When: Monday, April 29, from 6 p.m to 8 p.m.
Where: Quonochontaug Grange, 5662 Post Road, Charlestown
What: Charlestown’s State Representative Tina Spears and RI State Senator Victoria Gu, who represents the southern and most western parts of Charlestown, are holding an informational meeting on Climate Resiliency.
A URI-led team of researchers has found direct evidence of a species – the American woodcock, a migratory shorebird from eastern and central North America – that overlaps periods of migration and reproduction, a rare breeding strategy known as “itinerant breeding.”
Early in-person voting will take place at Town Hall, anytime between 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday, from April 17 to May 6. Tuesday, May 7 is the all day Referendum. With or without the Bond, the Chariho operating budget will be the same, rejecting the bond will not save money. Please read the post for more details.
Voters Passed the Chariho budget during Tuesday’s referendum. Charlestown voted 372 in favor to 78 against. Total District voters voted 1203 in favor to 949 against. Thank you to all who voted!
When: Wednesday, April 10 at 9:00 am
Where: Blue Shutters Beach in Charlestown
What: Release of a yearling male harp seal back to the wild
Pappardelle is a male harp seal who is about 1-year-old. He was found stranded, malnourished, and dehydrated.
Please remember that seal release dates and times may change without notice.
The U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service, in partnership with RI Department of Environmental Management, is hosting the Cinder Worm Workshop, now in its fifteenth year. There will be an evening class in fly tying instruction and one weekend evening of fly fishing, all free and without charge to registrants. The course syllabus is a treasure chest of comprehensive knowledge and instructional excellence. Dates and details in post.
The Rhode Island Division of Fish and Wildlife is seeking the public’s help to identify Bald Eagle nests throughout the state. With your help, they can keep the nesting database up to date to better inform conservation in Rhode Island. Contact email to report your nest sightings is in this post.
DEM is reminding Rhode Islanders to remain vigilant for invasive species as their lifecycles progress and they emerge during the spring. The Spotted Lanternfly (SLF) and Winter Moth are two invasive species that remain the focus of DEM’s Division of Agriculture and Forest Environment’s Cooperative Agricultural Pest Survey (CAPS) and Forest Health Program efforts to monitor and limit the spread of pests which represent a tangible threat to Rhode Island’s agriculture and forests.
The commission studying forest management and fire prevention in Rhode Island’s forests has released its final report, recommending that the state allocate considerably more resources to mitigating the risk of wildfires. With forestry staff at the Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management cut by 75% since 1990, the agency has been able to manage just 1% of the state’s forests.
2024 Earth Day Celebration
When: Saturday, April 20 from 10:30 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Where: Ninigret Park
What: Free activities for the whole family
Why: Household hazardous waste must not be placed in regular garbage!
When: Saturday, April 20, 2024 from 8:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m.
Where: Narragansett Beach – North Pavilion, 77 Boston Neck Road
Appointments are required for this event – link to register in post.
Submit your information at the “Make the Green Bond Greener” link in this post, and the Rhode Island Land Trust Council will deliver a postcard on your behalf to your RI state legislators to let them know you support returning money for land preservation to conserve important landscapes, watersheds, and farms to the “Green Bond” that will be on the 2024 state-wide general election ballot.
When: Tuesday, April 9 from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.
Where: Charlestown Town Hall on Route 2 (4540 South County Trail)
What: All-day referendum on 2024/2025 Chariho Regional School District Budget
Under the state law governing Chariho, a majority of the citizens of Charlestown, Richmond and Hopkinton must approve the Chariho School District Budget by referendum in order for the budget to be adopted.
Approximately 70% of all bird species are migratory and 80% of those that undergo migration do so at night. As countless numbers of birds pass overhead as you sleep, many of them will be drawn off course by bright lights scattered across the landscape below them, leading to fatigue and increasing risk of collisions with buildings.
When: Wednesday, March 27 at 6 p.m.
Where: Cross Mills Public Library, 4417 Old Post Road, Charlestown
What: “A Small Town’s Brush with Nuclear Power”, presentation by Journalist Brian Mitchell who was hired as the first editor of the Chariho Times in 1977, when plans to build a nuclear power plant in Charlestown were well underway. Brian will recount the story of reporting on this controversial proposal.
