King Tide: The Mightiest of All Tides

The king tide nearly washed over the bridge in Wickford R.I.
To view more photos of the effects of the
king tide in R.I. click here.

Do you live by the shore?  During the past week did you notice a significant rise in sea level?  If so, what you witnessed was most likely the result of a king tide.  The term “king tide” refers to a remarkably high tide.  This king tide – like all others – offers us a preview of what our coastlines will look like as the sea level rises.  To put things in perspective, mean high tide in Newport, Rhode Island is generally measured at 3.6 feet; however, during a king tide, this level can rise to 5.2 feet. Not only have high tides been extremely high in the past two months, but the rate at which sea level rises has been increasing over the past 100 years.  Because of this, our coastlines are being inundated with more salt water. And areas at or below sea level are experiencing more flooding than they have in the past.

Like all tides, the king tide is influenced by the relationship of the distance between the Moon, Sun, and Earth.  During its 28-day cycle around the earth, the moon’s gravitational pull exerts a significant force on the oceans.  When the moon and sun are in a parallel line with the earth, the gravitational pull of the moon and sun create spring tides. These are the stronger tides we see during the full and new moon phase. When the earth is in between the sun and moon—a new moon—the spring tide is lower than when the sun and moon are on the same side of the earch. However, when the moon is perpendicular (90º) to the line of the sun and earth, we experience weaker tides, known as the neap tides.

The tidal cycle during a lunar month.

Although the east coast experiences two high and two low tides every day, the height of the tide changes each time. We experience two spring tides each month (during the full and new moon) but a king tide only comes along twice a year. The summer king tide generally tends to take place during the day while the winter king tide most often occurs at night, which garners it less notice. However, this year the king tide also occurred during sunlight hours, raising more awareness of the potential effects sea level rise will have in the coming century.  To be more exact, this year, in North Kingstown, the king tide took place on October 26, 27, and 28 at 7:46AM, 8:37AM, and 9:28AM, respectively. 

The Phrase King Tide originated in New Zeeland, Australia and other Pacific nations, possibly because they experience greater effects from tides due to their location in the vast open Pacific Ocean. The island nation of Tuvalu is also located in the middle of the Pacific and is made up of low-lying atolls that has been extremely affected by the combination of king tides and sea level rise. 

Here in New England the king tide was easily seen and impacted many coastal areas. In Rhode Island, citizens were invited to post photos on the R.I. Sea Grant Facebook page of the effects of this tide. Perhaps the most remarkable photos were those that displayed the disparity between low and extremely high tides (from a king tide) in Wickford, Jamestown, and along the Pawtuxet River, among other locales.

On Long Wharf in Boston, MA the king tide actually covered much of the wharf and flooded the streets.Watch the video above to see what the Wharf looked like on October 28th.

While king tide – along with its high and strong waves in the summer – may attract many adventurers, it is a force not to be reckoned with, as its strength can be deadly.

Nature, Art and History at the Norman Bird Sanctuary

 Tucked away on Third Beach Road in Middletown, R.I. is a natural haven known as the Norman Bird Sanctuary (NBS).  In 1949 Mabel Norman Cerio willed approximately 235 acres of land, a portion of her original Paradise Farm in Middletown, Rhode Island, "for the propagation, preservation and protection of birds, and where birds and bird life may be observed, studied, taught and enjoyed by lovers of nature and by the public generally so interested in a spirit of humanity and mercy." Over the years, NBS has grown to include more than 325 acres of diverse habitats, and its mission remains true to Mabel Norman Cerio's original vision.
With seven miles of trails, a visitor’s center, beach education center, natural history museum, vegetable garden, chicken coup, and gift shop, the NBS offers entertainment and education to every visitor. With camp programs, field trips, garden workshops, harvest fairs and more, the Norman Bird Sanctuary is a leader in environmental education in Rhode Island.

Exploring the beach.

