Proposed budget cuts prompt worries from Prudence reserve

Narragansett Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve could face reductions

By Jim McGaw
Posted 3/22/17

PRUDENCE ISLAND — Concerns over reports that the Trump administration is proposing drastic cuts to the National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has trickled down to a research …

This item is available in full to subscribers.

Please log in to continue

Log in

Register to post events


If you'd like to post an event to our calendar, you can create a free account by clicking here.

Note that free accounts do not have access to our subscriber-only content.

Day pass subscribers

Are you a day pass subscriber who needs to log in? Click here to continue.


Proposed budget cuts prompt worries from Prudence reserve

Narragansett Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve could face reductions

Posted

PRUDENCE ISLAND — Concerns over reports that the Trump administration is proposing drastic cuts to the National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has trickled down to a research reserve on Prudence Island.

According to a Washington Post report, the Trump administration is proposing to slash NOAA’s budget by 17 percent, and completely eliminating the National Estuarine Research Reserve System (NERRS) around the country. 

That hits close to home, as the Narragansett Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve (NBNERR) on Prudence Island is part of that system. 

The reserve collects critical water quality data for the state, carries out research on sea level rise and other matters and offers numerous educational programs including overnight youth camps. NBNERR employs seven full-time employees, a part-time worker and a number of seasonal employees, said Bob Stankelis, reserve manager.

Last year’s budget for NERRS was $23 million, of which the local reserve received $619,000, he said. The state kicks in another 30 percent of that amount — about $265,000 — because “the research reserve is a state and federal partnership program,” Mr. Stankelis said.

Without that funding, the reserve would also lose their leverage in acquiring smaller grants ranging from “$10,000 to $50,000 or more,” he said.

While he doesn’t believe the entire local reserve program will be done away with, Mr. Stankelis said it’s hard to predict what action the Trump administration will ultimately take. 

“We personally don’t think the program is going to be eliminated, because we feel we have enough support,” said Mr. Stankelis, noting that NERRS programs are scattered “in both red and blue states” throughout the county. “I think there’s a lot of interest in keeping these places open. I think there will be push back in Congress.” 

Still, he doesn’t know what’s coming “down the pike.”

“More than any other year, there’s a lot of uncertainty. The key message we want people to get is they should make it be known that they appreciate the things that they have because they may not always be here. We want to be proactive,” he said.

The potential cuts have drawn a response from MoveOn.org, which has started an online petition in support of full funding for NERRS. As of Wednesday morning, the online petition had nearly 2,200 signatures.

What would be lost

Mr. Stankelis said if the worse-case scenario came true and the reserve were shut down, the biggest loss would come in the form of science and data collection.

One of the primary functions of the local reserve is measuring water quality for the state Department of Environmental Management, he said. The continuous collection of data becomes more valuable over time, so even a short-term interruption of that function can damage the scientific validity of those statistics, according to Mr. Stankelis.

“If you stopped collecting the data, that opportunity is gone forever. Even if we were to pick it up in a couple years from now, you have this gap that makes the whole data set less strong, less robust,” he said.

NBNERR also focuses much of its attention on local salt marshes, using sophisticated techniques to gather information on sea level rise and flooding, he said. 

“A lot of information that we collect becomes very important to coastal planners and that is our work on salt marshes,” Mr. Stankelis said. “We want these salt marshes to survive into the future and we’re starting to take steps on what we can do about it. If we stop, we lose a huge amount of momentum in terms of planning.”

NBNERR also works with Save The Bay, the Audubon Society and the University of Rhode Island and offers overnight camps in cooperation with URI’s Alton Jones Campus.

“We have overnight summer camps which are not really offered by anyone in the area,” he said.

The reserve also hosts day camps for Prudence Island children, runs a homeschool program and works with Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts, he said.

“We don’t get a ton of kids out here, but what we do is really unique,” said Mr. Stankelis. “We’ve got all kinds of habitats that kids can go see. They can see a lot of different things to get an understanding of how nature works.”

Narragansett Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve, Prudence Island, NBNERR

2024 by East Bay Media Group

Barrington · Bristol · East Providence · Little Compton · Portsmouth · Tiverton · Warren · Westport
Meet our staff
Jim McGaw

A lifelong Portsmouth resident, Jim graduated from Portsmouth High School in 1982 and earned a journalism degree from the University of Rhode Island in 1986. He's worked two different stints at East Bay Newspapers, for a total of 18 years with the company so far. When not running all over town bringing you the news from Portsmouth, Jim listens to lots and lots and lots of music, watches obscure silent films from the '20s and usually has three books going at once. He also loves to cook crazy New Orleans dishes for his wife of 25 years, Michelle, and their two sons, Jake and Max.