 In the spirit of Earth Day last week, for today's Media Monday, we are sharing information about dam removal in the Hudson River Valley. According to the NYS Department of Environmental Conservation, the Hudson River watershed has more than 1,600 dams and as many as 20,000 culverts. Most of these are remnants of the Hudson Valley's industrial past. Although dams can play an important role in flood mitigation and hydroelectric power generation, they also serve as barriers to migratory fish such as herring who swim up the Hudson's tributary creeks and streams to spawn. Of particular concern are abandoned dams in poor repair. In 2019, Riverkeeper worked with documentary filmmaker Jon Bowermaster to produce the short documentary film, "Undamming the Hudson River," all about the science and efforts behind removing abandoned and unnecessary barriers to the watershed. Watch below for the full film. Learn more about dam removal efforts in the Hudson River watershed:
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 Today is Earth Day, and what better way to celebrate than with a roundup of amazing Hudson River environmental history? Read on to learn more about some of the people and organizations that have had a big impact on the health of the Hudson River, and the American environmental movement.  Women in the Forest: Tree Ladies and the Creation of the Palisades Interstate Park On September 22, 1897, Mrs. Edith Gifford boarded a yacht on the Hudson River along with other members of the New Jersey State Federation of Women’s Clubs (NJSFWC) and male allies from the American Scenic and Historic Preservation Society (ASHPS). The goal of this riverine excursion was to assess the horrible defacement of the Palisades cliffs by quarrymen, who blasted this ancient geological structure for the needs of commerce—specifically, trap rock used to build New York City streets, piers, and the foundations of new skyscrapers. All on board felt that seeing the destruction firsthand, with their own eyes, was the first step in galvanizing support for a campaign to stop the blasting of the cliffs.  Remembering Theodore Cornu: Unacknowledged Father of Environmentalism Theodore J. Cornu was born in New Jersey to a Swiss mother and father, the latter of whom soon abandoned Cornu, his mother and siblings. The young Cornu demonstrated an affinity for art early on and eventually found his way to a Manhattan engrossing studio, where he soon became employed as an “engrosser” hand lettering diplomas and other commemorative documents. Canoeing was popular amongst his engrossing colleagues, which led him to the boating community in Ft. Washington. His love for canoeing seems to have catalyzed his interest in both the Hudson River and Native American customs.  Robert Boyle, Hero of the Hudson If ever a man loved a river, Robert Hamilton Boyle Jr. loved the Hudson — and he was not afraid to shout his love from the rooftops. In his classic text, The Hudson River: a Natural and Unnatural History (1969), Boyle makes his feelings abundantly clear with the book’s very first line. “To those who know it,” wrote Boyle, “the Hudson River is the most beautiful, messed up, productive, ignored and surprising piece of water on the face of the earth. There is no other river quite like it, and for some persons, myself included, no other river will do. The Hudson is the river.”  The Origins of Riverkeeper In March 1966, a small group of recreational and commercial fishermen, concerned citizens and scientists met at a Crotonville American Legion Hall intending to reverse the decline of the Hudson River by reclaiming it from polluters. With them was Robert H. Boyle, an angler and senior writer at Sports Illustrated, who was outraged by the reckless abuse endured by the river. At the group’s initial meeting, Boyle announced that he had stumbled across two forgotten laws: The Rivers and Harbors Act of 1888 and The Refuse Act of 1899. These laws forbade pollution of navigable waters in the U.S., imposed fines for polluters, and provided a bounty reward for whoever reported the violation. After listening to Boyle speak, the blue-collar audience agreed to organize as the Hudson River Fishermen’s Association, and dedicate themselves to tracking down the river’s polluters and bringing them to justice.  