PORTSMOUTH — For about 70 years, local residents and out-of-towners have been driving out to the edge of the small peninsula at Gull Cove to drop in a small boat or kayak, lug their fishing gear, or carry some chairs or a shade tent to enjoy the calmness of Blue Bill Cove.

Under a R.I. Department of Environmental Management (DEM) project to explore site improvements to the site however, the road may be shut off by lock and key in the near future.

The reason? Erosion due to climate change and stormwater runoff has taken a heavy toll on not only the access road, but the surrounding shoreline, according to officials from DEM, the Nature Conservancy, and the Narragansett Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve (NBNERR), who presented plans to the Harbor Commission on Wednesday, May 3. 

“It has eroded a lot, even in a few years,” said Lauren Miller-Donnelly, public access coordinator for The Nature Conservancy and DEM. The project hopes to provide recreational opportunities at the site, but also make it safe “and make sure it doesn’t erode any further,” she said.

They want to use part of a $200,000 federal grant DEM was awarded last year to make natural improvements to the area, while also restricting vehicular access to certain parts of Gull Cove, which is accessed by the northbound lanes of Route 24.    

“Every time a car drives out on that little causeway, you’re causing damage,” RIDEM Chief Dean Hoxskie told the commission, which is chaired by Abigail Brown.

The problem is only going to worsen with future sea level rise, said Caitlin Chaffee, NBNERR’s reserve manage. 

“The tide just keeps coming up and up. It’s very low in elevation. When the tide is astronomically high, that road is already flooding because it’s at such a low point. Over time we would expected the erosion and flooding at this site to get more extreme,” Chaffee said. DEM had plans to repair the former boat ramp there, but decided not to due to the shallow slope. The state ended up removing most of the concrete slabs to the ramp.

The goal, she said, is to make sure people can still visit and engage in recreational activities at Gull Cove without it being a safety hazard. 

Officials stressed the grant money is only for the current design phase of the project, expected to continue over the next year, and they would need to apply for more funding before proceeding with any real site improvements. More public comment will be sought before the design is completed, they said.

The plans first came to light in September 2022, when U.S. Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse visited Gull Cove to announce the $200,000 grant to RIDEM. In partnership with Save The Bay and The Nature Conservancy, the money will be used to improve shoreline access and coastal resiliency at Gull Cove as well as Quonochontaug Pond Breachway in Charlestown. The grant comes from the National Coastal Resilience Fund, which Whitehouse created to restore and strengthen the natural infrastructure that protects coastal communities.

The plans include increasing native shoreline vegetation and restoring wetlands, as well as removing damaged infrastructure and reconfiguring vehicle access points. One idea is to relocate the majority of the parking to the higher elevation at the top of the hill near Route 24, which is managed by the R.I. Department of Transportation.

Pushback from commission

Several members of the Harbor Commission, however, didn’t like the idea of closing off vehicular access to the peninsula, saying it’s been a time-honored tradition to allow visitors to drive there to unload a kayak, fishing gear or other equipment.

Commission member Carol Mello said the access road is actually in pretty decent shape considering it’s seen no improvements. Many older people drive out to the peninsula, she said, so it would be a hardship to force them to lug their stuff from vehicles parked so far away.

“What you really need to do is fix that road and let them have access,” said Mello, adding the improvements should have been made years ago. If the water is rising, she said, just raise the road.

David Gleason, the Town Council’s liaison to the commission, agreed that DEM should focus its improvements on the access road. “Why not raise the road up and put riprap on either side?” he asked.

Gleason also expressed concern that people may be forced to drop their kayaks into an area that’s closer to the parking lot, but which has strong currents and “a 90-foot drop.”

Chaffee, however, said the grant funding doesn’t allow any physical raising of the roadbed, but rather focuses on habitat and vegetation to improve resiliency of the site and maintain access. 

Hoxsie said he’s met with the town administrator and the police and fire chiefs, who said they were agreeable to DEM’s idea of installing a locked gate which would grant access only to first responders. Chaffee said the state has blocked vehicular access to Seapowet Beach in Tiverton and has already seen improvements there.

That didn’t sit well with Mello, however. People have been accessing the peninsula for 70 years and “if you put a gate up — not cool. Not cool at all,” she said. “It’s not safe for cars now because the road is a mess and hasn’t been fixed in 70 years.”

Chaffee said she understood the commission’s concerns, but restricting vehicular access is important to hep stem the surge of sea level rise at Gull Cove.

“Our fear is it’s going to disappear if we don’t see something done,” she said.