Shipbuilding along River Watch Program Seeks the Pettaquamscutt Volunteer Water Monitors In May, NRPA will start its 28th consecutive year of River Watch. By checking fosters design temperature, salinity, oxygen, bacteria and other measures at fourteen different innovation locations in the watershed, we are able to assess the cleanliness of the water and identify problems so that we can implement solutions. by Sarah Gaines, NRPA Board of We’re currently seeking volunteer monitors for River Watch this year. Directors As signs of spring emerge, coastal Question: I don’t know what to do. Will I get training? thoughts naturally turn to boating. Answer: Yes! Volunteers are trained by the URI Watershed For anyone who’s spent time on the Watch program to be Citizen Scientists. You’ll attend one water in the Pettaquamscutt River, classroom training (optional, but highly recommended) and it’s not hard to imagine that humans one field training session. Trainings occur in April. must have been boating these waters Q: Do I have to have a boat? since they inhabited the watershed. A: No. We have sampling locations that can be reached by It’s a larger stretch of the imagina- land and others that require a boat (power boat, kayak or tion to picture the golden age of canoe). If you don’t have a boat, we can assign you to a spot shipbuilding in the Pettaquamscutt you can reach by land. River between 1813 and 1854, when approximately 20 vessels Q: Where will I be assigned to sample? were built here by Captain John A: Our River Watch coordinator, Annette DeSilva, will work with you to match Aldrich Saunders (1786-1832) and you to a site that works for you. his son Captain John A. Saunders II Q: Will I have to miss my vacation to stay here and sample? (1808-1882). These ships were used A: No. We try to assign each monitoring location with two volunteer monitors. for trade locally, up and down the This allows volunteers to work out their schedule to accommodate vacation Eastern Seaboard, and as far south as plans. the West Indies and South America. The Saunders family took a share in Q: Does it cost money? some ships they built, at times com- A: No. All we ask of you is your time and manding them personally. The largest enthusiasm. All supplies are provided. vessel (82 feet and 200 tons) Q: Can my kids help? continued on page 6 A: Yes! We have many families who sample together. As long as an adult accompanies children, we welcome young river moni- tors. Q: I have more questions. Where can I get more information? A: narrowriver.org/riverwatch and web.uri.edu/watershedwatch are excellent resources. Q: Sounds great! How do I get started? A: Email us at [email protected]. We look forward to working with you! A sketch of the Nonsuch with a gaff rig. Many thanks to the Unitarian Universalist Nonsuch, John Aldrich Saunders’ 13th Congregation of South County! vessel, was built in 1824 at the head of In February, UUCSC donated $431.50 to NRPA the Upper Pond of the Pettaquamscutt through their ‘Share the Plate’ program. River, just south of Gilbert Stuart’s birth- place from oak and chestnut timber from Photo: Mary Alice Kimball, UUCSC Share the the abutting farm. Plate Coordinator (center), presents a check to (Saunders family collection) Alison Kates and Richard Grant of NRPA. President’s Cove MISSION STATEMENT Dear friends, The Narrow River Preservation Association (NRPA) works to During the last few years of our 48 year history, NRPA has been a member preserve, protect, and restore of the Rhode Island Rivers Council (RIRC). the natural environment Formed in 1991, RI Rivers Council implements and updates a RI State and the quality of life of all Rivers Policy and Classification Plan, advises state agencies and munici- communities within the Narrow palities about programs and measures to protect and improve river quality, (Pettaquamscutt) River Estuary and designates watershed councils to have “standing” before local and and Watershed. state agencies and courts to testify on issues affect- ing their watershed and to receive notifications NARROW RIVER about actions in their PRESERVATION ASSOCIATION watershed. PO Box 8, Saunderstown, RI 02874 [email protected] RIRC also offers annual www.narrowriver.org grants to advance the work of designated wa- Narrow River Notes Published three times per year tershed councils, fosters by NRPA public involvement in riv- Editor: Alison Kates er planning and decision- making through public Board of Directors Richard Grant, President education and outreach Veronica Berounsky, Vice President activities, and participates Ken McShane, Treasurer in the State Guide Plan Craig Wood, Secretary Advisory Committee and Erin Chille the Narragansett Bay Es- Jason Considine Barry Devine tuary Program. The Rivers Sarah Gaines Council works on state Chris Hubbard policies to increase river Jim Kaczynski use and to strengthen lo- Molly Mageau