History of the Sloop Clearwater Most people familiar with CLEARWATER know the sloop was the brainchild of the late American folk legend and activist Pete Seeger. Pete was an idealist and an optimist. He once wrote, “There is a little Don Quixote in all of us.” You couldn’t tell him something couldn’t be done. But when you take a closer look at CLEARWATER’s story, it’s a miracle the boat was ever built at all. At the time CLEARWATER was built, the “tall ship revival” was still a decade or two away. Yes, the first Operation Sail brought tall ships from around the world to New York Harbor in 1964, but no one was building new tall ships with one or two exceptions. There were vessels built that were replicas of specific ships, such as the MAYFLOWER II, launched in 1956, and the HMS BOUNTY, launched in 1962 and built specifically for the filming of Mutiny on the Bounty. But to form a new not-for-profit to build a replica of a type of ship -- not even a famous historic ship? Nobody was doing that. Seeger and the fledgling Clearwater organization were ahead of the curve.  Preservation and Perseverance: Pillars of Scenic Hudson's Grassroots Legacy Scenic Hudson improves the health, quality of life and prosperity of Hudson Valley residents by protecting and connecting them to the Hudson River and the region beyond. Ever responsive to the changing pulse of the region, the ways we achieve our mission are always evolving. Our work today builds upon more than five decades of advocacy and citizen engagement. When Scenic Hudson was founded in 1963, grass-roots environmental activism did not exist as it does today. Con Edison’s plan to construct a hydroelectric plant on the face of majestic Storm King Mountain in the Hudson Highlands changed that.  If you'd like to learn more about the role of the Hudson River in American environmentalism, check out our online exhibit "Rescuing the River: 50 Years of Environmental Activism on the Hudson," which is now a traveling exhibit and currently on view at the Newburgh Free Library. 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Happy Earth Week! Wednesday is Earth Day, so today's Media Monday features a 1941 Encyclopaedia Britannica Film describing the sources of city water supplies with a focus on the New York City Water system from the Catskill Mountains reservoirs to the faucets of New York City. Video courtesy of archive.org.
Last fall we hosted author and historian Frank Almquist for a discussion of the construction of the Ashokan Reservoir as part of our Follow the River Lecture Series. You can watch the recorded lecture below:
Want to know more? Check out these previous blog posts about New York's water supplies:
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 For Women's History Month, we're revisiting all the ways in which women have had an impact on the Hudson River. Today, we're highlighting a lecture we hosted in 2020 - only our second virtual lecture ever! - with conservation expert Cara Lee. In "Women and the Revival of the Hudson River," Cara discusses how the Hudson River has had a revival in the last sixty years and the roles that many women have played in this epic story, including the ways they created important narratives about the river against the backdrop of societal change. Cara is accompanied by special guest Aidan Mabey. To learn more about the environmental history of the Hudson River more generally, check out our online exhibit, "Rescuing the River: 50 Years of Environmental Activism on the Hudson." You can also read about the women of the Palisades Interstate Parks Commission in Jeanne Haffner's "Women in the Forest: Tree Ladies and the Creation of the Palisades Interstate Park." For more about other remarkable women in the Hudson Valley, check out this article by Scenic Hudson. For more lectures, check out our Follow the River Lecture Series, sponsored in part by Rondout Savings Bank. If you enjoyed this post and would like to support more history blog content, please make a donation to the Hudson River Maritime Museum or become a member today!
