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Land use is constrained by ordinances and closely monitored by Charlestown’s CCA-dominated Planning Commission. Their work contributes to the sustainable rural culture that CCA has sought to cultivate and advance since its inception.
At their February 26 meeting, the Charlestown Planning Commission voted unanimously to send an advisory against the proposed ordinance for utility scale solar development to the Charlestown Town Council.
The Charlestown Citizens Alliance (CCA) has held the leadership role in the Town Council and Planning Commission for the last decade and has accumulated an outstanding record for good governance, while maintaining the character of the Town and the low tax rate.
Rhode Island’s 386,373 acres of forest protect drinking water, filter air, mitigate climate change, provide opportunities for outdoor recreation, promote health, harbor wildlife, and create economic value, according to the state’s Department of Environment (DEM). The Ocean State’s forests also improve air quality, sequester carbon, help manage stormwater runoff, and provide a “sense of place” for rural communities.
Charlestown is an important stopover point in the Atlantic Flyway, the main migration route for birds along the east coast, and the bird migration has begun! Key West radar captured a surge of migrating birds leaving Cuba, crossing the Keys, and landing in Florida.
On Feb. 10, Alissa Cox, a Ph.D. candidate at URI’s Laboratory of Soil Ecology and Microbiology, made a presentation to the Charlestown Town Council to explain her research and data which shows ever rising water tables and a reduction in the separation of septic systems and ground water in the town’s coastal areas.
Bill is a native of Charlestown, graduating from CHARIHO in 2002. When Bill is interviewing politicians for his podcasts or appearing on PBS or radio he brings with him an understanding of the natural and cultural history of Charlestown.
CT Examiner is the publication launched by Greg Stroud who was the founder of SECoast that helped us defeat the “Old Saybrook to Kenyon Bypass” that threatened to bisect northern Charlestown. Here he and Cate Hewitt write about Charlestown. It’s worth a read!
This past year Robert Petrone was able to video various stages of the dredging process of Quonnie Pond and Ninigret Pond. He recently created a summary video of the dredging operation, from launching of the dredge machine to the planting of the salt marsh.
What: Locate 6 hidden elves around participating Charlestown businesses
When: November 29th to December 20th, 2019
How: stamp your passport & provide the location found on the Elf on the Shelf form for a chance to win a $50 gift certificate for any program.
Since 1970, North America has lost 3 billion breeding adult birds from the total bird population. Habitat loss is one of the main causes of bird declines. One of the main routes, for both the north and south bird migrations, passes through southern Rhode Island. Losing the use, or even part of the use, of a scarce habitat like the Ninigret National Wildlife Refuge, will push even greater losses.
Two years ago this month, the signup period for Solarize Charlestown ended. Charlestown’s program was one of the most successful in the state, with 58 households signing contracts for solar during the four month campaign. In this post is one family’s experience in the two years since the program ended.
On September 17th, 2019, the Rhode Island National Wildlife Refuge (NWR) Complex released seven New England Cottontails (NEC) at Ninigret NWR, in coordination the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s Southern […]
Where: Charlestown Rathskeller, Old Coach Road, Charlestown
Why: October is Breast Cancer Awareness month
When: Sunday, October 6, 2019 – Registration begins at 8:30 am
Cost: There is no cost to register for the walk
Janet Coit, Director of the Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management (DEM), stated in a recent communication to Charlestown Town Council President Virginia Lee that DEM has dropped their plans […]
On August 28, 2019, 11 new rental units of affordable housing were dedicated on the Charlestown side of Shannock Village. These were Virginia Lee’s comments at the ribbon cutting. Virginia […]
When: Wednesday, July 24th at 7 p.m.
Where: Charlestown Town Hall
The Charlestown Planning Commission will continue the public informational meeting on the Master Plan application of Storage Place LLC to build a self-storage facility on property on the pond side of Rt. 1 between the Hitching Post and the Willows Annex.
When the camp was created, Charlestown had a small population and Charlestown like much of South County was mostly undeveloped. But land use has changed dramatically over the decades and the importance of the remaining large unfragmented forest parcels has greatly increased for species that depend on these large parcels.
Rhode Island Sea Grant has prepared this guide to Shoreline access in Rhode Island. Choose an activity from the first drop down menu and then pick all of Rhode Island or narrow your search to a particular town. The application will sort the public access points starting with the one closest to your current location. Charlestown Town Council President Virginia Lee researched and produced the first edition of Public Access to the Rhode Island Coast, a guide to coastal areas. This current guide builds on Virginia’s earlier work.
When: Monday July 8, at 7PM
Where: Charlestown Elementary School
What: Public hearing on the revised 2019/2020 budget
Town Council members noted that the most common statement from those who voted in the Financial Referendum on June 3 was that they wanted the one-time surplus back in the form of a tax reduction.
Update June 28 – According to staff at DEM, the camping platform on the north edge of Watchaug Pond was a “demonstration” campsite built by the concessionaire and was removed […]
The EFSB’s denial of the power plant is certainly a victory for Burrillville, the Conservation Law Foundation, the Rhode Island Chapter of The Nature Conservancy and others, but it is a victory for Charlestown too. The threat the power plant posed to our drinking water, roads, wetlands and other natural resources is now over and the opportunity to protect the wildlife corridor that connects the two towns is still a possibility.
Rhode Islanders’ rights to the shore are clear, but what is less clear is where exactly you get to enjoy those rights. Legislation that provides a clear and easily measurable line of where public access starts would help everyone. Just landward of the seaweed line might be a good place to start.
The property contains forested wetlands and some vernal pools. Along with tall white pines, the forest overstory is dominated by three species of oak: northern red oak, white oak, and scarlet oak; as well as American beech with some ash, red maple, black birch, tupelo, and big-toothed aspen.
When: Monday, June 3, 2019 from 8 am to 8 pm
Where: Charlestown Town Hall
Why: No tax increase, a well-run town, and the start of a town-wide conversation regarding a possible Community Center
Learn more: In this post with questions and answers
Quonochontaug Breachway has been dredged! Phase two of this project is salt marsh planting. The Salt Pond’s Coalition’s project partner, Save the Bay, is coordinating the salt marsh planting effort. On Thursday, May 16, Bob Petrone created another informative video of the experts explaining Phase Two of the Quonnie Dredging project:
This past winter Robert Petrone created four educational videos to inform the viewer about the dredging process of Quonnie and Ningret Ponds. CCA shared all four videos. Bob has now […]
Even if bobcats are becoming more common in parts of Charlestown, they are still elusive. Bobcats seldom venture out during daylight hours. You are most likely to catch a glimpse of them at dusk and dawn when they are most active.
In late 2016 when CCA discovered the federal railroad proposal for the “Old Saybrook to Kenyon Bypass” that threatened to bisect northern Charlestown, our first internet searches on the proposal […]
Walking the trails of our forested landscape, we see the skeletal remains of a once robust tree canopy, with dead and decaying remnants carpeting the forest floor. We are witnessing the extensive damage to our forest by successive invasions of gypsy moths in the summers of 2017 and 2018.