Catalina Martinez cal watershed councils Paula Santos RIRC has designated 10 Sally Sutherland Nate Vinhateiro Watershed Councils in the state which cover Staff 71% of Rhode Island. Alison Kates, Program Coordinator Submissions and correspondence to NRPA is a proud member [email protected] of RI Rivers Council and every resident and friend of Narrow River Water- shed should be thankful for its guidance. Best, Richard Grant NRPA President 2 NRPA: Preserving the Narrow River and the Watershed Since 1970 NRPA Lesa Meng Local High School Students Win College Scholarship NRPA Science Fair Awards Applications Two local high school students presented their winning science fair projects to Due April 23 the NRPA Board of Directors at their meeting on March 6th. This spring, NRPA will award up to In her project, “How Seawater Acidification Affects Oyster Shells”, Olivia Kelly four $1,000 college scholarships from South Kingstown High School (SKHS) submerged oyster shells in salt water to students graduating from high with varying pH levels, finding that as pH level decreased, the calcium contained schools in the watershed: Narragan- in the shells dissolved at a higher rate. sett High School, North Kingstown Grace Rumowicz of North Kingstown High School (NKHS) presented her project High School, The Prout School and “Invasive Species Reacting with Rhode Island Natives.” Grace planted some Gar- South Kingstown High School. lic Mustard (an invasive species) alone and some with Rhode Island native plant NRPA began awarding college schol- Purple Milkweed. Over 6 weeks, she found that the Garlic Mustard living with arships in 1995 and has granted over the Milkweed thrived while the Garlic Mustard planted alone withered and died. $52,000 to local high school seniors since its inception. Grace and Olivia were recognized by NRPA for their rigorous use of the scientific method and the relevance of their project to current environmental concerns. Scholarship applications are available at the Guidance Departments of all NRPA also awarded the following Honorable Mentions: four high schools in the watershed. South Kingstown High School: The scholarship applications are • Miles Corayer - Effect of Chemical Fertilizers on Water judged on: • Elwood Roberts - The Effect Sea Level Rise Will Have on Different Shore- • Student’s environmentally ori- lines ented activities in and out of high school • Kacie Curran and Abigail Marcotte - Oil Remediation Using Microorgan- isms • An original essay on mitigating an environmental problem or issue North Kingstown High School: relevant to Narrow River • Katrina Kulesh - Bioluminescence and Water Disturbance • Science teacher’s recommenda- • Mateo Garcia - Effects of Aquatic Plants on the pH of Water tion • Academic achievement in math and science courses. Completed applications must be submitted to the student’s guidance counselor (not to NRPA) by Monday, April 23, 2018. Meet NRPA’s new osprey ambassa- dor, Pette, short for ‘Pettaquamscutt’. Found deceased by RIDEM Divi- sion of Fish and Wildlife, donated to NRPA and pre- pared by a local taxidermist, Pette will teach people about osprey. Come see Pette up close at one of NRPA’s up- Olivia Kelly (left) of South Kingstown High School and Grace Rumowicz of North coming events. Kingstown High School present their winning science fair projects at the NRPA Board of Directors Meeting on March 6, 2018. Photo by Veronica Berounsky April 2018 Narrow River Notes 3 Monitoring the American Eel on the Narrow River by Patrick McGee, Fisheries Biologist – been declining for RIDEM Division of Fish and Wildlife decades. Impacted Springtime in Rhode Island marks the by habitat fragmen- return of numerous animal species. In tation, predation, the Narrow River, the most familiar of water contamination, the returning visitors are the river her- overfishing, disease, ring. However, a lesser known, lesser and a host of other understood migration is also taking variables, numbers place – that is, the American eel. are thought to have plummeted. Impor- To many, the American eel (Anguilla tant as both predator rostrata) is a well-known resident of and prey, in both ponds and lakes in the state of Rhode marine and inland Island. But few are aware of the com- waters, the U.S. American eel illustration by Robert Jon Golder plex, fascinating life history of a fish Fish and Wildlife Service was whose journey begins with a trip span- tasked in 2007 and again in 2015 to course of this twelve week survey, ning hundreds (sometimes thousands) review the species for listing under the hundreds, often thousands of eels are of miles on ocean currents before Endangered Species Act. The Service sampled. The peak of this survey saw making landfall into the freshwaters of found, in both reviews, that listing was over 30,000 glass eels pass through the Atlantic coast. not warranted for the eel. However, the trap.