Download Prelim. Concepts Int. - Narragansett Bay Estuary Program

NARRAGANSETT
BAY ALMANAC
Summer: The Bay
Comes Alive
Fish populations reach their highest abundance in
June, July, and August in Narragansett Bay. Atlantic
herring and tautog are most plentiful in early summer. Atlantic menhaden, bay anchovy, butterfish,
squid, summer flounder, scup, mackerel, weakfish,
and bluefish move into the Bay a little later, reaching peak abundance in late summer or early fall.
June
July
August
Shallow waters of coastal ponds and embayments
teem with spawning polychaete worms, providing a
feast for striped bass and flounder—a good time to go
fishing.
The common eider, in one of its southernmost excursions, can be seen nesting on East and West Island off Sakonnet Point.
Complex predator-prey interactions play an important
role in Narragansett Bay during the summer months.
Small ctenophores, or comb jellies, can become so
abundant by midsummer that they make the water
clearer by foraging on microscopic plankton. By late
summer, ctenophore abundance decreases due to predation by butterfish, which in turn are preyed on by
bluefish.
The beach rose (Rosa rugosa) unveils its beautiful red,
pink, and white flowers. The invasive species hedge
rose (Rosa multiflora) also is in bloom. Noted for its
small and fragrant white flower, this rose was introduced from Asia in 1860 and is found throughout
Rhode Island’s coastal landscape, where it has outcompeted native species.
Southbound shore birds, such as the least sandpiper,
begin to pass through Rhode Island, heading for their
winter homes.
Rose hips, the large red fruits of the beach rose, are ready
to harvest for a tasty jam, high in Vitamin C.
The warm summer waters of Narragansett Bay and
the coastal ponds provide a temporary habitat for
stray fish that ride the Gulf Stream north from tropical latitudes. These species begin to appear around
the Fourth of July and can remain through the summer. Some tropical fish species that have been spotted include spotfin, four eye and banded butterflyfish,
trunk fish, cow fish, angelfish, damselfish, and queen
triggerfish.
Swarms of migrating dragonflies, largely made up of
the common green darner, can be seen along the shores
of Narragansett Bay as they journey south.
— Compiled by Norm Rubinstein and Roger Greene,
with assistance from Ginger Brown, Paul Buckley, Lisa
Gould, Chris Ordzie, Peter Paton, and Kenny Raposa.
Mean Annual Surface Water Temperature
Degrees Celsius
Implications: The warmer temperatures in the Bay are having a significant impact on fish and shellfish. Fish species that prefer warm water, such as scup
(Stenotomus chrysops) and butterfish (Peprilus triacanthus), are becoming more abundant. Some cold-water species that were once common in Narragansett Bay, like
winter flounder (Pseudopleuronectes americanus) and sea robins (Prionotus spp.), are
much less abundant now. The decline in winter flounder is not due exclusively to
fishing pressure. A small shrimp (Crangon septemspinosa) that is a predator of winter
flounder is becoming more abundant in the Bay, presumably as a result of increasing water temperature. Comb-jelly ctenophores (Mnemiopsis leidyi) are appearing in
the Bay earlier in the year than ever before and in large numbers. There are data
suggesting these comb-jellies are consuming large amounts of zooplankton and
perhaps larval fish. Landings of American lobster (Homarus americanus) in Rhode
Island have increased dramatically over the past few decades. Fishery biologists believe
this increase is partly due to warmer water temperatures in the Bay.
Temperature-induced changes in the plant and animal communities of Narragansett Bay will affect the structure and function of this complex estuarine ecosystem and will significantly impact commercial and recreational fisheries. Changes
in food webs and predator-prey relationships appear to already be affecting the
marine life of the Bay. The database and information on which this article is based
can be reviewed on the web. (www.narrbay.org/trends/temperature)
The swamp rose mallow is in bloom, showing large
pink flowers 5 to 6 inches in diameter.
NARRAGANSETT
BAY TRENDS
Scientists Track Warming Water
Trends: The surface water temperature in the lower reaches of Narragansett Bay
south of Prudence Island is warming at a rate of approximately 0.3° Celsius (0.5° F)
per decade. Over the past 45 years, the average annual temperature for the Bay has
increased 1.35°C (2.5°F). The warming is believed to be related to global climate changes,
the result of altered atmospheric gases produced by human activities.
Large flocks of tree swallows descend on bayberry trees
to feed.
