Ninigret Barrier Beach Restoration Project – Japanese Black Pine Removal
The Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management (DEM), in partnership with Save The Bay, is conducting a coastal habitat restoration project at the Ninigret Barrier Beach located at East Beach in Charlestown. Invasive plants such as Japanese black pine, Asiatic sand sedge, and knotweed have changed natural sand movement during storms, reducing open sand areas that birds need for nesting and beach space for the public.
This work aims to restore natural barrier beach processes, improve nesting areas for the federally threatened piping plover, support healthier salt marshes, which provide vital habitat for fish, shellfish, and diverse bird species, and enhance the resilience and recreational value of East Beach for the public.
Project Schedule
- Late September 2025: Licensed contractors conducted herbicide treatment of Asiatic sand sedge and Japanese knotweed in dune areas near the East Beach parking lot and Ninigret sand trail.
- Winter 2025–2026: Contractors are cutting and mulching Japanese black pine and other woody invasive plants, including beach rose, bush honeysuckle, and bittersweet. Follow-up treatments are planned in 2026 and 2027.
- Late Winter & Spring 2026: Save the Bay will restore salt marsh hydrology by digging shallow creeks with low-ground pressure equipment and by hand. This work will drain standing water that kills marsh plants and creates mosquito habitat.
During the removal of the Japanese black pine this Winter, CRMC beach permit holders should expect to see portions of the trail closed and new traffic patterns in place.
Why is this change needed?
- The project includes removing invasive plants and non-native pines, promoting the growth of native vegetation, and restoring natural tidal flow and salt marsh migration corridors.
- Non-native plants and trees like Japanese black pine, Asiatic sand sedge, and common reed have altered the barrier’s natural landscape, reducing habitat quality for imperiled beach and salt marsh-nesting birds, and inhibiting the dynamic processes that naturally maintain their habitats.
- This project will enhance nesting habitat for the federally threatened Piping Plover and the at-risk Saltmarsh Sparrow, while improving overall salt marsh health — a vital ecosystem for fish, shellfish, and a wide variety of wading birds and ducks. It will also reduce habitat for predatory birds and mammals to support ongoing beach-nesting bird recovery efforts.
- The beach will appear more open and sandier once non-native pines and shrubs are removed. That’s normal and necessary. Within a few seasons, native dune grasses and low shrubs will recolonize, naturally stabilizing sand and reducing dune scarping. Some sparsely vegetated areas will remain to provide ideal nesting habitat for Piping Plovers and Least Terns.
The restoration is funded by the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation’s “America the Beautiful” program and carried out cooperatively by RIDEM, the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, and Save The Bay.
For updates, visit the RI State Parks web site.
February 24, 2026 @ 6:59 pm
This seems like an important effort. I hope that there are plans to plant native vegetation. If you remove the invasive plants and try to rely on the seed bank, invasive plants will beat out the native plants at recolonizing.
February 22, 2026 @ 1:14 pm
2 concerns- “ HERBICIDE” which will have leached onto the sand and into the pond during rains – affecting birds that eat things in the sand as well as shellfish and other migratory ocean species like bait fish, eels, and whoever/ whatever eat them, including humans as effective herbicides are cancer causing, and “ BARRIER”. Although invasive species should be minimized as able, let’s not forget they do provide some shelter, as well as wind and water protection from erosion /which helps with damage from storms/ future hurricanes etc. I hope they did small sections at a time to give the areas native species time to grow back since they are not adding in plants. I worry sometimes our efforts to fix one problem may lead to another.
February 16, 2026 @ 7:38 am
Thanks for this information. Facebook had many wanting to know what is happening and why. Such posts always generate wild and fanciful suggestions that get repeated. This is a necessary program aimed at returning the beach to a more natural state. There is a sign at the beginning of the sand trail.