Representative John “Jay” Edwards has introduced new legislation, House bill H 7060. This bill restricts commercial development and preserves for recreational use the Sapowet Marsh Wildlife Management Area (“Seapowet”) and contiguous waters in Sapowet Cove. We need your letters of support for this new 2024 legislation!

CRMC Executive Director recognizes potential conflicts with recreational use and the proposed location of an oyster farm in the waters at the mouth of Seapowet Marsh. He recommends and CRMC Council votes 7-1 to send the application to a Hearing Officer

The CRMC will meet this Tuesday November 14 at 6 pm to review and to act on the Bowen aquaculture application. It is unclear what action the CRMC Council will take.

We encourage you to attend and speak up to let the Council know why the proposed location of the farm, so close to shore, will create significant conflict with existing recreational use of the area.

The meeting details in Providence are as follows:

Thank you to the individuals who already responded to our email of May 14, 2023 (copied below) by submitting a new letter of objection to the Coastal Resources Management Council (CRMC).

For those of you who have not submitted a new letter, please send yours to the CRMC (re: file #2020-04-037) before the deadline of June 8, 2023.

On May 9, 2023 the Coastal Resources Management Council (“CRMC”) re-noticed the Bowen application for up to 200 oyster cages in the public and highly used marine wildlife and recreation area of Tiverton, RI. CRMC gave 30 days from May 9th for public comment. This is the same application that was submitted in November 2020 in the same location.

June 8th is the deadline to submit your objection letter.

It’s important that every person who objects will write and submit their objections to the CRMC before June 8, 2023, even if they wrote previously.

May 15, 2023

Thank you to all who sent emails to the Senate and House committees on bills S. 198 and H. 5037. Special thanks to our community members who testified in person at the Senate and House committees telling your stories and explaining why we need legislation like this to protect heavily used public areas on the Sakonnet like the waters around the Seapowet Marsh Wildlife Management Area. Representative Lauren Carson, District 75, captures the concept simply:

The movement to preserve public access to Seapowet continues. Your help is needed once again. Last month, many of you wrote letters in support of Representative Jay Edwards’ House bill (H. 5037) for a 1,000 ft setback for aquaculture on the Sakonnet.

Thanks to your support, we have come a long way since our movement started a year ago to oppose two poorly sited proposed commercial aquaculture operations in Tiverton waters….here are our accomplishments

At the February 22 Tiverton Harbor Commission meeting, the applicants for the oyster farm north of Seapowet Point, Brad Boehringer and Travis Lundgren, spoke to the Commission, saying that they had withdrawn their application with the CRMC for a three-acre floating oyster farm….

“Green spaces to enjoy nature, clean blue waters to swim and fish in, and sandy beaches to soak up the rays are what we love most about Rhode Island,” said Governor Dan McKee.

It’s disappointing that in the many months the Bowens’ application has been in review, they still don’t realize that communication is key, most of all, honest communication.

To ignore the time and effort CRMC members and local officials are putting forth to develop improvements in the aquaculture application process is closed minded. These improvements stemmed from the Bowens’ lack of communication and avoidance of informing those most affected – the local abutters and users. The lack of public comment on a location utilized by so many has created the situation they are in today.

“Eliminating or limiting the public’s use of an area that has always been freely accessible for everyone simply because a group intends to exclusively exploit our waters for commercial purposes, violates the Public Trust guaranteed in Rhode Island’s Constitution. The guaranty provides for people to enjoy our waters for recreation and other activities, undisturbed by commercial interests….”

Photo: Opponents of an aquaculture farm staged what they called a "float-in" in 2018 to "Save Potter Pond" in South Kingstown, R.I. A subcommittee of a coastal regulator voted against the project on Nov. 9, 2021, although the four-year saga will continue. PHOTO COURTESY OF TODD CORAYER OF FISH WRAP BLOG

By Brian Amaral Globe Staff, Updated November 9, 2021, 7:40 p.m.

PROVIDENCE — The four-year fight over a proposed oyster and scallop farm has involved engineering and ecology studies, high-powered law firms, and a kayak-borne protest that participants called a “float-in.” The battle pits the owner of one of the most famous restaurants in Rhode Island against scores of objectors, who worry about squeezing access to a prized stretch of the state’s shore. And it took another turn on Tuesday night, when a four-member subcommittee of the Coastal Resources Management Council voted to recommend denying permission for Perry Raso, the owner of the Matunuck Oyster Bar, to start a threeacre oyster and scallop farm on Segar Cove in South Kingstown.

By ROB SMITH/ecoRI News staff

JAMESTOWN, R.I. — State aquaculture regulators were criticized recently, as the special House commission studying a potential reorganization of the Coastal Resources Management Council (CRMC) accepted testimony from harbor officials and frustrated residents.