14
57.2
13
55.4
12
53.6
11
51.8
10
1955
1965
1975
1985
1995
Degrees Farenheit
Herring and great-black backed gulls, double-crested
cormorants, great and snowy egrets, and common and
least terns are nesting and hatching their young along
the shores of Narragansett Bay. Glossy ibis may have
laid their eggs on Rose Island.
50
2005
Year
Sources of Data: 1956–1994 National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Newport
Station; 1995–2001 University of Rhode Island Graduate School of Oceanography Fish Trawl
Survey, Fox Island Station.
— Prepared and reviewed by Dr. Candace Oviatt, Dr. Barbara Sullivan, Dr. Jeremy Collie, Dr. Grace Klein-MacPhee, Graduate School of Oceanography, University of Rhode Island; Dr. Stanley
Cobb, Department of Biological Sciences, University of Rhode Island; and Dr. Peter August, Coastal Institute and Department of Natural Resources Science, University of Rhode Island.
Summer 2002 9
Blackstone Valley Revival:
New Life for an Old River
Thomas Ardito
“Back then,” laughs Bob Billington, recalling the early
days of the Blackstone Valley Tourism Council, “you
couldn’t say ‘Blackstone Valley’ and ‘tourism’ in the
same sentence without getting a big guffaw.”
Nobody’s laughing now. Since its formation in
the early 1980s, Billington has built the Tourism
Council from a shoestring organization into an
internationally recognized leader in “urban ecotourism.” Perhaps more important from Billington’s
perspective is the change that the Council has brought
about: an entirely new appreciation for the Blackstone
River among the communities that line its banks, in
Northern Rhode Island and Southeastern Massachusetts. Early on, it took some doing.
“I spoke with every Rotary, Lions, and Kiwanis Club,
every mayor and city council in the Blackstone Valley,” he remembers, in an effort to convince them
that the Blackstone River could be an asset to their
hardscrabble milltowns.
Tours Explore Blackstone Riverbanks
Samuel Slater, an English canal boat, was launched by the Blackstone Valley Tourism Council in 2000 as a floating bed
and breakfast offering overnight trips on the lower reaches of the Blackstone River. Photo: Barbara Leach
Bob Billington, Executive Director, Blackstone Valley Tourism
Council. Photo: Patrick O’Connor
Their initial skepticism was understandable. Just
30 or 40 years ago the Blackstone, sometimes called
“the hardest working river in America,” was nearly
dead, a fetid conduit for waste and a source of
hydropower, with little biological value. But passage of the federal Clean Water Act in 1972 regulated discharges from factories and city sewers; by
the 1980s, the Blackstone, while still a far cry from
an alpine stream, was improving.
The time was ripe for Billington’s message.
Slowly—more by dint, one suspects, of his persistent enthusiasm than anything else—it began to
take hold. In 1986, Senator John Chafee spurred
the creation of the Blackstone River Valley National
Heritage Corridor, a “special type of national
park…to preserve and interpret…the unique and
significant value of the Blackstone Valley,” according to the National Parks Service, which administers it. The bill provided funding through the
Heritage Corridor to improve the natural and cultural resources of the Blackstone: in 2002, roughly
$1 million in grants. The Heritage Corridor and
the Tourism Council were natural partners, and
Billington was appointed to serve on the commission established to guide the work of the Corridor.
In 1989, Billington hatched another implausible
scheme—to get people out in boats on the
Blackstone River. He contacted Luther Blount, a
prominent shipbuilder in Warren, Rhode Island (see
page 3). As it turned out, Blount’s grandparents had
met while working at Slater Mill in Pawtucket,
Rhode Island. Billington met Blount on the banks
10 Narragansett Bay Journal
In 1993, the Blackstone Valley Tourism Council
launched the 33-foot Blount-built Blackstone Valley Explorer, a 49-passenger aluminum-hulled vessel powered by twin 25-hp outboards.
“We nicknamed it ‘The Convincer’ because it’s
the boat we used to convince people that the
Blackstone was worth saving,” says Bob Billington.
“Many of them were public officials. They’d get
out on the river and their blood pressure would go
down. Senators would go back to Washington and
say, ‘I’ve been on the river.’” To date, 175,000 passengers have gained a new perspective of the
Blackstone on the deck of the Explorer.
A crane lifts the Explorer over dams, allowing it
to work different areas of the river. The Council’s
ecologist, Tammy Gilpatrick, leads on-board nature
tours for school groups, engaging the kids in handson water-quality testing and teaching them about
The Central Falls Landing project will transform a blighted riverfront
parcel into a recreational and educational resource through a $3
million collaboration between the Blackstone Valley Tourism Council,
the Heritage Corridor, and the City of Central Falls. Photo: NBJ
pollution issues as well as the natural history of the
river. The Explorer also takes children and adults on
river history tours, with trained guides to help passengers understand 300 years of changes along the
Blackstone.
