Bronx River forest

Southern Blvd,Webster,Burke Aves,Bronx Pk E,180 St

Bronx River Forest, which spans Bronx Park and the Bronx River Parkway, contains one of the largest natural riparian landscapes remaining in the city. The Bronx River, which begins north of White Plains and flows into the East River at Soundview Park, offers many scenic and recreational opportunities and is an ecologically important habitat for a diverse assemblage of invertebrates, fish, mammals, and birds. The stretch of river in Bronx Park runs through a formerly broad valley floodplain, now bisected by the Bronx River Parkway, where a combination of red maple-hardwood swamp and floodplain forest grows on the riverbanks.

Restoration and management efforts in the Bronx River forest have aimed to reestablish and protect the characteristic species of red maple-hardwood swamps and floodplain forests – red maple (Acer rubrum), sweetgum (Liquidambar styraciflua), pin oak (Quercus palustris), tupelo (Nyssa sylvatica), silver maple (Acer saccharinum), white ash (Fraxinus americana), cottonwood (Populus deltoides), black willow (Salix nigra), and American linden (Tilia americana). This work has included construction of in-stream habitat structures, bank protection using log cribbing, and boardwalks.

NYC Parks partners with the Bronx River Alliance to care for landscapes along the Bronx River. The Bronx River Alliance engages the public on how to steward the Bronx River, including water quality improvements and watershed-scale approaches.