudson River

Morphology and Sediments: A Result

of Changing Uses and Interests 53

Frank O. Nitsche, Angela L. Slagle, William

B. F. Ryan, Suzanne Carbotte, Robin Bell,

Timothy C. Kenna, and Roger D. Flood

CHAPTER 7

The Earliest Thirteen Millennia of Cultural

Adaptation along the Hudson River Estuary 65

Christopher R. Lindner

vii

CONTENTS

CHAPTER 8

Archaeological Indices of Environmental

Change and Colonial Ethnobotany in

Seventeenth-Century Dutch New Amsterdam 77

Joel W. Grossman

CHAPTER 9

Linking Uplands to the Hudson River:

Lake to Marsh Records of Climate Change

and Human Impact over Millennia 123

Dorothy M. Peteet, Elizabeth Markgraf,

Dee C. Pederson, and Sanpisa Sritrairat

CHAPTER 1 0

Vegetation Dynamics in the Northern

Shawangunk Mountains: The Last Three

Hundred Years 135

John E. Thompson and Paul C. Huth

CHAPTER 1 1

Agriculture in the Hudson Basin Since 1609 153

Simon Litten

CHAPTER 1 2

Ecology in the Field of Time: Two Centuries

of Interaction between Agriculture and Native

Species in Columbia County, New York 165

Conrad Vispo and Claudia Knab-Vispo

CHAPTER 1 3

The Introduction and Naturalization of

Exotic Ornamental Plants in New York’s

Hudson River Valley 183

Chelsea Teale

PART III

River of Commerce 195

Robert E. Henshaw

CHAPTER 1 4

The Rise and Demise of the Hudson River

Ice Harvesting Industry: Urban Needs and

Rural Responses 201

Wendy E. Harris and Arnold Pickman

CHAPTER 1 5

Human Sanitary Wastes and Waste Treatment

in New York City 219

David J. Tonjes, Christine A. O’Connell,

Omkar Aphale, and R. L. Swanson

CHAPTER 1 6

Foundry Cove: Icon of the Interaction of

Industry with Aquatic Life 233

Jeffrey S. Levinton

CHAPTER 1 7

River City: Transporting Commerce

and Culture 247

Roger Panetta

CHAPTER 1 8

Out of the Fray: Scientific Legacy of

Environmental Regulation of Electric

Generating Stations in the Hudson

River Valley 261

John R. Young and William P. Dey

PART IV

River of Inspiration 275

Robert E. Henshaw

CHAPTER 1 9

Birth of the Environmental Movement

in the Hudson River Valley 279

Albert K. Butzel

CHAPTER 2 0

The Influence of the Hudson River School

of Art in the Preservation of the River,

Its Natural and Cultural Landscape, and

the Evolution of Environmental Law 291

Harvey K. Flad

CHAPTER 2 1

“Thy Fate and Mine Are Not Repose”:

The Hudson and Its Influence 313

Geoffrey L. Brackett

CHAPTER 2 2

The Past as Guide to a Successful Future 325

Robert E. Henshaw

Afterword 335

Robert E. Henshaw

Contributors 337

Web Addresses of Cited and Key Agencies,

Not-for-Profit Organizations, and Academic

Institutions in the Hudson River Basin 341

Index 343

viii CONTENTS

TH E HUDSON IS A RIVER of dreams. Human

dreams have transformed this body of water and

recreated it. They have explained and interpreted it.

It is a river that has been sculpted by the ideas of a

people. In its waters and on its shores are written

the changing thoughts of Americans over the great

sweep of history.

Many of our nation’s rivers have come to em￾body an idea or a moment in time in our history.

The Mississippi will always be the river of Huck

Finn and steamboats and jazz. The Columbia tells

the story of Louis and Clark, while the Rio Grande

echoes with memories of ancient canyons, water

wars, and the human heartbreak of border crossings.

George Washington will forever be crossing the

Delaware and dwelling on the Potomac, the seat of

our national government and our monuments and

shrines. The Saco we think of as wild and free, and

the Red River Valley a place of goodbyes.

The Hudson is a different kind of river, because

it tells not one but many stories. It was the river of

the frontier, a battleground for freedom, and the

creative inspiration for a generation of American

poets and painters. Here, the civil engineers’ visions

of possibility bore fruit, and so did the dreams of

entrepreneurs and captains of industry. It has been

the gateway to America for millions of immigrants

who aspired for a new life. From its harbor the

Statue of Liberty sends forth her beacon of light. As

rivers go, the Hudson may be short—it is a mere

315 miles in length—but its connection with our

country’s history is long and deep.