Editor's Note: This guest article was written by filmmaker Ken Sargeant. To learn more about the Hudson River's role in modern environmentalism, visit our online exhibit "Rescuing the River."  Photo of Theodore Cornu, provided by Ken Sargeant. Theodore J. Cornu was born in New Jersey to a Swiss mother and father, the latter of whom soon abandoned Cornu, his mother and siblings. The young Cornu demonstrated an affinity for art early on and eventually found his way to a Manhattan engrossing studio, where he soon became employed as an “engrosser” hand lettering diplomas and other commemorative documents. Canoeing was popular amongst his engrossing colleagues, which led him to the boating community in Ft. Washington. His love for canoeing seems to have catalyzed his interest in both the Hudson River and Native American customs.  Registration card for Theodore Cornu, born October 9, 1884. Image provided by Ken Sargeant.  Illustration of Hudson River Sloop "Clearwater," with text, by Theodore Cornu. Image provided by Ken Sargeant. Driven by his passion for canoeing, he forged his way up the Hudson to explore the Croton River. Soon thereafter he made the acquaintance of Anne Van Cortlandt. The two hit it off and he was able to rent The Ferry House on the shore adjacent to The Van Cortlandt Manor House. With the passage of a few years, he become adept in the process of building canoes and typically had several in various stages of assembly on the premises.  Newspaper article "Railroad Requested to Stop Pollution - Waste Oil Annoys Bathers in Croton River." Article mentions Theodore Cornu. Image provided by Ken Sargeant. His activism seem to have emerged after years of enduring the oil slicks washing up the Croton River from nearby The New York Central Railroad facility, where the untreated waste from its cleaning procedures was discharged into the mouth of the Croton River. By 1933 Cornu had had enough. The fish caught in the river were said to smell and taste like oil, and Cornu was, thus, able to enlist the support of some fishermen in Crotonville who implored the State to pressure the railroad to clean up its act. They won. By the late thirties, Cornu was a member of four different canoeing associations and was clearly wedded to the rivers. In 1936 he joined forces with other likeminded individuals and was involved in the founding of the Hudson River Conservation Society. From this pulpit he preferred his own interpretation of native inspired environmental care wisdom.  "Windward with the Hudson Cruising Canoeists," published April, 1947, written by Theodore Cornu. Image provided by Ken Sargeant. Cornu was closely associated with another Croton river lover, Egon Ottinger whose wife was involved with a host of gardening associations and often presented him to their adherents as a lecturer on “the ecology." By the early 50’s Cornu had stepped up his profile and had formulated the basics of his Hudson Valley Echoes environmental activist group. It had no rules or dues. Members simply pledged to safeguard the rivers each according to their own skills and resources.  Cover image of issue No. 1 of "Hudson Valley Echoes," illustrated, written, and published by Theodore Cornu. Image provided by Ken Sargeant.  Newspaper article "Garden Club Plan Protest On Dumps," featuring Theodore Cornu. Image provided by Ken Sargeant. By 1956, Cornu’s proximity to Croton Point gave rise to another grievance. Westchester County’s use of the point as a dump troubled him to no end. Aside from the obvious and unavoidable stench, Cornu had, since 1926 observed the loss of vital wetland bird habitat, as the county filled in marshland with garbage. His visionary leadership caused him to issue the initial salvo against the county, which persisted in using Croton Point as a disposal site until dumping was curtailed 30 years later, in 1986 by order of the courts. In the 1987 ”Complete Revival Program” published by Clearwater, on a page captioned “The Art River Saving,” the organization wrote that Cornu, who has passed away a year earlier at the age of 101 “had perhaps the longest association with the Hudson River of any conservationist."  "The Art of River Saving" page from Clearwater's 1987 "Complete Revival Program," featuring an illustration by Theodore Cornu. Image provided by Ken Sargeant. Most accounts place the start of the Modern Environmental Movement with the 1962 publication of Rachel Carson’s “Silent Spring”, or alternatively with the pitched battle against Con Edison’s “Rube Goldberg-esque” Storm King power proposal. The first Earth Day was celebrated on April 22, 1970, roughly a year after Cornu’s demise. By that time time Cornu had been making “good trouble” protesting and advocating for the environment over 35 years. Cornu’s unrelenting environmental activism seems to have pre-dated the “Movement” by decades. For this reason, it would seem prudent to re-examine his place in environmental history. AuthorKen Sargeant is a Croton-based Brooklyn-born, Harlem-reared photographer, documentarian, environmentalist and “back porch” historian, with a particular interest in community-level history. He was educated at the Bronx High School of Science, and Middlebury College,” subsequently pursuing a career in commercial photography. He is the co-founder of the Harlem Cultural Archives historical society (www.harlemcultural.org), a “Fashion Arts Xchange Group” trustee, and a “Hudson Valley Echo” in good standing. If you enjoyed this post and would like to support more history blog content, please make a donation to the Hudson River Maritime Museum or become a member today!
