GOWANUS — I’ll never forget the first time I saw humans on the Gowanus Canal. It was summer in early August, and I was standing on the Third Street Bridge. As the Venetian stench of the canal wafted up, my eyes lit upon a shocking sight: Canoes! In that oil-slicked water! 

“Be careful!” I yelled down at the bemused paddlers as they approached. “The water is toxic! Don’t let it get on you!” 

I half-expected their little boats to disintegrate like sugar spoons in coffee. Thankfully, they did not.

Those canoers were early members of the Gowanus Dredgers Canoe Club (GDCC), and in the past two decades, their canoes have become a familiar sight on the Gowanus. The Dredgers are passionate advocates for the health of the canal and for the wildlife — including humans — who use it. Recently, club members met at their 2nd Street boathouse to discuss the latest phase of their canal cleanup project, which involves public commentary on the proposed Natural Resource Damage Assessment (NRDA) of the Superfund site.

The Draft Assessment Plan, as it’s being called, is a joint effort from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (collectively, the “Trustees”). Among other things, it provides background on the canal, explains how to assess environmental injuries and damages, and gives how-tos for submitting personal feedback that can be acted upon later.

“The NRDA process will help us determine the appropriate amount and type of projects needed to restore, replace or acquire the equivalent of injured natural resources at Gowanus Canal and the associated ecological functions and human-use services those resources should provide,” wrote the Trustees in a murky letter dated March 1. They’re seeking public input through June 14, after which they will “respond to and incorporate comments into the Final Assessment Plan as applicable.” 

You can read it on the Fish and Wildlife Service website. A hard copy is also available at the Brooklyn Public Library’s Park Slope branch. The public is encouraged to review, question and comment on the plan by emailing the Department of Environmental Conservation at [email protected].

At 47 pages, the NRDA is challenging to navigate in spots, much like the canal itself. So, to facilitate public response, Dredgers Celeste LeCompte and Lillian Ruiz have created a presentation that breaks down the key points. They’re happy to help people review it and submit comments.

Obviously, the GDCC has a vested interest in a healthy Gowanus Canal. “We’ve been boating on it since 1999,” said LeCompte, who chaired the recent meeting. “The NRDA will help define and restore the wildlife and human uses of the canal that have been lost due to industrial pollution and the recent remediation work. It will put a dollar amount on the harm done and use that money to fund projects that repair it.”

The plan focuses primarily on the habitat damage along the bulkhead line from Butler to 23rd Street, which is caused by petroleum-based contaminants called polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons. 

“The water in the canal, the sediment, the wildlife living in and around the canal, and the people using the canal for fishing, boating and natural enjoyment are all fair game [for public commentary],” said LeCompte.

At the meeting, she briefly reminisced about a certain “mud snail day” when she and other Dredgers had counted thousands of mud snails during a club event. The lowly mud snail did make the plan’s list of harmed creatures, “but mussels aren’t mentioned at all!” LeCompte said indignantly. “The plan considers the canal to be a ‘littoral’ landscape, like a beach, which is clearly untrue. It’s an intertidal marsh.”

The Superfund process is “very complex and very well-funded,” said Dredger Brad Vogel. “We want the decision makers to know that there are a lot of people involved and that we really know what we are talking about. One thing our club brings to the process that no one else can is our intimate, ongoing observation of the canal. We know it contains extremophiles that are still unknown to science that we can’t even assess the value of yet. Clearly, these organisms are able to survive in crazy conditions and may, therefore, [benefit humans]. If they’re lost, how will we catalog that?”

Other Dredgers expressed concern about the fish die-off caused by reduced oxygen levels and the habitat loss that has drastically reduced bird numbers along the canal. “The bulkheads themselves have eradicated wildlife habitats that existed before,” said Dredger Jean Halloran. “The fish population has really taken a hit. And all the birds that feed on the fish.”

“We’re definitely advocating for the bulkheads to be cut back,” agreed LeCompte. “There’s no reason for them to be so high. Shortening them would make it easier to create habitat along the shoreline and add launch points for canoes.”

“Our perspective comes from mucking around in waters that no one else would dare,” said Ruiz. “New York City’s waterways are precious. We need to do right by them. Other parts of the city have figured out how to turn their waterways into places people want to be. There’s so much potential for the Gowanus Canal to be a healthy outdoor experience for people.”

These days, a bench by Whole Foods has become my favorite place to watch the sunset peacefully. I’ve seen cormorants, geese, ducks, egrets, herons, jellyfish, raccoons, and, yes, rats. I’ve even canoed the canal with the Dredgers under the light of a full moon: a truly profound experience and one I highly recommend. If you value experiences like this, now’s the time to speak up.