This environmental history of the Hudson,

compiled by the Hudson River Environmental

Society (HRES), begins, as it must, with the river’s

unique geography, but it also weaves in the human

element, exploring the role of ideas, innovation, and

passion. It shows how science can unravel the mys￾teries of our past. It illustrates the deep divide of val￾ues that forced legal showdowns, as well as the

attitudes and practices that allowed the river to be￾come polluted. It shows how the emergence of new

ideas inspired a later generation to focus on restor￾ing the estuary and its ecosystem.

Nature blessed the Hudson with a deep harbor

that doesn’t freeze, a pleasant climate and good soils

for agriculture, a long estuary that provides habitat

for abundant fish and wildlife, plus a geologic store￾house of metals and minerals. Its port is one of the

best in the world, a function of its size, shape, loca￾tion, and geologic history. The river also radiates

breathtaking natural beauty.

For centuries—long before the arrival of Euro￾pean colonists—these natural assets have attracted

people who seek a better life. Nature set the stage for

prosperity and entrepreneurship that is best reflected

in the great city on Manhattan Island at the mouth

of the Hudson. The accumulation of power and

wealth in New York City can be directly traced to the

river’s ecosystem. In turn, the city shaped the future

ix

FOREWORD

of the river and changed many aspects of its ecology.

It is through this lens that HRES has asked the au￾thors to explore the river’s history.

The way the city and the river co-evolved re￾flects not only the unique geography of the Hud￾son but also its place in world history, its mix of

ethnic groups, and its power to inspire human

imagining. The Age of Enlightenment, the Ro￾mantic Era, the transportation revolution, and the

landing of a man on the moon all colored the vi￾sion of those who sought to arrange the Hudson to

their own designs. Advances in technology have also

been critical to this story. Inventions such as the

Mercator map, the steam engine, the Bessemer

process for making steel, the use of dynamite, and

the harnessing of electricity from water power all

shaped the future of the river in profound ways.

Laws and policies have similarly been important, all

influenced by the people who settled here. Native

People, Dutch, Africans, and English in particular

established concepts of governance, trade, com￾merce, and land use that echo throughout the ages

of river history. Later, the French, Irish, Germans,

Italians, Eastern Europeans, and Chinese left their

mark. You name it: the Hudson has been the quin￾tessential melting pot of world cultures, each influ￾encing the next with their notions of the role a river

should play in meeting human needs.

Like many American rivers, the Hudson has

been dammed, filled, channeled, and polluted, but

it has also been a success story for cleanup and a

model for protection of scenery. Precedents for con￾servation of the environment have spread from here

across the nation to other places in the world. Fun￾damentally, this history comes back to ideas and

how we relate to nature.

Rivers have always been a window into the

deeper and sometimes hidden emotions, and there

is an essential spiritual element to the river’s history.

“My soul runs deep like rivers,” poet Langston

Hughes once wrote. Taking the journey to the

source, finding the hidden headwaters, the “heart

of darkness,” is part of the Hudson’s story as well as

that of many other rivers, yet this river, more than

any other in America is populated by fairies, heroes,

and scoundrels. Here myth and reality are blended.

Legends and literature have been born from such

things as the rolling thunder in its Catskill moun￾tain shoreline and odd occurrences, such as the rare

white whale that swam into the fresh tidewaters of

Albany and Troy. The Hudson has been used as a

metaphor for madness, for death, and for life.

Not surprisingly, the river’s stories and dreams

are intertwined. The artist, funded by the entrepre￾neur, painted works that inspired the conservation￾ist. The engineer remodeled the river and then

designed the mechanics of its recovery. The fabu￾lously wealthy became the philanthropists whose

treasure has preserved a natural and historic her￾itage. Immigrants who carried out the transforma￾tion of the Hudson’s shores raised children and

grandchildren who fought to save the river from de￾struction. Politicians whose childhood was spent on

the banks of this storied river drew lessons from

their childhood ramblings and applied these expe￾riences to state and national policies that reverber￾ated here and everywhere.

Having grown up on the river and studied its

history, I have concluded that the story of the Hud￾son is really about passion. Among the ranks of

those who have made a difference in the history of

the river are governors, journalists, bankers, survey￾ors, singers, aristocrats, fishermen, congressmen,

lawyers, scientists, mothers, tree farmers, business￾men, teachers, and Presidents. Their voices, their

energy have profoundly affected how civilization

has proceeded across the river valley and how it

spread from the Hudson to the nation and the

world.

