When: Saturday, May 11 from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Where: Casey Farm, 2325 Boston Neck Road, Saunderstown RI
Find spring ephemerals and early blooming perennials and shrubs, perfectly timed for early pollinators and nesting birds, along with ferns and grasses.
Despite the rain, Charlestown’s April 20 Litter Pick-Up Day had a solid turn out of dedicated volunteers, and a respectable amount of roadside litter was picked up. If we are measuring volunteerism, love of community, hard work and just plain responsible citizenship, then it was a huge success! Bravo to everyone who made the event possible.
Claims of “misinformation” are sometimes misinformation in themselves and that is the case with the claim that CCA is spreading misinformation about a “stadium”. A search this week of our entire website revealed that in over 1,000 posts and pages, 1,400 comments, and 1,600 media files there is only one instance of the word “stadium” and that is in a 2012 letter from the National Park Service.
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.”
When: Monday, April 15 at 6:00 p.m.
Where: Charlestown Elementary School, 363 Carolina Back Road.
What: The Town Council will discuss the new Ninigret Park Master Plan
Link to the full plan and more in post.
To celebrate National Bike Month, the Breachway Bikers Community Group and Charlestown’s Block Island Sound Bikeway Committee invite interested cyclists to join them for a ride.
When: Saturday, May 4 at 9 am sharp – NO RAIN DATE
Where: Meet at South Farm Preserve, 427 Old Coach Rd, (ample parking)
This year Charlestown voters will elect the individuals who will lead our town into the future, and it matters who is elected to town government. Much of what has been created and protected is at risk if people who cherish Charlestown’s beautiful, natural character do not stand up and volunteer to guide our town. Needed are individuals who understand that protecting our environment and preserving our natural resources are critical to maintaining our quality of life and our low tax rate.
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!
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.
What: 401Gives Statewide Day of Giving
When: April 1, 2024 (4-01!)
Why: 401Gives brings people together to make a difference for local nonprofits that protect our beautiful community that is so rich in natural resources. 401Gives unites and offers everyone a safe, comfortable, and familiar virtual fundraising experience all while giving nonprofits unrestricted funds that strengthen our community.
When: Monday, April 1 at 3 p.m.
Where: Room 313 – State House
Why: Let the legislature know you support a Bottle Bill that can make our roads cleaner and safer, reduce litter and marine debris, increase recycling rates, protect our environment and natural resources, and save taxpayers money.
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
Thomas Danbo will soon direct the installation of two trolls in Ninigret Park. Mr. Danbo’s Trolls are intended to have a message of environmental stewardship. The Trolls have the full support of our Town Council, but this is a Town Council that doesn’t always make choices that protect the environment.
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 final plan includes an appendix with comments, but missing from the comment collection is an important letter from the Audubon Society of Rhode Island in opposition to the installation of any lighting near the Ninigret National Wildlife Refuge. Also missing is a 2012 letter from the US Fish and Wildlife Service in opposition to lighting in Ninigret Park sent as an attachment with other correspondence. The missing letters both clearly state that there is no lighting that will not impact nesting and migratory birds in the Ninigret National Wildlife Refuge.
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.
With the passing of Charlestown Town Councilor Grace Klinger in January, there was an open seat on the Town Council. By Charter, because there was less than a year to the next election, it was up to the Town Council to decide how they wanted to fill the seat. The Council chose to fill the position by appointment, accepted applications until March 1, and made their selection on March 11.
The Town just released the final Ninigret Park Master Plan. Missing from the final version, dated March 4, 2024, is the page detailing the $33 Million cost to execute the plan. These cost estimates are available in the December 22, 2023, draft of the Ninigret Park Master Plan that was reviewed by the Parks and Recreation Commission. We have included the missing cost estimates in this 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
The Corps advised that the town coordinate with the Army Corps throughout the Ninigret Park planning processes, and should either of the troll statues require any soil disturbance below the ground surface, the Town should perform that work with full-time oversight by a munitions professional and perform soil testing to properly characterize and manage the disturbed soil.
The Army Corps is investigating areas of Ninigret Park and the National Wildlife Refuge to understand the nature and extent of chemicals of potential concern and munitions and explosives of concern relating to former Department of Defense operations at the Charlestown Naval Auxiliary Landing Field. Video of meeting in the post.
Rhode Island’s shortage of housing that is affordable is blamed on decades of insufficient home construction. While that may be true generally for the state, home construction has proceeded apace in Charlestown. Between 1970 and 2020, Rhode Island’s population grew from 946,725 to 1,097,379 – a 15.9% increase in population. In those same decades, Charlestown’s population grew from 2,863 to 7,997 – a 179% increase.
“Because they had such a failed public process before, and because what they proposed was so devastating to the environment, historic resources, to people’s homes, they ought to want to start with a really open process, because people will assume that they don’t have any other ideas, because I’ve only heard of two, and one has been taken off the table. So if they have another idea, no one knows what it is, and the people in the path of that other idea ought to know, too.”
I am constantly amazed at the lack of fealty demonstrated by some acknowledged graduates of Chariho High School to their alma mater. They are a subset that proudly proclaim that they graduated from Chariho as they propose to cut the school system’s budget, programs and staff.