Niagara River Corridor Restoration

The Niagara River Corridor is a Global Important Bird Area (IBA) well-known among birders for being the site of one of the world’s most spectacular concentrations of gulls, with 19 species recorded and one-day counts of over 100,000 individuals. The river also hosts a remarkable diversity and abundance of waterfowl, while the habitats along the river’s edge support an exceptional diversity of migratory songbirds in spring and fall.

In some parts of the Upper Niagara River very little natural shoreline remains. The area’s few remaining marshes, including one at Buckhorn Island State Park, are critically important for vulnerable marsh birds including Least Bitterns, Pied-billed Grebes and Sedge Wrens. 

The Niagara River Corridor and its surrounding region has been identified by Audubon scientists as one of the 12 most important coastal wetland regions across the Great Lakes that are most important to conserve or restore for vulnerable marsh birds. 

Audubon Great Lakes, Audubon New York, the Buffalo Audubon Society, and other partners have engaged in large-scale conservation and habitat improvement projects in the area. Projects include restoring wetlands and forest habitat on Buckhorn Island for vulnerable marsh birds and exploring the feasibility of habitat restoration at Great Lakes Areas of Concern (AOC), like Cherry Farm, and New York State Superfund Sites that have been designated by the EPA for hazardous contamination.

Partners include Ducks Unlimited, New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, New York State Office of Parks and Recreation and Historic Preservation, Great Lakes Commission, and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.