This summer NBS received a grant from The Rhode Island Foundation’s Newport County Fund to turn their original small garden plot into an educational, multi-garden area called The Good Gardens and to provide education programs on gardening to community organizations.  A partnership with the Martin Luther King Jr. Center (MLK) in Newport was established. This partnership has brought the children of the MLK Center out to the Sanctuary to learn about gardening and how the coastal environment played a role in Native American gardening.   Each week a new group of students from kindergarten through grade 6 take a field trip to NBS. The field trip begins with a tour around the touch tanks in the Third Beach Education Center where the NBS has collected many specimens of local fish as well as some tropical species that have traveled north on the Gulfstream and come into our estuary. Then they head over to Third Beach to explore the shore. After collecting the coolest things they could find, the children learn about what they found.

Listening to the sound of the ocean through a whelk shell.

The counselors also show the children how Native Americans used the natural resources. For example, the purple inside of a quahog shell was used as currency known as wampum. The Native Americans also used seaweed to fertilize their crops, shells to make gardening tools, and whelk egg casings as baby rattles.
After exploring the beach the camp returns to the Sanctuary to investigate the farm. They learn about vegetables, herbs and fruits, and how they are grown. NBS has used a Native American technique known as “three sisters” in their garden. The three sisters are corn, squash and beans. Corn is planted in the middle, beans are next so they can grow up the corn and squash are planted around the base of the corn.  The bean vines produce nitrogen in the soil—providing nutrients to all the plants.

Corn, squash and green beans grow very well
together and make up the three sisters.

After learning how the garden grows, the children got a taste of the ripe vegetables they found in the garden. Although not all children willingly eat vegetables, some found they actually enjoyed zucchini, tomatoes broccoli and cucumbers. In fact, some children began asking their parents to pick up zucchini and squash at the MLK pantry!
Aside from the hands-on outdoor experience this partnership offers to the children in Newport, it will also provide funding and technical assistance to install a garden center at the Martin Luther King Center.
This past year NBS also developed a partnership with Central Falls High School, where the students were given the opportunity to take field trips to the Sanctuary, learn about the plants, animals and natural history of the area. They brought their knowledge back to the city with them. After cleaning up their neighborhood park they planted trees and a peace garden with the students from other Central Falls schools. The students at Central Falls High School confidently spread their environmental literacy through a YouTube video.
But children’s education is not all they do at the Norman Bird Sanctuary. There are many events for adults as well. In September they will host a number of events for families and adults. Something of That Nature, an art show inspired by nature and the Norman Bird Sanctuary, will be held at the Third Beach Education Center September 9th through the 11th. The event is free and open to the public. As is their international coastal clean up on September 24th.

These mushrooms were found in New
Hampshire, but mushrooms thrive in
moist areas, so you are bound to see a
lot on the hike!

The Norman Bird Sanctuary will also host a Mushroom Walk in the Woods on Saturday the 17th for $10-members, $12-non-members. They also offer field trips for homeschooling, story-time in the garden, bird walks, and garden classes. Their annual fall Harvest Fair is scheduled for October 1st – 2nd.  To learn more about these special events go to www.normanbirdsanctuary.org.
Whether you are an avid birder, a natural explorer, or just want a place to walk around in nature, the Norman Bird Sanctuary offers the perfect place for you to observe, learn and enjoy some of the natural habitats and resources our state has to offer.

Crabs and Mangroves in Jobos Bay Puerto Rico

Mangrove System in Jobos Bay, Puerto Rico.

One Coastal Fellow at the University of Rhode Island, Ryann Rossi, is currently working on a fascinating 3-part project with her mentor, Brita Jessen, out of both the Bay Campus at URI and Jobos Bay, Puerto Rico. Rossi’s work for Jessen’s dissertation at the Graduate School of Oceanography at URI is entitled “Ecological Effects of Nutrient Enrichment in a Coastal Mangrove System.” Jessen’s dissertation consists of three parts, one of which we discussed in detail with her and Rossi. They are studying the effects of agriculture and urban sprawl, and the associated nutrients they bring on mangrove systems in southern Puerto Rico.