In 2000, an English canal boat, the Samuel Slater,
was added to the fleet. The Slater is a kind of floating B&B that offers overnight trips in the Lonsdale
area in Lincoln, perhaps the prettiest and most natural reach of the lower Blackstone. “People come from
all over the country to sleep on the Blackstone
River,” says Billington, still slightly amazed. A 20foot pontoon boat, the Spirit of the Blackstone Valley, also runs tours of the Blackstone Gorge on the
Rhode Island-Massachusetts border.
For information on the Blackstone Valley Tourism Council’s riverboat tours, call (401) 724-2200.
(www.tour blackstone.com)
of the Blackstone to share his vision of tourboats
on the river and seek his advice.
“Luther said, ‘I think you can do it,’” Billington
recalls. “He said, ‘I’ve got a couple of boats, I use
them on the Carribean in the winter, they don’t
do anything in the summer—why don’t you lease
them from me?’ They were glass-bottom boats.
We used to say it was the shopping-cart-and-rustyoil-drum tour!”
By any name, the venture was “an overwhelming success,” says Billington. “People actually wanted to get out on the river.” The Tourism Council’s
weekend tours sold out at $7.50 a head. Even today, Billington seems astonished at the public enthusiasm for those first river tours. “My view of the
Blackstone growing up was just foam and suds—it
was just awful,” he recalls. “Now you hear people say,
‘I’ve lived to see the Blackstone come back.’” ■
continued from page 3
Sailing Industry
The Bottom Line: 2002 Sailing Events
In discussing the economic importance of marine events, the America’s Cup Race and its potential
return to Newport is always a topic of conversation.
Local eyes are watching the New York Yacht Club/
Team Dennis Conner America’s Cup challenge for
2003. Newporter Ken Read will be skipper and several
Rhode Islanders will be on the team. Portsmouth-based
New England Boatworks is building the racing hulls.
“If we’re successful in New Zealand, Rhode Island
would certainly be a strong candidate for hosting the
event upon its return to the United States,” says Charlie
Dana, Commodore of the New York Yacht Club.
“Some think the Cup has outgrown Newport,”
says Wallace. He is quick to point out, however,
that “with proper planning and a collaborative
statewide effort, anything is possible.” One study
estimated that the America’s Cup race contributed $320 million to New Zealand’s economy in
1999 and 2000. Says Wallace, “It’s hard to think
that we couldn’t find a way to accommodate the
America’s Cup by harnessing the tremendous economic energy associated with the event.” ■
The biennial Newport-to-Bermuda race begins
on June 14th. The fleet is the largest ever: almost
200 yachts. Considered one of the premier oceanracing events on the East Coast, many Rhode Islanders look forward to sailing in the race, while
others take an economic interest. According to University of Rhode Island economist Tim Tyrell, the
1992 race had an estimated $6.5 million gross economic impact on Rhode Island. Direct expenditures, from hotel rooms to boat supplies, were
estimated at more than $31,000 per boat.
— Townsend Goddard is Senior Policy Analyst for the
R.I. Senate, and recently completed an investment
strategy for Rhode Island’s marine-related economy.
Megayacht Challenge, hosted by Newport Shipyard (August 22–25), will be a first-of-its-kind event
in Rhode Island for power yachts of 100 feet or
Around Alone, formerly the BOC, a singlehanded, around-the-world race that has its origins
in Newport, is re-establishing ties to its spiritual
home for the event’s 20th anniversary. The fleet
will gather at Newport Shipyard from August 27–
September 12 for a grand race prelude, before proceeding to New York City for a send-off event to
honor the victims of September 11. The race will
finish in Narragansett Bay in early 2003. With
many race budgets in excess of $1 million, the 20plus fleet will bring with it a significant economic
impact.