 President Lyndon B. Johnson and Lady Bird Johnson walking through a field of flowers. LBJ Library photo by Frank Wolfe. In 1968, as part of a tour of national sites of historic and scenic significance, First Lady Lady Bird Johnson toured the Hudson River. Speaking with state officials, reviewing plans for riverside parks, and urging historic preservation of historic mansions along the Hudson, Lady Bird didn't make it much farther north than Tarrytown, but her appraisal of the Hudson River was part of a larger effort at preserving the unique scenic beauty of America while also conserving thousands of acres and protecting undeveloped areas. You can see the coverage of the First Lady's tour of the lower Hudson River (aboard the Circle Line XI) below. On this trip in May of 1968, the First Lady dedicated the newly opened American Museum of Immigration at the Statue of Liberty, meets Governor Rockefeller and NYC Mayor John Lindsay and their wives before boarding the Circle Line XI to travel up the Hudson to Tarrytown, admiring the Palisades and learning about plans a new park planned for Harlem River, funded in part by a federal grant. Lawrence Rockefeller accompanied Lady Bird Johnson on the trip, explaining conservation and preservation efforts in the state. She learns about waterfront mansions like Lyndhurst, then lands at Tarrytown and visits Sunnyside, Sleepy Hollow cemetery, Van Cortlandt Manor, interacting with costumed reenactors, and finally visiting Boscobel. Lady Bird was instrumental in a number of important pieces of legislation. The Johnson Administration, under Lady Bird's urging, became one of the most conservationist presidencies since Theodore Roosevelt. You can learn more about the impact of her environmental work in the short documentary film below. She is credited with introducing or influencing the passage of the Wilderness Act of 1964, the Highway Beautification Act of 1965, and the National Wild and Scenic Rivers Act of 1968. In total, over 200 environmental laws were passed during Lyndon B. Johnson's tenure as president, many of them attributed directly to Lady Bird Johnson. To learn more about Lady Bird and her conservation efforts, visit www.ladybirdjohnson.org. Today, many of the historic sites Lady Bird visited in 1968 have been saved and restored and you can visit them today. And the Hudson River Valley is now a National Heritage Area. To learn more about its many historic sites and scenic beauty, visit www.hudsonrivervalley.com. If you enjoyed this post and would like to support more history blog content, please make a donation to the Hudson River Maritime Museum or become a member today!
 Still from the documentary film, "Little Drops of Water" (1964), featuring Joseph C. Celik. Today's Media Monday post is a follow-up to Earth Day, from before there even was an Earth Day. In 1964, New York State was facing a number of water quality and quantity problems. Gripped by a drought that ran some city reservoirs dry, the extent of water pollution in the state became increasingly clear as municipalities struggled to find clean drinking water. By the end of the year, Governor Nelson Rockefeller announced an "all-out program" to end water pollution. Hosted by Governor Nelson A. Rockefeller from the Executive Chamber in Albany, N.Y., Little Drops of Water is about drought, water usage and pollution of New York State's water resources. Featuring interviews with numerous experts and locals, including an interview with Commissioner of Health Dr. Hollis S. Ingraham, the film focuses on the domestic and industrial water and sewage uses throughout the state. Gloversville, N.Y. and Rivershead, N.Y. are featured prominently. This film is part of the collections of the New York State Governor's office, part of the New York State Archives. Do you remember the drought of 1964? Or other droughts in your lifetime? Where does your municipality get its water from? Tell us in the comments! To learn more about how the Hudson River played a role in the modern environmental movement, check out our online exhibit, Rescuing the River. If you enjoyed this post and would like to support more history blog content, please make a donation to the Hudson River Maritime Museum or become a member today!