Nutrients may sound good for humans, but for our ecosystems they can often mean bad news. An abundance of nutrients are introduced to ecosystems by fertilizers and pollution. They can wreak havoc upon the natural state of the environment. While the effects of nutrients on the environment have frequently been studied in developed countries such as the United States, there is a lack of studies of the problem in less developed countries such as Puerto Rico. Not only are Jessen and Rossi studying nutrient cycling in an area that has been virtually unexamined, they are studying in an area of growth and dynamism – Puerto Rico is rapidly being affected by urbanization and agricultural development. Monsanto and Pioneer – two of the largest agricultural industries in the world – have recently announced they will be expanding their facilities in Puerto Rico. Since 2003 more than 50 pharmaceutical facilities and 49 medical device companies have set up shop, and more than $4 billion has been invested in biotechnology manufacturing facilities. As the urbanized areas in Puerto Rico switch over from septic systems to sewage systems, there may be a lessening of nutrient overload from human sanitation; however, urbanization and agricultural development will likely outpace the improvements made by the transition to sewage systems.

Ryann Rossi eating lunch in the field.

The particular environment in which Jessen and Rossi are conducting their studies is the mangrove system. Mangroves are natural barriers between the sea and land and are natural carbon sinks, meaning they accumulate and store carbon dioxide (CO₂) from the sea, land and atmosphere. Like the salt marshes and wetlands here in Rhode Island, they too are feeding and nursery grounds for countless species. Tropical areas typically have lower nutrient concentrations, and thus, clearer waters than temperate regions. In order to accommodate for the lack of data, Jessen and Rossi are adapting their research from work done by Jessen’s graduate advisor, Dr. Scott Nixon. Their studies are similar to those that have been conducted in salt marshes all over the coastlines of America.

Nutrient enrichment stimulates microbial activity, which increases the rate of decomposition of materials such as leaves, seaweed and dead fish. Another key player in the decomposition of organic materials are crabs. And in Puerto Rico, there are many species. Crabs are “shredders” and the primary consumers of mangrove leaves. In the words of Rossi, crabs are “ecosystem engineers.” By this she means that they alter the habitat by increasing the rate of decomposition of mangrove leaves and other decaying material. They also dig burrows, which mix sediments and bring oxygen to roots in the peat-based sediment.In order to examine the effects of nutrient overload in the relatively unstudied ecosystem of mangroves, Jessen and Rossi have created a group of mini-ecosystem testing grounds in Jobos Bay to determine how various levels of nutrients will affect the mangrove systems. They have simulated the effects of both agriculture and urban development, while maintaining several control plots. In the urban testing areas, they are using a water-based fertilizer with a nitrogen to phosphate ratio of 16:1, while the agriculturally effected plots, use a water-based fertilizer with a nitrogen to phosphate ratio of 50:1. Both ratios are similar to what is found to contribute in temperate areas. The control plots maintain their natural nitrogen to phosphate ratios.

A quarter compared to the size of a
hole dug by a crab (ecosystem engineers).

Jessen and Rossi’s research not only tests the effects of agricultural development and urbanization on mangroves, but also – within the different test plots – what exactly is leading to the decomposition of leaves. In other words, is it microbial activity from the increased nutrients or the feeding of crabs that primarily contributes to the breakdown of leaves and increases the stability of the peat-based sediment? Jessen and Rossi know that fertilizers (nutrients) speed up microbial processes and thus, increase degradation rates with increasing levels of pollution. Sea level rise and the ability of the coastline of Puerto Rico to handle it is also an issue of concern.

In order to test the effects of anthropogenic growth, Jessen and Rossi have placed yellow leaves (those that are about to fall off the plant) inside mesh “litter” bags in each testing site so that only microbes (not crabs) can feed on them. Each bag contains approximately four grams of leaves, about 7-9 leaves. Three bags were left at each site during their last visit in early July. They’ll return to Jobos Bay in early August to weigh the bags to see how much has been broken down by microbial degradation during the interim. They will then compare the amount of microbial breakdown of the leaves within the bags to the amount of degradation of leaves that have been exposed to crabs. The crab-exposed yellow leaves have been marked by Rossi’s careful work of tying strings to each one. The final weights of the exposed and contained leaves will allow the pair to make a comparison between the amount of microbial (inorganic) decomposition and organic degradation by crabs.

Jessen and Rossi are highly enthusiastic about their research and experiences in Puerto Rico. They are very grateful to their funders, some of whom include The Nature Conservancy, the R.I. and Puerto Rico Sea Grants and the U.S. Forest Service. The URI Coastal Institute and National Estuarine Research Reserve in Jobos Bay, Puerto Rico have provided fellowships for both.

