Narragansett Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve

A State-Federal Partnership Program

>> Stewardship

~ What is stewardship? ~

Stewardship is managing the land and its resources.

The Reserve's stewardship sector strives to protect the land and water resources of the Reserve and the Narragansett Bay estuary through resource protection, habitat management and public outreach. The Reserve supports a variety of habitats and species, including a host of rare and invasive terrestrial and aquatic species, which impact management decisions. The stewardship sector is staffed by a natural resources/research specialist and a natural resources/GIS specialist.

Beach cleanup on Prudence Island

Building osprey platforms near saltmarsh habitat

Stewardship Sector Goals

The goals of the stewardship sector are to: protect the land and water resources of the Reserve while promoting biodiversity and conserving sensitive species and their habitats; work with other Reserve sectors to publicize projects, efforts, and information; and partner with other agencies and organizations to enhance and support broader stewardship programs and watershed initiatives.

Stewardship Programs

Examples of stewardship projects include meadow, salt marsh and pine barren habitat restoration, osprey nesting habitat enhancement, building barn swallow shelters, marking eelgrass beds with buoys, and invasive species monitoring and removal programs on Prudence Island. These efforts build upon recent and ongoing research and monitoring.

Click here to learn about the Prudence Island Autumn Olive Tree control plan.

Stewardship Partnerships

More than any other program sector of the Reserve, stewardship requires collaboration and cooperation between many agencies. The following list describes some of these partnership projects and provides links to websites were applicable:

The Reserve's Stewardship Sector works to:

• Support Save The Bay in their bay-wide monitoring efforts (eelgrass, salt marsh, horseshoe crab) and restoration projects

• Provide technical and logistical support to the Narragansett Bay National Estuary Program (NB-NEP)

• Participate in the Prudence Island Groundwater Task Force and support their efforts to investigate groundwater quantity issues

• Work with the University of Rhode Island 's Environmental Data Center (URI-EDC) on environmental mapping and characterizations

• Work with Natural Resources Conservation Service on restoration planning and implementation

• Participate on the Rhode Island Coastal Resources Management Council's Habitat Restoration Fund technical advisory committee

• Support Roger Williams University in bay-wide oyster restoration programs.

• Coordinate with our Rhode Island Department of Environmental Managment partners including the Divisions of Sustainable Watersheds, Fish and Wildlife, Forest Environment, and Parks and Recreation on planning and implementation of ecological and protected areas management.

• Collaborate with Prudence Conservancy in invasive species monitoring and control efforts as well as education outreach.

• Support the dataset management initiatives of the Rhode Island Natural History Survey.

• Solicit technical advise, as necessary, from partners who participate on the Reserve's Stewardship Advisory Committee to plan restoration and other management actions.

Getting Involved

Stewardship is labor intensive. A lot of work is required in stewardship projects from trail clearing and beach cleanups, to selective cutting in forested areas and removing and treating invasive plant species. With help from volunteers NBNERR is able to accomplish small and large-scale stewardship projects. If you are interested in helping out go to the "Get Involved" section of our website to learning how you can participate.

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For issues related to Stewardship:

robin@nbnerr.org