 Screenshot of Pete Seeger singing "Garbage" from the 1986 documentary film, "The Mountain in the City." It's nearly Earth Day, so we thought we'd honor the environment with the Hudson River's most famous advocate - Pete Seeger. In this excerpt from the 1986 documentary film "The Mountain in the City," Seeger sings the song "Garbage" live with trash barges in New York Harbor in the background. The film was produced by New York State Legislative Commission on Solid Waste Management and has been digitized and shared by the New York State Archives. Originally written by folk musician Bill Steele in 1969 after observing the practice dumping trash into San Francisco Bay to create fill for new construction, the song was an instant hit, coinciding with the first Earth Day in 1970. Covered by a number of folk musicians, including Seeger, "Garbage" remains a popular environmental anthem today. It was appropriate to include in "The Mountain in the City," as New York City at the time dumped its garbage directly into the ocean, a practice that did not stop until 1992. GARBAGE - LYRICS Mister Thompson calls the waiter, orders steak and baked potato (Then) he leaves the bone and gristle and he never eats the skin The busboy comes and takes it, with a cough contaminates it (And he) puts it in a can with coffee grounds and sardine tins And the truck comes by on Friday and carts it all away A thousand trucks just like it are converging on the Bay Oh, Garbage, garbage, garbage, garbage We're filling up the seas with garbage What will we do when there's no place left To put all the garbage Mr. Thompson starts his Cadillac and winds it down the freeway track Leaving friends and neighbors in a hydrocarbon haze He's joined by lots of smaller cars all sending gases to the stars There to form a seething cloud that hangs for thirty days And the sun licks down into it with an ultraviolet tongue (Till it) turns to smog and then it settles in our lungs Oh, Garbage, garbage We're filling up the sky with garbage Garbage, garbage What will we do, when there's nothing left to breathe but garbage Getting home and taking off his shoes he settles with the evening news While the kids do homework with the TV in one ear While Superman for thousandth's time sell talking dolls and conquers crime (They) dutifully learn the date of birth of Paul Revere In the paper there's a piece about the mayor's middle name (And) he gets it done in time to watch the all-star bingo game Oh, Garbage We're filling up our minds with garbage What will we do when there's nothing left to read And there's nothing left to need There's nothing left to watch There's nothing left to touch There's nothing left to walk upon And nothing left to ponder on Nothing left to see And nothing left to be but garbage In Mr. Thompson's factory they're making plastic Christmas trees Complete with silver tinsel and a geodesic stand The plastic's mixed in giant vats, from some conglomeration that's Been piped from deep within the Earth, or strip-mined from the land And if you ask them questions they say "why don't you see? It's absolutely needed for the economy." Oh, garbage, garbage, garbage Their stocks and their bonds all garbage What will they do when their system go to smash There's no value to their cash There's no money to be made That there's a world to be repaid Their kids will read in history book About financiers and other crooks And feudalism and slavery And nukes and all their knavery To history's dustbin they're consigned, Along with many other kinds of garbage If you'd like to learn more about Seeger and his role and the role of the Hudson River in the modern environmental movement, check out our online exhibit, Rescuing the River.
If you enjoyed this post and would like to support more history blog content, please make a donation to the Hudson River Maritime Museum or become a member today! Looking for holiday gifts? Need to build up your reading list for colder weather? We're listing some of our favorite Hudson River history books plus some new releases to tide you over until spring. All of the following links to go Amazon. Just click on the book image or title to purchase. If you'd like to give the museum some extra support, shop at smile.amazon.com and select the Hudson River Maritime Museum as your charity. We'll get a small percentage of your purchase. Some of these books are also available in our museum store, so stop by to purchase in person! And as always, we have a large selection of rare and out of print maritime books in the store, perfect for browsing. Hudson River Classics The Hudson: America's River by Frances F. Dunwell Fran Dunwell offers up a beautifully illustrated history of the Hudson River with this coffee table book. In particular, Dunwell frames the Hudson River and its importance in New York State and national history.  The Hudson: A History by Tom Lewis This somewhat scholarly book nevertheless provides an excellent overview of the Hudson River, from First Contact through the twentieth century.  