Jessen is always looking for willing and motivated students to volunteer to work with her on her exciting dissertation studies. If you have an interest, please contact her at bjessen@gso.uri.edu.

Brita Jessen of Boston, MA attended Wellesley College for her undergraduate studies and is currently studying biological oceanography under the guidance of Professor Scott Nixon. Ryann Rossi of Malta, NY will graduate from URI with a B.S. in marine biology in 2013.

Elizabeth Gooding & Lesley Lambert

Stingrays and Skates

Atlantic Stingray

Some people are scared of stingrays, some people like them, and then there are those very few people who live for stingrays. We had the opportunity to meet one such researcher from the University of Rhode Island and his Coastal Fellow who is following in his footsteps. John (Jack) Szczepanski was preparing for a joint meeting of ichthyologists and herbatologists in Minneapolis, when he and his Coastal Fellow, Peter Schooling (Marine Affairs - URI ’13) took a break from their preparations and research to share a brief lunch with us and discuss their interests and research.

Szczepanski gave us some basic details about sting rays to get us started. Stingrays are elasmobranches; like skate rays and sharks they have a skeleton made entirely of cartilage. Certain rays have reinforced jaws which allow them to consume hard species such as crabs, whelks, and snails. Stingrays have strong chemoreception and use their sense of smell to find their food. They store urea in their tissues to control salt intake because unlike most fish they don’t filter out the salt water, rather they store all the nutrients, which makes them taste bad and smell like ammonia. Stingrays are commonly used as lobster bate. They are also sometimes used as faux sea scallops in the Midwest and many species of rays are eaten in certain cultures. Electric rays, which are often found in Rhode Island, appear large and blobby and have an electric organ-muscle. The poisonous barbs on a stingray’s tail (that famously and tragically killed Steve Irwin) can break off and likely do not grow back.

Electric Ray (the red area is the
electric field emitted)

Generally, stingrays move inland during their remarkably long (11 month!) gestation period. An egg case is absorbed in the side of the mother stingray, who eventually gives a live aplacental birth. This type of reproduction is known as ovoviparity; in other words, the ray embryos develop in eggs that are held within the mother until they are ready to hatch. Some rays are rather large when they are born. For example, bull nose rays are generally between 18 and 30 cm at birth. Stingrays do not have a set breeding season. In contrast to stingrays, skates lay eggs, which is one of the major differences between the two otherwise similar species.

Szczepanski with the stingray
that stung him in the hand
on his honeymoon!

Large groups of stingrays (particularly the eagle ray and bull nose ray) migrate north from tropical waters in the summer. They are new but no longer uncommon in RI and have been seen in Narragansett Bay as early as May. Their migration this far north that early in the season may be indicative of climate change. Szczepanski believes their migration patterns may also be indicative of ecological changes because they are generally not commercially fished. Much of Szczepanski’s research takes places in Delaware Bay, which serves as a breeding ground for sharks that are sand-born and then spend the rest of their adult lives offshore. Delaware is very species rich, but comparisons can still be made to RI despite our fewer and smaller populations. Perhaps the most important correlation that can be drawn between the two water bodies is that they are both estuaries – breeding grounds/nurseries for numerous species.

Szczepanski with a stingray
on his honeymoon.

Szczpanski has gone out on many surveys to assess populations of stingrays (including one on July 20, 2010 while he was on his honeymoon and ended up getting stung in the hand!) While out on the boat, he measures the disk width from wing tip to wing tip and length from nose to pelvic fins, determines the sex of the stingray, and then checks for its stomach contents. Szczepanski then weighs and identifies the food from the belly of the stingray. Skates can have their stomach pumped to remove the contents for measurement. Little skates, which are common in Rhode Island eat a variety of food. Among other things, Szczepanski is trying to determine if their diets are more specific in Delaware, where they have a greater variety of food to choose from, than in Rhode Island. Clear nose skates, which are also common in Rhode Island tend to feed on squid, wheat fish, worms, crabs, shrimp, and more. Bull nose rays eat anything from whelks to mud snails and hermit crabs and sometimes even razor clams. Cow nose rays have strong jaws and plate-like teeth which are used for crushing. They, too, eat razor clams. Szczepanski believes that the mechanisms stingrays use to find food are – in order of importance – smell, sight, and electroreception.

