When Henry Hudson sailed up the river in 1609, he was struck by the abundance in the landscape around him. His shipmate Robert Juet noted that he could actually smell the life in the river valley.

The Hudson River Valley is a unique ecological convergence of geology and biology that has left rich deposits and fertile growth. The industrial revolution in the Northeast took full advantage of the resources above and below ground. The very landscape has been radically altered due to mining, deforestation, and irreversible pollution.