NARRAGANSETT
BAY CALENDAR
June
8–9 June Moon Madness Striper Tournament
Snug Harbor Marina, Wakefield, R.I.
www.snugharbormarina.com (401) 783-7766
8–9 Off Soundings Sailboat Race
Block Island, R.I.
www.offsoundings.org (401) 466-2631
14 Newport-to-Bermuda Race Start
New York Yacht Club, Newport, R.I.
www.bermudarace.com (401) 845-9633
15 Rhode Island Rivers Day
Events scheduled statewide
www.tourblackstone.com (401) 724-2200
16 Father’s Day Cruise (free!)
Southland Riverboat, Port of Galilee, R.I.
www.southlandcruises.com (401) 783-2954
17 Block Island Race Week
Block Island, R.I.
www.birw.net (800) 840-9335
21 Canoe Trip through the John H. Chafee
National Wildlife Refuge
Pettaqaumscutt Cove, South Kingstown, R.I.
www.savebay.org/events (800) 627-7229
24–28 Scientists and Journalists: Getting the Point
Across. Public lecture series,
URI Bay Campus, Narragansett, R.I.
www.gso.uri.edu/metcalf (401) 874-6211
28 National Fisheries Law Symposium
Roger Williams University Law School, Bristol, R.I.
http://law.rwu.edu/Institutes/Marine/MarineA.htm
(401) 254-4659
more. Newport Shipyard will also host a new-toNewport event, the Newport Bucket (formerly
the Nantucket Bucket) on July 26–28, bringing 15
to 20 sailing yachts of 100 feet or more to Rhode
Island. “Boats this size can have an enormous economic impact,” says Robin Wallace of the State
Yachting Committee. A 1998 Florida study estimated that “megayachts” contributed $500 million per year to the economy of three South Florida
counties.
UBS Challenge, another event new to Rhode
Island, will bring some of the biggest names in sailing to Narragansett Bay in August. Part of the prestigious Swedish Match Tour, the UBS Challenge
begins in May with six regional qualifying races
for amateur sailors, culminating in early August
with a professional/amateur race weekend in Newport. At least nine America’s Cup crews and two
top-ranked professional sailors will race for the
$100,000 purse, one of the biggest in sailing.
Spectators will be able to watch the action from
shoreside, as the races will be held in the Bay rather
than offshore. “This event is unique because it allows rank-and-file sailors an opportunity to race
against the best in the world,” says Brad Read, executive director of Sail Newport.
August
July
6–7 Snug Harbor Shark Tournament
Snug Harbor Marina, Wakefield, R.I.
www.snugharbormarina.com (401) 783-7766
13 Small Boat Regatta. Museum of Yachting,
Fort Adams State Park, Newport, R.I.
www.moy.org (401) 847-1018
13–14 Newport Regatta for Disabled Sailors
Sail Newport, Fort Adams State Park,
Newport, R.I.
www.sailnewport.org (401) 849-8898
18–21 Black Ships Festival
Newport, R.I.
www.newportevents.com (401) 846-2720
19 First Annual Summer Oceanography Festival
URI Bay Campus, Narragansett, R.I.
(401) 874-6642
26 Narragansett Bay Lighthouse Tour
Boat departs from Cranston, R.I.
www.savebay.org/events (800) 627-7229
27 R.I. Governor’s Bay Day
Events scheduled statewide
(401) 222-2632
27–28 Blessing of the Fleet
Port of Galilee, Narragansett, R.I.
www.narragansettri.com/chamber
(401)783-7121
27 South County Scapes: Land & Sea Art Exhibit
Charlestown Gallery, Charlestown, R.I.
Through August 8
(401) 364-0120
2–4 Charlestown Seafood Festival
Ninigret Park, Charlestown, R.I.
www.charlestownrichamber.com (401) 364-4031
3 Citizens Bank/Save the Bay Swim
Newport (to Jamestown) R.I.
www.savebay.org (800) 627-7229
6 Volcanoes and the Ocean: The Meeting
of Two Great Forces. Public lecture,
Newport Naval War College, Newport, R.I.
(401) 874-6642
10–11 R.I. Summer Classic Points Regatta
Quonset Point, North Kingstown, R.I.
www.fleet448.org (401) 431-5009
12 East Bay Day. Audubon Society of R.I.
Environmental Education Center, Bristol, R.I.
www.asri.org (401) 245-7500
17 Fools’ Rules Regatta
Town Beach at East Ferry, Jamestown, R.I.
www.jyc.org (401) 423-1492
17–18 Volvo Leukemia Cup Regatta
Herreshoff Marine Museum, Bristol, R.I.
www.leukemia-lymphome.org (401) 943-8888
24–25 International Quahog Festival
235 Tower Hill Road, Wickford, R.I.
www.quahog.com (401) 885-4118
28 Around Alone Prelude Through Sept. 2
Newport Shipyard, Newport, R.I.