Over the course of two years, Szczepanski will perform more than 20 surveys per bay (about one every month) in the Delaware and Narragansett Bays. He hopes to monitor how many stingrays are caught during each trip and their weights and species type. His work takes a serious dedication because he has almost no funding aside from his graduate studies research allowance. Szczepanski says he is grateful to have the cooperation of fishermen who allow him to examine the stingrays caught in their nets.

Elizabeth Gooding

LiDAR

The Changing Water’s Edge - 06/23/2011 – 8:30AM-12:30PM

Simulated LiDAR Survey

On June 23, 2011, experts, researchers, and governments officials came together to discuss the potential effects and implications of sea level rise. Every aspect of sea level rise and its results were examined during the four hour meeting held at Save the Bay in Providence. The meeting was composed of three major sections: maps and resources for local managers, case study presentations and discussions, and a view from the private sector.

Rhode Island does not have a plan to deal with sea level rise; however, it is crucial that one be developed, as the Newport Tide Gauge shows that the rate at which the sea level is rising is increasing. Planning is currently in Phase 1, consisting of data consolidation as well as the identification and quantification of vulnerable assets. Storm surge and spring high tide in Wickford can be viewed as precursors of impacts from sea level rise.

The LiDAR data was collected on May 2, 2011 and the product delivery is expected by the fall of2011. The deliverables should include raw point cloud data as well as classified points that specify ground, non-ground (trees, buildings, etc.,) water, and noise (ie. birds.) The existing data from 1997-2009 consists of maps of different scales, formats, and quality. Those maps have been compiled to make one accurate map available for viewing on ArcGIS. The information derived from LiDAR data can help standardize the accuracy of our understanding of the terrain of Rhode Island. It has such precise resolution, its margin of error is only +/- 6inches. The previous map had a margin of error of greater than +/- 3 feet.Recently a LiDAR(Light Detection and Ranging) survey of RI took place. The data from these surveys can provide a foundation for elevation data of the state, which can allow for predictions of areas that will be most impacted by sea level rise. LiDAR has a number of benefits. First of all, it is very precise, recording over 100,000 points per second. It has the ability to get multiple returns from a single pulse: in other words one pulse could detect a bird, the trees over which it is flying, and the ground beneath that tree canopy. The two major LiDAR products are digital surface models and digital elevation models, the latter of which can create bare earth digital elevation models(DEMs) which are used to calculate the areas impacted by sea level rise. The bare earth DEMshave 10 foot cell sizes and are hydroflattened, showing neither contour lines nor bathymetry.

A one foot sea level
rise in Wickford Harbor

LiDAR data will be particularly useful when examining the state’s tidal marsh areas. The total area and actual location of tidal marshes is important for a number of reasons. Tidal marshes are quite vulnerable to sea level rise and their locations and total area can change as a result of sea level rise. Many roads are blocking their retreat and if those roads are not moved, the marshes will inevitably be inundated. South County is a prime example of where this is likely going to be an issue. In order to model the potential effects of sea level rise, Kevin Ruddock of the Nature Conservatory presented models of how a 1 feet, 3 feet, and 5 feet sea level rise would impact different areas of the state. He depicted the scenarios using SLAMM (Sea Levels Affecting Marshes Model.) This modeling program takes into account inundation, erosion, overwash, saturation, and accretion on the topography of the state. It presents data on a1:12,000 scale.

Following the presentation and discussion of the compelling SLAMM maps, there was a discussion with North Kingstown town officials. After a short break, panelists from Bristol,Newport, and Warwick discussed the potential impacts of sea level rise in their respective areas. Diane Williamson, the Community Development Director in Bristol, discussed concerns regarding storm surge and the infrastructure in the Poppasquash/Hope Street infrastructure where culverts are being blocked by the receding seawall. There is a question of whether or not to repair the road, as it is at such a risk for flooding, it may be a waste of money.

