The Billion Oyster Project in New York City, New York is seeking a Restoration Project Manager responsible for managing site-specific oyster restoration initiatives which are funded by a variety of private, City, State and Federal funded restoration partnerships.
Billion Oyster Project’s mission is to restore a sustainable oyster population to New York Harbor and to rebuild a connection to New York Harbor by engaging New Yorkers directly in the work of growing and restoring one billion oysters.
Oysters were the keystone species and original ecosystem engineers of New York Harbor. Oyster reefs once covered more than 220,000 acres of the Hudson River estuary. They provided valuable ecosystem services to the region by filtering water, providing habitat for other marine species and attenuating wave energy. Today, oysters are functionally extinct in the Harbor as a result of overharvesting, dredging and pollution. The absence of oysters has impaired our estuary’s ability to clean the water and absorb excess nitrogen; the loss of reefs has reduced protective habitat, destabilized the sea floor and left our shoreline vulnerable to destructive wave action.
The Billion Oyster Project aims to reverse these effects by bringing oysters and their reef habitat back to New York Harbor. Restoring oysters and reefs will, over time, restore the local marine ecosystem’s natural mechanisms for maintaining itself, resulting in cleaner water and greater biodiversity. Engaging students and the general public in this work will build a culture of stewardship and a more robust understanding and appreciation of the Harbor for future generations.
Application Deadline: April 25, 2018
Photo of oyster reef courtesy of Billion Oyster Project.