The Hudson: An Illustrated Guide to the Living River by Stephen P. Stanne with Roger G. Panetta, Brian E. Forist, and Maija Liisa Niemisto The third edition of this classic book will be released in January, 2021, but you can pre-order before the holidays. Containing information about the Hudson's wildlife, flora, and environmental history, The Hudson: An Illustrated Guide to the Living River is essential reading for any Hudson River enthusiast.  The Hudson River Highlands by Frances F. Dunwell This classic text has kept its relevance. The museum consulted it for our RiverWise journey through the Highlands just this year! With chapters on everything from geology to the American Revolution, Dunwell's book is an engaging and interesting read. New Publications (2018-2020) Embattled River: The Hudson and Modern American Environmentalism by David Schuyler (2018, paperback 2020) Newly out in paperback, Embattled River tells the story of the Hudson River and its role in the formation of the environmental movement in America. The museum consulted this book as part of its Rescuing the River exhibit. Sadly, David Schuyler passed away suddenly in July, 2020. We are grateful for his work and he will be missed.  In the Shadow of Genius: The Brooklyn Bridge and Its Creators by Barbara G. Mensch (2018) Part coffee table book, part history, Barbara G. Mensch combines decades of her photography with archival images of the construction of the Brooklyn Bridge. Weaving together her personal experience of living in the shadow of the bridge with the lives of John and Emily Roebling, In the Shadow of Genius makes for fascinating reading - and looking.  Hudson River Lighthouses by the Hudson River Maritime Museum (2019) Written by the Hudson River Maritime Museum, Hudson River Lighthouses chronicles all of the Hudson River's historic lighthouses, from Troy, NY to New York Harbor. Includes information about lost lighthouses and early manned navigational lights. Also available for purchase in the Hudson River Maritime Museum store. All proceeds benefit HRMM.  The Last Pirate of New York: A Ghost Ship, a Killer, and the Birth of a Gangster Nation by Rich Cohen (2019) An engrossing history of the life and times of Albert Hicks, infamously known as the "last pirate of New York," for his prosecution and execution for piracy in 1860. Rich Cohen links Hicks to the rise of gangsterism in New York City in the latter half of the 19th century.  The Kidnapping Club: Wall Street, Slavery, and Resistance on the Eve of the Civil War by Jonathan Daniel Wells (2020) Although gradual manumission was implemented in New York starting in 1799, the story of slavery in the state doesn't end there. In this new book, historian Jonathan Daniel Wells chronicles the New York City officials who sought to circumvent antislavery laws from the 1830s to "the eve of the Civil War" and the small group of dedicated abolitionists who fought to stop them.  Enterprising Waters: The History and Art of New York's Erie Canal by Brad L. Utter (2020) The companion publication to the New York State Museum exhibition by the same name, Enterprising Waters chronicles the history of the Erie Canal in New York State.  The Hudson Valley: The First 250 Million Years: A Mostly Chronological and Occasionally Personal History by David Levine (2020) Journalist David Levine covers all 250 million years of Hudson Valley history (or thereabouts) in a series of short historical (and often humorous) essays, on topics from dinosaurs to the present.  The Last Slave Ships: New York and the End of the Middle Passage by John Harris (2020) Published on November 24, 2020, this brand new history chronicles the role of New York City - particularly lower Manhattan - in the illegal slave trade. Harris outlines how the U.S. government turned a blind eye and even aided enslavers in their efforts, despite the illegality of the importation of enslaved Africans at the time. Especially for Kids The Christmas Tugboat: How the Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree Came to New York City by George Matteson. This delightful children's book tells the story of real-life tugboat captain George Matteson and his daughter as they make their way down the Hudson River with the Rockefeller Center Christmas tree in tow.  River of Dreams: The Story of the Hudson River by Hudson Talbott. This beautifully illustrated children's book chronicles the history of the Hudson River from pre-contact Indigenous history all the way through the exciting 19th century, as told through the dreams of a boy named Hudson.  Picturing America: Thomas Cole and the Birth of American Art by Hudson Talbott In his follow-up to River of Dreams, Talbott chronicles the life of Thomas Cole and his relationship to the Catskills in this beautifully illustrated book about the birth of the Hudson River School of Art. More to come in 2021!There are a number of fascinating new history books being published in 2021, so keep your eyes peeled for another post with that list. In the meantime, Happy Holidays and happy reading! If you enjoyed this post and would like to support more history blog content, please make a donation to the Hudson River Maritime Museum or become a member today!
