The Mannahatta Project’s goal “is to reconstruct the ecology of Manhattan when Henry Hudson first sailed by in 1609 and compare it to what we know of the island today. The Mannahatta Project will help us to understand, down to the level of one city block, where in Manhattan streams once flowed or where American Chestnuts may have grown, where black bears once marked territories, and where the Lenape fished and hunted.” Based on a 1782 map of the island that shows its waterways and topographical features, the Project will create a digital model of the island that will be displayed next year, on the 400th anniversary of Hudson’s arrival, in several formats, including an exhibition, a book, and an interactive website. The New Yorker has a brief blurb and slideshow from last year. Via Infonaut.