The one thing all those individuals have in

common is the power of their imagination. The

Hudson inspires big dreams and energizes the peo￾ple who can fulfill them. Most of the people who

have made a difference on this river have been

steeped in personal experience of it. They swim in

it, they study its rocks, and they listen to the songs

of its birds and observe the habits of its fishes. They

smell the fragrance of the sweet flag growing in its

shallows or contemplate the scenery in quiet medi￾tation. They are moved by it, as am I.

My own personal experience of the river grew

over a period of years. When I was a child, in the

’50s and ’60s, the river was at its worst, a stinking

sewer that was hard to love. I remember having to

get shots to go out on a boat with a friend, in case

I fell in. Then Earth Day came along when I was in

college, and the Clearwater Sloop began having fes￾tivals on the waterfront, spreading a message of both

x FRANCES F. DUNWELL

anger and hope. Like many young people of my

generation, I was inspired to do something about

the pollution of the river. The environmental move￾ment coincided with the women’s movement and

the civil rights movement. I was lucky to get an in￾ternship that launched what has become a career in

conservation. Now, with more than thirty-five years

of experience in protecting the river’s water quality,

historic sites, fisheries, habitats, and scenery, I am

one of a number of women who have made a pro￾found difference for the river as we know it today,

and I have been blessed to know many of the peo￾ple who played key roles in its recovery.

Among those who have made a great contribu￾tion to the future of the river are the scientists,

engineers, and historians who make up the mem￾bership of the Hudson River Environmental Soci￾ety. This fine book is a collection of essays from

people who have worked in the trenches, bringing

a depth of personal experience, scientific knowl￾edge, and historical perspective that shines a light

on our understanding of the river and its people.

Frances F. Dunwell,

author of The Hudson:

America’s River

New Paltz, NY

November, 2010

Foreword xi

FUNDING WAS RECEIVED from several sources

which we gratefully acknowledge. We thank: for￾mer Albany County Historian and now NYS

Assemblyman John J. “Jack” McEneny, for a Leg￾islative Member Item in support of this volume;

NYS Senator Neil D. Breslin, for a Legislative

Member Item in support of the conference; the

Hudson River Foundation for grants from the Hud￾son River Improvement Fund; the Hudson River

Valley National Heritage Area in partnership with

the National Park Service and Congressman Mau￾rice D. Hinchey, whose grant funds are adminis￾tered by the Hudson River Greenway Council; The

Lucy Maynard Salmon Research Fund of Vassar

College; Ms. Hollee H. Haswell, a dedicated Hud￾son River Valley botanist; Henningson, Durham,

and Richardson Architecture and Engineering PC,

a long time supporter of environmental work for

the Hudson such as the present volume; and the

Environmental Consortium of Hudson Valley Col￾leges and Universities. We especially thank the

Hudson River Estuarine Program of the NYS De￾partment of Environmental Conservation directed

by Frances Dunwell. We also thank the State Uni￾versity of New York Press for production of the re￾sulting text you now hold.

Believing that readers wish to connect with the

Hudson River system, we have provided a list of

useful Web addresses sequestered from many

sources, and with the assistance of many people; in

particular, we thank Manna Jo Greene of Hudson

River Clearwater Inc. and Emilie Hauser of NYS

Department of Environmental Conservation.

This conference and book project were possible

because of arduous work by several key individuals,

all recognized experts in their respective disciplines.

I thank fisheries ecologist Dr. Robert A. Daniels,

New York State Museum, Albany, NY; aquatic ecol￾ogist Dr. Stuart E. G. Findlay, Cary Institute for

Ecosystem Studies, Millbrook, NY; archeologist/an￾thropologist Dr. Lucille L. Johnson, Vassar College,

Poughkeepsie, NY; industrial historian Dr. Roger

Panetta, Fordham University, New York, NY; or￾nithologist Dr. Kathryn J. Schneider, Hudson Val￾ley Community College, Troy, NY; and then

Executive Director of Hudson River Environmen￾tal Society Mr. Stephen O. Wilson, Albany, NY. My

own background as an environmental analyst with

the NYS Department of Environmental Conserva￾tion, Albany, NY, served me well in the present

comparative study.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

Robert E. Henshaw

xiii