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Watershed groups press council for monitoring and conservation funding
Summary
Salt Ponds Coalition and Narrow River Preservation Association urged continued support for long-term water-quality monitoring and local cleanup work, noting multidecade datasets and plans to expand monitoring sites.
Environmental and watershed organizations asked the council to sustain monitoring and restoration work that supports grant applications and local stewardship.
Alicia Shatter, executive director of the Salt Ponds Coalition, requested $4,500 to cover laboratory fees and support URI watershed-testing for six local sites. She said the coalition will monitor about 30 sites across the salt ponds region in 2026 and that 10 of those sites fall in South Kingstown; the group also announced it will absorb monitoring and some advocacy duties previously handled by Friends of Sagatucket.
Shirley Frytog, executive coordinator of the Narrow River Preservation Association, requested $4,000 to continue a 35-year monitoring program that covers 13 sites in the Narrow River watershed and supports education programs including a fourth-grade curriculum and an osprey program. Frytog highlighted an upcoming cleanup scheduled for May 2 and described partnerships with neighboring towns and volunteer groups for restoration work.
Both presenters emphasized the value of long-term data for state grant applications and for spotting emerging nutrient or bacteria problems in local ponds and river mouths. Staff said the council will decide allocations during the preliminary budget adoption on March 18 and reiterated that the workshop itself is informational.
No formal funding decisions were taken at the workshop.
