Matthew Best

Matthew joined Riverkeeper as the Habitat Restoration Manager in 2023. Matthew graduated from SUNY Oneonta with a master’s degree in biology and a thesis focused on the life history of the American shad. He also attended SUNY Cobleskill to obtain his bachelor’s degree in fisheries and aquaculture. Matthew’s background in fisheries is mostly focused on migratory fishes such as sturgeon, herring and shad. Prior to starting with Riverkeeper, Matthew has held various positions with organizations such as NOAA, where he helped develop a coastwide River Herring Habitat Conservation Plan. Additionally, he worked as a technician on the NYSDEC Hudson River Fisheries Unit to monitor our important migratory fish species such as Atlantic sturgeon, shortnose sturgeon, striped bass, American eel, river herring and American shad. With Riverkeeper, Matthew is working on dam removals to restore habitat connectivity for these important migratory fishes within the Hudson Valley. When not working on dam removals, Matthew is an avid hiker and can be found in the Catskills, Adirondacks or White Mountains working on bagging peaks.