A three foot sea level
rise in Wickford Harbor

In terms of flooding, she succinctly said it “hits you at home because it is your home.” Her talk was followed by a presentation by Newport Planning Director, Paige Bronk. He discussed how storm surge is also a concern in the area, as Newport lies well within a 100-year floodplain. Storm surge threatens retail business on Thames Street; however, due to the historic nature of those buildings, raising them remains controversial. Bronk called for a stronger state building code that will consider flooding. He also encouraged zoning relief for properties at risk of coastal flooding. Finishing this portion of the meeting, Janine Burke from the Warwick Sewer Authority discussed how the floods of 2010 presented a true challenge to the wastewater infrastructure in the city. She provided forceful pictures and statistics about how the Sewer Authority faced an unprecedented challenge from the floods; her office was evacuated on March30^th and water levels there rose to six feet. The floods tested pumping stations that were “built like submarines,” completely wiping out six of them. The biggest impact of the floods could be seen in sanitary sewer overflows and electrical system problems. As a result of the floods, the wastewater treatment employees are now actively involved in emergency planning. Burke suggested that in planning for climate change, the following are major points to be addressed:energy efficient initiatives, renewable energy, consideration of future hydrology, and avoidance of construction in floodplains.

A five foot sea level
rise in Wickford Harbor

Finishing up the day, Sandy Taft, Director of US Climate Change Policy for National Grid discussed adjusting to climate change and addressing the risks associated with it. He said we must consider the impact of weather – wind, water, and temperature – on infrastructure. Taft suggested looking at long term threats and prioritizing based on how long each asset will be in place. In terms of flood types, he mentioned four types: coastal/tidal, fluvial/river, groundwater, and flash flooding and that they have been focusing on river flooding. While Federal Emergency Management Agency ranks areas in terms of risk as either low, medium, or high, the maps being used to categorize those areas may be outdated or based on historical events and therein lies several problems which we all face. LiDAR is a very helpful data source but National Grid found that sometimes it is not enough. For example, LiDAR cannot record inside a structure and therefore National Grid has had to conduct surveys of the equipment inside a building to determine if they will be flooded based on their elevation. Once flood implications are understood, several construction alternatives can be deployed which Taft described as avoidance, resistance, resilience, and reparability. Since National Grid is a UK-based company, Taft shared the different data sources that are made available in the UK versus the US and, as a result, the different internal design standards deployed.

Overall, the day was hugely informative for all of those involved. The speakers highlighted the extent to which sea level rise will have far-reaching implications, many of which are often not immediately obvious.

Elizabeth Gooding

Dams, Culverts and Stream Crossings, Oh My!

River Herring (a.k.a Alewife)
Alosa pseudoharengus spend
their life in the ocean and
travel up rivers to breed.    

Imagine being a river herring. After spending a few years growing up in the Atlantic Ocean, it is time to return to the river you were born in. Your senses bring you back to the mouth of the Pawtuxet River where you swam out into the Narragansett Bay, tasting saltwater for the first time, just a few short years ago. You are ready to return to your hatching grounds with your school so you can repeat the process like so many ancestors before you.

The portion of Pawtuxet Falls Dam you see
here is slated to be removed this summer. The
removal will restore the connectivity of the river
to the Bay, and minimally decrease flooding in the area.

But to your dismay, a huge waterfall pours down in front of you (remember, you are a fish, less than a foot long). You cannot jump over the dam, and you cannot swim around it. Just then a large blue bucket scoops you out of the river. You sit in the bucket, afraid of what lies ahead. Then, without notice, you are dumped back into the river! But now you are upstream of the dam. You have just a short way to go to get back to your spawning ground. But you are not in the clear yet. Just up ahead you sense your way. You must pass through a dark and dingy tunnel, under a large strip of concrete with huge hunks of metal barreling overhead. The culvert you are passing through is a stream crossing, where a road passes over the stream. It has been a wet spring so there is just enough flow for you to pass safely. Had it been a dry spring, this culvert would be full of sticky mud and swimming through it would be impossible.

As you can see, this culvert can pass fish.
(Photos courtesy of NRCS)

Despite the odds, you have made it to your spawning ground! Unfortunately, only a few of your kind made it this far. Your school has decreased in numbers, but you make the best of it, and hope the weather and predators will be kind to your young.

No fish could jump high enough to make it into this culvert!

Your job is done. You follow the flow of the river back out to Narragansett Bay where you meet up with the rest of your school and return to life at sea.