 Robert Boyle seining for fish in the Hudson River. This was the picture he chose to be featured on the back of The Hudson: A Natural and Unnatural History. Hudson River Maritime Museum. If ever a man loved a river, Robert Hamilton Boyle Jr. loved the Hudson — and he was not afraid to shout his love from the rooftops. In his classic text, The Hudson River: a Natural and Unnatural History (1969), Boyle makes his feelings abundantly clear with the book’s very first line. “To those who know it,” wrote Boyle, “the Hudson River is the most beautiful, messed up, productive, ignored and surprising piece of water on the face of the earth. There is no other river quite like it, and for some persons, myself included, no other river will do. The Hudson is the river.” Gratifyingly, Boyle’s love for the Hudson was not merely a historic/scientific scholarly interest. Yes, Boyle studied the Hudson obsessively, but he did more than passively analyze his favorite waterway. He actively fought to save the river in its darkest hour, when pollution had reduced the Hudson to a shell of its former self. In his decades-long conservationist crusade, Boyle wrote watershed exposes, discovered crucial legal strategies, and founded a seminal environmental organization. Not bad for blue-collar “Brooklyn-born sportswriter and angler.” By the end of his life, Boyle — the down-to-earth fisherman — had become “the unofficial guardian of the Hudson River.” All that being said, a question remains. How did Boyle come to be so fascinated by the Hudson River? Why did he want to save it so badly? By all accounts, Bob Boyle grew to love the Hudson during his 1940s boyhood boarding school years, when he spent his days off fishing by the (then relatively clean) riverside. When he moved to Croton-on-Hudson in 1960, Boyle was treated to a rude awakening. Instead of the semi-healthy river of his youth, Boyle found a waterway this close to clinically dead. Pollution, of both chemical and human waste varieties, had progressed to intolerable levels. In addition to being a health hazard to humans, the river’s once abundant flora and fauna were mysteriously dying out. Boyle, ever the fisherman, would not stand for that sort of thing. He decided to take up arms and go to war for the Hudson. His weapon of choice? A pen.  Dead stripers in the dump, as featured in “A Stink of Dead Stripers,” Sports Illustrated, April 25, 1965. To reiterate an old cliché, a picture is worth a thousand words. Bob Boyle clearly took that message to heart. In his historic 1965 Sports Illustrated article, “A Stink of Dead Stripers,” Boyle began with a simple command: “Take a good look at the picture below.” The picture in question revealed a thousand-strong pile of striped bass “left to rot” at a dump. Even without context, a discarded fish-kill of that size looked, well, fishy. Bob Boyle thought so too — and he knew just who to blame. The culprit, in Boyle’s (ultimately correct) opinion, was the Consolidated Edison Company. The exact circumstances of the kill were not exactly clear — “but the fish apparently were attracted by warm water discharged from the plant and then were trapped beneath a dock.” Concerned citizens took pictures of these massive fish kills and submitted them to the New York State Conservation Department — which later “denied that such pictures existed” when questioned by Boyle. Of course, Boyle did eventually manage to get ahold of those pictures. Their publication, in conjunction with the scathing Sports Illustrated article, was the opening salvo in Boyle’s war against Consolidated Edison. From the start, one fact was crystal clear: Boyle wasn’t going to pull any punches.  Original schematic drawing for the Storm King power plant, as featured in the New York Times announcement of the project, September 27, 1962. In 1962, Consolidated Edison announced plans for a new hydroelectric power station, plans which had local fisherman and conservationists up in arms. The company hoped to carve a facility out of Storm King Mountain, a site renowned for its scenic beauty. Locals were, understandably, a little horrified by this scheme. The proposed power plant would obviously mar the landscape — and it probably wouldn’t do the river’s fish population much good either. Bob Boyle suspected that Con Ed’s “water-intake equipment would kill small fish,” decimating the population of his beloved striped bass. In 1965, Boyle joined a number of conservation groups (including Scenic Hudson, one of New York’s most enduring non-for-profit organizations) in a “lawsuit against a proposed Consolidated Edison power plant.” It was not an easy fight, but, after many years of legal battle, the conservationists’ efforts bore fruit. The lawsuit, entitled Scenic Hudson Preservation Conference v. Federal Power Commission, resulted