[email protected] (401) 640-3416
31 Family Day on the Bay
Aboard the Alletta Morris, Bristol, R.I.
www.savebay.org/events (800) 627-7229
31 Classic Yacht Regatta Through Sept. 2
Museum of Yachting, Newport, R.I.
www.moy.org (401) 847-1018
Summer 2002 11
NARRAGANSETT
BAY IN BRIEF
The Providence River shipping channel will be
dredged this fall for the first time in 30 years, pending
final approval of construction funding. The $91 million project will re-establish 40 foot depth to the 17mile channel, requiring the removal of 5 million cubic
yards of sediment. 1.2 million cubic yards of polluted
sediments will be buried beneath the channel itself;
cleaner sediment will be barged offshore. Contact Ed
O’Donnell, edward.g.o’[email protected] (978)
318-8375.
Jersey, the R.I. Economic Development Corporation entered into an information-sharing agreement with that
Port in April. (www.riedc.com)
A case study of the dredging project is being
undertaken by researchers from federal, state, academic,
and nonprofit groups. The Coastal Institute at the University of Rhode Island (URI) will serve as clearinghouse
for information; researchers are encouraged to collect
pre-dredging baseline data this summer. Contact Walter
Berry, [email protected], (401) 782-3101, or Norm
Rubinstein, [email protected], (401) 874-2491.
The Fort Wetherill Aquatic Research Center was
opened in April on Jamestown, R.I. by the R.I. Department
of Environmental Management. The Center provides the
state’s marine biologists with laboratory facilities for collaborative fisheries research with URI, the R.I. Coastal Resources Management Council (CRMC), and EPA. Contact
Art Ganz, [email protected], (401) 423-1927.
Rhode Island has applied for permits related
to port development at Quonset Point in North
Kingstown, R.I. The state is seeking to dredge and fill
shoreline and channels to develop a facility that would
handle from 250,000 to 1.2 million shipping containers per year. The state has allocated $1.5 million toward an environmental impact statement that will cost
an estimated $4.5 million. Contact Greg Penta,
[email protected], (978) 318-8862.
To explore the use of Quonset as a barge feeder
port for cargo from the Port of New York and New
A draft discharge permit for the Brayton Point
power plant in Somerset, Mass. will be open to public
comment this summer. The plant, which cycles up to
one billion gallons of water per day, has been connected
to fisheries declines in Mount Hope Bay. Contact Phil
Colarusso, [email protected], (617) 918-1506.
The Audubon Society of Rhode Island opened a
coastal boardwalk in April at its Environmental Education Center in Bristol. The 1600 foot walkway, which
crosses a red maple swamp and a salt marsh, provides
sweeping views of Narragansett Bay. Free and open to the
public, it is accessible from the East Bay Bike Path or the
Audubon Center on Hope Street (Route 114) near the BristolWarren town line. (www.asri.org) (401) 245-7500.
An Atlas of Coastal Habitats on Narragansett
Bay is available from the Narragansett Bay Estuary Program. Maps based on aerial photography show seagrass
beds, coastal wetlands, and shoreline types. Contact
Helen Cottrell, hcottrel@dem. state.ri.us, (401) 222-3961.
Partnership for Narragansett Bay
Coastal habitat restoration projects are underway
through a collaboration between the U.S. Army Corps of
Engineers and CRMC. Plans are being finalized to restore
57 acres of seagrass in three of Rhode Island’s South Shore
salt ponds; restore a herring run in Charlestown; and restore the Allin’s Cove salt marsh in Barrington. Contact
Jeff Willis, j_willis@crmc. state.ri.us, (401) 783-3370.
More than $100,000 in Narragansett Bay planning grants will be used over the next year to assess
economic and environmental information about the
Bay and coastal Rhode Island. The Coastal Institute at
URI will administer the project, which was made possible through a special appropriation by Senator Lincoln Chafee. The information will provide a foundation for involving the public in Bay planning. Contact
Dr. Peter August, [email protected], (401) 874-6233.
$120,000 in Bay watershed grants will be
awarded by the Partnership for Narragansett Bay in
June for habitat restoration, planning, and other Bayrelated purposes in Massachusetts and Rhode Island.
The new program is funded by Massachusetts and the
Narragansett Bay Estuary Program. Contact Rich Ribb,
[email protected], (401) 874-6233.
Marine invasive species will be surveyed this summer by the Narragansett Bay Estuary Program and other
New England National Estuary Programs, building on
shoreside surveys conducted in 2000. A New England
conference on marine invasive species will be held in
November 2002. Contact Rich Ribb, rribb@ gso.uri.edu,
(401) 874-6233.
Summer 2002
Volume 1 • Number 1
NARRAGANSETT
BAY JOURNAL
News and Information on the Bay and Its Watershed
Narragansett Bay Journal
Narragansett Bay Estuary Program
University of Rhode Island
Narragansett, RI 02882