Warren peers into the bay's health

Monitoring program early step in re-establishing oysters in Warren waters

By Ted Hayes
Posted 9/27/16

Volunteers have spent much of the spring and summer taking small steps toward a huge goal — successfully reestablishing oysters in Warren’s waters.

The bivalves were a part of the town’s …

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Warren peers into the bay's health

Monitoring program early step in re-establishing oysters in Warren waters

Posted

Volunteers have spent much of the spring and summer taking small steps toward a huge goal — successfully reestablishing oysters in Warren’s waters.

The bivalves were a part of the town’s commerce and culture for many years. Long before Luther Blount came along, oyster shacks lined the Warren river and commercial boats regularly headed out of the Warrenb River to oyster farms across the upper bay. They were shipped nationwide and became a big industry in Warren but storms, pollution and other factors slowly killed off the species here.

Now, a new group of volunteers is taking steps that they hope will give them a good chance of reestablishing themselves.

For much of the summer, volunteers have been taking regular water samples and doing other tests at Jacob’s Point and four other sites in the upper bay, giving the data they collect to scientists studying oysters at the University of Rhode Island.

"Our volunteers have been fantastic, they've been excited to collect samples and test and have taken a keen interest in the science of it all," said Warren Town Council member Steve Thompson, who is serving as coordinator of the program.

The volunteer work all began early last year, when Mr. Thompson and Julie Blount and Steve Thompson were looking for ways to get Warren back on the map as a destination for oysters. They were considering approaching the town about getting involved in an Oyster Gardening program coordinated by Roger Williams University, in which residents with waterfront property grow spat, or seed, oysters in cages along the water’s edge. Since a number of Warren residents in Touisset and along the Kickemuit River were already taking part in the program, Mr. Thompson and Ms. Blount decided to concentrate on sites along the Warren river.

However, after speaking with RWU experts and state officials, they realized there were larger issues that needed to be addressed before a successful oyster regeneration effort was considered. Many of the questions centered around water quality, so Mr. Thompson and Ms. Blount developed and created a water testing program modeled after a similar, successful program that had been developed by Save Bristol Harbor..

After consulting Warren Harbor Commission chairman Woody Kemp and RWU and URI scientists, five sites were chosen to kick off the project: Jacobs Point, Bridge Street, The Warren Town Wharf, Belcher’s Cove and Adams Point in Barrington. 

]Starting in May volunteers began taking bi-weekly samples in Warren. Samples gathered include water temperature, chlorophyll, salinity, bacteria and oxygen levels in the water. Every month the samples are taken to the Watershed Watch lab at URI for analysis, and the data is then publicly available for anyone to use in shaping future decisions regarding the river. Preliminary data is available at http://web.uri.edu/watershedwatch/

“We had to start somewhere and we realized Warren didn't have consistent water quality data," Ms. Blount said. "The key is to start compiling data and then stick with it and hopefully expand the number of sites so we can start to get a picture of what is happening, then we can make smarter decisions about projects or efforts we may want to consider."

"The data we gather can be combined with data collected in Bristol and other communities and used to develop advanced computer modeling of the health of the Bay and River," Mr. Thompson added. "It’s very exciting, and something we should have already been doing." 

The program has been a success, with year one funding coming from the Shellfish Restoration Foundation of Narragansett Bay and organized through the Warren Conservation Land Trust.

Michael Gerhardt, president of the Warren Land Conservation Trust, was enthusiastic about getting involved.

“When Julie and Steve approached us back in the winter, I felt the project was well within the scope of the Land Trust and since we've been already heavily involved at Jacobs Point and are interested in involved in the entire coastline of Warren, it seemed like a natural fit.”

This year’s water testing program runs through early October and a final report will be issued over the winter. But Ms. Blount is already thinking about next year’s effort, which the pair plan to expand to include more sites in Warren. The group is also hoping to get some additional funding through grants and possibly the town. 

"The Town of Bristol contributes $3k annually to their program and they use the data gathered to help make informed decisions about projects and other municipal efforts that impact the watershed," Ms. Blount said.

"We're planning on approaching the town in this upcoming budget cycle, like many groups do for some funding as I believe it’s important the town has a stake in this program."

Lab analysis for each testing site and all the equipment/materials for the year costs $700.   

"We could not have gotten this program off the ground without the generous support of the Blount Family Foundation," Mr. Thompson said.  "The subject matter is a perfect fit and continues the legacy of Luther Blount and his passion for oysters. We're hoping this coming year to get support from other sources as well."

Volunteers this year include Melinda Viera, Michael Gerhardt, Scott Lial, Rock Singewald, Patrick Puccino, Brandt Heckert, Jay Carlotto, Pat Mues, Julie Blount and Steve Thompson.

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