While dams once powered the Industrial Revolution, and culverts allow us to pass safely over streambeds, these man-made obstacles can prevent wildlife from accessing their native habitats. In Rhode Island there are more than 671 dams. While some dams hold back water for us to drink, or maintain the level of a lake or pond, others serve no purpose. In fact, 180 dams in Rhode Island are classified as hazardous to life or the environment in the event of failure. The owner of the dam is responsible for maintaining their dam, however, many of the historical dams in Rhode Island have no identified owner because the mills they once powered are long gone. Despite the difficulties of ownership and strained fiscal situations, the watershed organizations and associations continue to work toward restoring the natural flow and environmental connectivity of the rivers. In some cases this means building a fish ladder, or installing a bypass channel that will allow fish and other animals to move upstream without having to leave the river. But when possible, the dam is just removed. By removing a dam all together, we not only re-establish the connection between the river and the Bay, but we eliminate maintenance cost.

If the culvert in the red square is repaired it would
open more than 17 miles of habitat in the
Pawcatuck River watershed to fish and wildlife.

The culverts that carry the streams under our roads were not always designed with fish and wildlife in mind. There are more than 2,780 miles of river within the Narragansett Bay Watershed. This does not include the streams or brooks that may flow through your backyard or neighborhood. Nonetheless, these streams and brooks play a significant role in feeding the rivers, connecting habitats and providing food and shelter to our fish and wildlife. The Natural Resource Conservation Service (NRCS) has identified 4,353 stream crossings in Rhode Island. They have inventoried more than 950 stream crossings in 12 watersheds in Rhode Island so far.  The inventory identifies the characteristics of the crossings and assesses the quality of the crossing based on standards developed by the University of Massachusetts, Amherst Extension program in the College of Natural Sciences. Within the Wood-Pawcatuck Watershed alone, more than 150 culverts are classified as severe barriers, meaning they do not support the needs of fish and wildlife.

As part of this project, NRCS is working with landowners and other organizations to identify potential restoration projects. Landowners with culverts on their property are encouraged to apply for grants under the Wildlife Habitat and Incentives Program to fund the restoration of their ineffective culverts. To learn more about this project visit the Rivers and Streams Continuity Project at UMass Extension.
Lesley Lambert

BioBlitz 2011

Students from Community Preparatory
School look for wildflowers.

Joslin Farm in Scituate, R.I. hosted the 2011 RINHS BioBlitz, an event in which scientists, artists, and avid outdoor enthusiasts survey the area in an attempt to create a list of existing species within the boundaries.  A 24-hour event, the BioBlitz began at 3pm on June 10 and ended on Saturday, June 11.  Participants were given specific groups of animals or plants to identify such as birds, bats, and butterflies.   The Rhode Island Natural History Survey hosted the event that drew a crowd ranging from third graders to senior citizens.  It served as an example of how wildlife can interest anyone at any age and from any walk of life.  

Boys from Central Falls School look at
mushrooms under microscopes.

Amongst those participating in the taxonomic survey, were a group of students from Central Falls and a group of sixth grade girls from Community Preparatory School in Providence.  The girls and boys were excited as they began identifying species and anxiously awaited their sleepover in tents.  Wildflowers were a popular draw amongst the Community Prep students.  The younger students use simplified taxonomy books to make their identifications.

The ZooCrew were drawing what
they saw under the microscopes.

Tents peppered the area around
Science Central.

Susannah Brooks, director of ZooCrew,
and ZooCrew volunteer, Carina Barceline,
sign in for the night.

Members of the Roger Williams Park Zoo’s ZooCrew also showed up to provided assistance in the identification. The ZooCrew is comprised of over 60 youth members who commit 50+ hours of their time every summer to volunteer for environmental causes.  

Kai and Lori-Anne sign-in eager to start
finding crickets and other bugs.

For Kai Lima, attending with his mother Lori-Anne, it was the prospect of finding crickets that he found exciting.  Frances Toppings, a member of the RINHS, looked forward to not only identifying species, but also sketching them.  Carl Sawyer, an expert plant identifier, enjoyed his job and described it by saying, “the more I do this, the more I realize how much I don’t know.”  He kept busy checking off identified species on the master list, which reached a total of 914 species.   This year the ants/bees and wasps categories totaled a record of 12 and 24 species respectively.  More than 83 types of beetles were identified compared to a previous record of 69.  

