The Mannahatta Project: Manhattan Island Year 1609

Have you ever wondered what New York was like before it was a city? In his keynote address to the Chicago Nature & Wildlife Research Summit, Dr. Eric W. Sanderson—Senior Conservation Ecologist, Wildlife Conservation Society—presents his work on the Mannahatta Project, an effort to reconstruct the landscape of Manhattan Island in 1609.
By geographically matching 18th-century maps of Manhattan's landscape to the modern cityscape, combing through historical and archaeological records, and applying modern principles of ecology and computer modeling, Dr. Sanderson has re-created the forests of Times Square, the meadows of Harlem and the wetlands of downtown. If Mannahatta were intact today, its natural wonders would rival Yellowstone, according to Sanderson.
Free and open to the public, but registration is necessary. To register, click here.
 
Sponsored by the City of Chicago, Aramark, The Burnham Plan Centennial Committee and the Chicago Botanic Garden