New York

Environment

Although New York is better known for skyscrapers and traffic congestion, the city Department of Parks and Recreation has jurisdiction over 834 square kilometers (322 square miles) of urban wilderness, including 83,368 hectares (206,000 acres) of parkland and 2,024 hectares (5,000 acres) of forest preserves. Also included in the resources protected by the parks department are approximately 500,000 trees located on the city's streets. These trees are also protected by the Department of Environmental Conservation and citizens' groups, notably Trees New York, founded in 1976.

In addition, volunteers are helping restore 341 hectares (843 acres) of wild-life habitat in Central Park, including areas frequented by migrating birds and the New Yorkers who gather regularly to watch them. Also within the city's borders are beachfront wildlife habitats, such as that along Rockaway Peninsula in Queens, which is home to two federally listed endangered species and one listed by the state of New York. The city's Urban Park Rangers have taken measures to protect these rare beach-dwelling species, including monitoring, patrolling, vehicle exclusion, and fencing.