in “the first federal court ruling affirming the right of citizens to mount challenges on the basis of potential harm to aesthetic, recreational or conservational values as well as tangible economic injury.” It was, in every respect, a game changer and the true beginning of the modern environmental movement. And what was the crucial keystone of Scenic Hudson’s case? Scientific studies on the Hudson’s striped bass population, which would have, as Boyle predicted, been decimated by Con Ed’s plant. After the Battle of Storm King had been won, Boyle did not choose to sit back and bask in his victory. No, he knew that work still had to be done. The river remained a polluted mess. By preventing the creation of Con Ed’s power plant, Boyle had only fulfilled the physician’s doctrine: “First, do no harm.” The Hudson still needed a thorough cleaning and a dedicated protector, a watchdog to scare the polluters away. To that end, Boyle began to conceive of a plan. He imagined a sort of ‘river keeper,’ a naturalist/conservationist “out on the river the length of the year.” This riverkeeper would keep watch on the river, sniffing out polluters and bringing them to task. What’s more, the riverkeeper would not act alone. They would have an entire organization behind them — an organization with real teeth. Boyle already had already founded just such an organization, the Hudson River Fishermen’s Association, in 1966.  Effluent pipe from Penn Central, 1968. Courtesy Bob Hoebermann. In 1983, the Fishermen’s Association evolved into ‘Riverkeeper,’ a non-for-profit environmental organization dedicated to the protection of the Hudson. But what about the organization’s aforementioned teeth? Well, Boyle had discovered, years earlier, a pair of 19th century laws (the Rivers and Harbors Act of 1899 and the New York Harbor Act of 1888) which banned the “release of pollutants in the nation’s (and the state’s) waterways.” Furthermore, the two Acts allowed “citizens to sue polluters and collect a bounty.” Luckily, the laws still held in the modern era. Bob Boyle and the Fishermen’s Association tested out their legal strategy against the Penn Central Railroad, and were able to stop a “pipe spewing oil from the Croton Rail Yard” and collect “$2,000 in fines, the first bounty awarded under the 19th-century law.” The bounty money was then repurposed to underwrite suits against other polluters. Riverkeeper wisely kept this legal strategy. All in all, it was an admirably self-sustaining system. Eventually, Riverkeeper evolved past the Hudson River. It became a model for others around the world, a part of the “Waterkeeper alliance.” Today, the Waterkeeper organization “unites more than 300 Waterkeeper Organizations and Affiliates that are on the front lines of the global water crisis, patrolling and protecting more than 2.5 million square miles of rivers, lakes and coastal waterways on six continents.”14 The individual waterkeepers work with local communities, enforce environmental laws, track down polluters and educate children about the environment. They are watchful protectors, just as Bob Boyle intended.  Robert Boyle at the launching of the first Riverkeeper boat, 1983, at the Hudson River Maritime Museum in Kingston, NY. Courtesy Betsy Garthwaite. Although his main contribution to the environmental movement was undoubtedly Riverkeeper, Boyle never gave up and grew tired of his favorite river. He certainly never gave up fishing for his beloved striped bass. After all, Boyle is the man who once wrote: “There may be more stripers in the Hudson than there are people in New York State. I often find this a cheering thought.” Boyle was, in life and in print, down-to-earth, passionate, and adventurous — with a wryly sardonic sense of humor. He lived a life rich in meaning, a life he could be proud of. Case in point: Boyle once predicted that the Hudson would become “either ‘clean and wholesome’ or ‘bereft of the larger forms of life.’” Before he died on May 19th, 2017, Robert H. Boyle could be sure of two things: 1) the river had “gone the better way” and 2) he had played a small but crucial part in its salvation. It just goes to show. Everyone is capable of making a difference, if they only have the courage to try AuthorLucia O’Corozine is a student at Hampshire College. She was an Education and Research Intern with the Hudson River Maritime Museum over the summer of 2018 and contributed research to HRMM’s new exhibit, “Rescuing the River: 50 Years of Environmental Activism on the Hudson.” This article was originally published in the 2019 issue of the Pilot Log. If you enjoyed this post and would like to support more history blog content, please make a donation to the Hudson River Maritime Museum or become a member today!
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