Insect identification occurred under
the Science Central tent.

As we wandered though the various tents, we came upon one spider specialist identifying a Wolf Spider with an egg sack that he explained held up to 200 eggs.  As he examined the spider another spider crawled up his leg.  Interestingly, most spiders must be dead in order to be identified because one must be able to identify mouth structures and other body parts and that is often impossible when a spider is crawling around.  

190 outdoor enthusiasts registered to participate in the event with approximately 150 people on-site observing or recording at any given time.  About 40 of the participants were students between 3^rd and 12^th grade.  Providence Water hosted and Roger Williams Park Zoo sponsored the event.  Bioblitz has been an annual event in different locales since 2000.

If you are interested in learning more about BioBlitz, check out the following articles.
In 24 cold, wet hours, R.I. BioBlitz counts 906 species on Scituate watershed land / Video, Providence Journal

Nature Lovers Blitz Scituate Searching For Life, EcoRI News

Also be sure to visit the RI Natural History Survey Facebook page!

Pawtuxet Falls Dam Removal Project Update

To learn more about the Pawtuxet River
Watershed, click here.

The Pawtuxet River is the second largest source of fresh water to the Narragansett Bay. The Pawtuxet River watershed is the largest watershed in the state. It comprises the Scituate Reservoir and its tributaries, the North Branch of the Pawtuxet, the Pocasset River, the Big River and its tributaries, the Flat River Reservoir and its tributaries -- the South Branch of the Pawtuxet, and the main stem of the Pawtuxet. In total, the watershed contains 64 ponds, 93 brooks, 7 tributary rivers, and 18 dams.
The first dam on the river, Pawtuxet Falls, is located at the mouth of Pawtuxet Cove. The concrete dam you see today was constructed in 1924 by the Providence Water Supply Board. The concrete structure replaced the previous wooden structure and was built at the same time Scituate Reservoir was being constructed in the upper watershed. The Scituate Reservoir currently supplies drinking water to nearly two-thirds of the state's population.
With the second largest volume of water in Rhode Island and a substantial drop in elevation from its headwaters to Narragansett Bay, the Pawtuxet River watershed became a center of textile manufacturing plants. Numerous impoundments were created along the river and its tributaries, and along the banks were a series of mills and mill villages, many of which now have historical significance. In the late 19th century, this development was so intensive that an urban area emerged in the eastern Coventry-West Warwick area. Factories and villages both discharged their effluent and waste in the river, degrading water quality in the lower portions of the watershed.

Click here to download a flyer
about the project and meeting

With poor water quality and dams peppering the river, migrating fish such as river herring, American shad and Atlantic salmon could not reach their fresh water spawning grounds. But there is a light at the end of the story! The Pawtuxet River Authority and its partners are working to remove portions of the concrete dam at Pawtuxet Falls, which will open seven and a half miles of river to migrating fish.
On June 21st at 7pm, the Pawtuxet River Authority will host a public meeting at Rhodes-on-the-Pawtuxet to update stakeholders on the progress of the dam removal project. Although construction has not yet begun, permits and contracting are underway. The public is welcome and encouraged to attend the public meeting. 

If you would like to be added to the stakeholder mailing list so you can receive information about future meetings and updates on construction progress contact Lesley Lambert at lesley@nbep.org.

August Video Survey

We had another great video survey this week! However, the currents were strong which made getting sediment samples difficult because the sediment grab kept on getting swept on its side, causing it to drag sideways along the seafloor, collecting sediment on the top, rather than closing around a proper sample. For many of the stations four times was the charm!

Dropping the sediment grab.

Collecting a sediment sample.

An improper sediment grab
(notice the mud sitting on top of the grab).

While Shelley, from URI was gathering sediment samples with her crew, Chris and Lesley were collecting water samples, measuring water quality with a YSI at both surface and bottom depths, and dropping the underwater video camera to get a look at the seafloor.

Setting up the underwater video camera.

Collecting a water sample.

Dropping the YSI for a water quality reading.

Our survey finished up with a family of swans crossing our path in the Greenwich Bay Marina. Although not as majestic looking, baby swans are hardly ugly ducklings!

Family of Swans crossing the shipping channel in Greenwich Cove.