The Chariho School Committee voted to adopt the Fiscal Year 2024-25 budget. The period for amendments has now ended, and the next step will be to present it to voters in April. During this final opportunity to make revisions, some items, such as the $434,000 that the committee had restored to Hope Valley School at a previous meeting, were cut from the spending plan. The final budget total, before state aid, is $58,341,117. Even if voters reject the bond in May, Hope Valley School is slated for closure.
The Department of Environmental Management is reminding Rhode Islanders to remove potential food sources from their properties as black bears emerge with warmer weather. Bird feeders, unsecured trash cans, livestock feed, and other easily available household and backyard food sources attract bears primarily in early spring, during droughts, or in the fall when they are trying to put on weight for hibernation.
When: Friday, March 22 at 9:00 am
Where: Blue Shutters Beach in Charlestown
What: Release of two seals back to the wild
Shamrock is a juvenile female harbor seal. Nugget is a yearling male harp seal.
Please remember that seal release dates and times may change without notice.
The 2024 bills are meant to build on the shoreline access legislation of 2023. The 2024 bills will give the Coastal Resource Management Council and local communities tools to preserve access not just to the shoreline, but also to historic trails and recreational sites. Links to each bill’s text and progress in the post.
UPDATE: This cleanup was canceled and has been replaced with a clean-up at Schoolhouse Pond Preserve also at 9:00 a.m.
When: Saturday, March 16, at 9:00 a.m.
Where: Meet at the Preserve parking lot on Railroad Ave. in Carolina
What: Join with the Charlestown Conservation Commission to help them maintain this beautiful property.
Patricia Sprague Forest Preserve is owned by the Town of Charlestown with a conservation easement held by the Charlestown Land Trust.
When: Saturday, April 20 at 9 a.m.
Where: Ninigret Park
What: A 5K to commemorate Deerfoot (Tarzan Brown)
Cost: $25 – Link to register in post
When: Saturday, March 30, 1 p.m. to 3 p.m.
Where: Charlestown Town Beach
Help keep Charlestown Town Beach clean! Shoreline trash is ugly and dangerous to wildlife, and shoreline cleanups are a great way for volunteers to make a difference.
What: The public hearing on the Chariho Regional School District’s 2024-2025 budget
When: Tuesday, March 5 at 7:30 p.m.
Where: Chariho Middle School Auditorium
Why: The public hearing will concern the proposed school budget for the 2024–2025 budget year and any and all other business that may be lawful at said meeting.
Details in this post …
When: Saturday, March 2, 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m.
Where: Charlestown Mini Super, 4071 Old Post Road, Charlestown
Why: Indie Cycle is offering this great opportunity to dispose of your unwanted electronics that can be either recycled, reused or refurbished.
The Carolina Management Area forms part of the northern boundary of Charlestown and the Great Swamp Management Area is partially inside Charlestown on the eastern edge of town. Prescribed, or planned, burning is a tool that natural resources managers use for maintaining habitat diversity and to protect communities from extreme fires by reducing hazardous natural fuels.
Charlestown’s Zoning Ordinance contained a simple and fair method of determining setbacks for substandard lots. Replacing that with the state mandated formula will result in nonsense calculations, an increase in neighbor conflicts and a decrease in public safety.
Charlestown’s Wastewater Management Ordinance was first enacted in 1994. It was opposed by some as an invasion of privacy and a taking of property rights. Over time, most residents have recognized the importance of clean drinking water and a protected environment and now accept that they need to maintain and sometimes replace their septic systems.
When : Tuesday, February 6th at 6 p.m.
Where: Westerly Town Hall Council Chambers, 45 Broad St (Second Floor), Westerly
What: The Westerly Planning Board will hear comments on a proposal to build a 2,300-unit housing complex adjacent to Winnapaug Pond, in Westerly. Message from the Salt Ponds Coalition and other details in post.
CT Examiner editor Gregory Stroud shares information about current planning for high-speed rail in the northeast, including how the decisions made might affect southeastern Connecticut and Rhode Island. This 52-minute video is a refresher on the past flawed federal process and provides information about the “New Haven to Providence Capacity Planning Study” that began in November.
The Chariho School District has created an 18 page FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions) document explaining in detail the proposal to build three new elementary schools in each one of the Chariho towns (Charlestown, Richmond, and Hopkinton).