Photo: An aerial view of Champlin’s Marina on Block Island, Jim Hummel, Jim Hummel

Luis Daniel Muñoz and Bella Noka, Guest columnists

Published 5:45 pm, Nov. 11, 2021

Dr. Luis Daniel Muñoz is a Democrat running for governor of Rhode Island. Bella Noka is a Narragansett Tribal Elder and chairwoman of Red Wind. John Manock, a journalist who covers environmental and ocean issues, contributed to this commentary.

Rhode Island’s oceans are our greatest gift. They drive our economy, provide recreation for tourists and locals alike, and tether our relationship to nature. An important role of Rhode Island’s state government is to ensure that our precious oceanic resources are managed in a way that protects Rhode Islanders’ health, safety, and their access to the sea.

By Newport This Week Staff | on October 21, 2021

To the Editor:

The stated mission of the Rhode Island Coastal Resources Management Council is to “preserve, protect, develop, and where possible, restore the coastal resources of the state for this and succeeding generations.” This leaves quite a bit of latitude for interpretation, not all of it good.

Some recent questionable actions by the CRMC have led Rep. Deborah Ruggiero to push for an independent panel to study the actions of the CRMC and how the organization may be structured to better serve the needs of the people. As a boater and recreational angler, I commend Rep. Ruggiero for taking on this initiative, but much damage has already been done and more is certain to come long before the panel presents its findings or any reforms are made.

Photo: Staff from the Rhode Island Coastal Resources Management Council (CRMC) spent 90 minutes talking aquaculture before the Tiverton Harbor Commission Monday evening. Representatives included (from left) executive director Jeffrey Willis, deputy director James Boyd and aquaculture specialist Benjamin Goetsch.

By Ted Hayes

Representatives from the state's Coastal Resources Management Council got an earful Monday evening when they appeared before the Tiverton Harbor Commission to talk about the changing face of aquaculture in Rhode Island.

Though CRMC executive director Jeffrey Willis said from the outset that neither he nor his two colleagues would talk about specific aquaculture proposals before the agency, many in the 30-strong audience at the Tiverton Public Library had plenty to say about two oyster farm proposals currently being considered by the agency.

September 16, 2021

By CAITLIN FAULDS/ecoRI News

PROVIDENCE — A special House commission made its first moves toward reorganizing the controversy-ridden Coastal Resources Management Council (CRMC) on Sept. 15 during the inaugural meeting of its 15-member body.

The commission, which was created last session by legislation (H6252) sponsored by Rep. Deborah Ruggiero, D-Jamestown, will draw together experts on coastal policy, oceanography, aquaculture, development and conservation. In its first meeting, the commission set itself to the task of laying out priorities to improve CRMC and its operation and management procedures. The commission is tasked with issuing its findings and recommendations by April 1, 2022.

Photo: A paddleboarder on the Sakonnet River in Tiverton passes near an area that could host a nearly 1-acre aquaculture operation. (Frank Carini/ecoRI News)

By FRANK CARINI/ecoRI News staff

TIVERTON, R.I. — The Ocean State’s coastal areas and its salt ponds are some of the most popular, crowded and treasured spots in the state. They are recreational havens, economic drivers, and food suppliers.

Green Hill, Ninigret, Point Judith, Potter, Quonochontaug, and Winnapaug ponds run along Rhode Island’s southern coast. These ponds are coastal lagoons with shallow water that are separated from the open ocean by a natural barrier, creating a protected environment that hosts an assortment of wildlife and myriad activities. On any given day, especially in the summer, you can find people boating, swimming, paddling, tubing, kite surfing, fishing, and birding.

To the editor:

My name is Charlie Barmonde and I reside in Tiverton. I am writing to share my objections to the proposed oyster farm in the Seapowet area. My objections are based on two factors.

The first is that this is one of the very few areas open to public recreation along the Sakonnet. As a waterman, all summer long I observe countless small water craft from kayaks, to paddleboards, jet skis, motor boats tubing with families, kiteboarders, windsurfers and sailboats enjoying this pristine waterway. The vast majority of these people are not waterfront property owners, rather they are from all over Rhode Island and the south coast, not to mention the mariners from all over the world who tuck in to this unique waterway for protection or recreation during their journeys. The Seapowet marsh area is a primary access point for many of these activities and the location of acres of aquaculture equipment would impair all of them and would render impossible others such as windsurfing, kiteboarding, and waterskiing where the high speeds and underwater appendages of the craft would make it dangerous. Furthermore their equipment would be damaged by impact with underwater cables and equipment.