RHODE ISLAND RESOURCE PROTECTION PROJECT

Other Resource Protection Projects

The Rhode Island Resource Protection Project is part of a New England-wide ecosystem management initiative. It is an effort by the Environmental Protection Agency and the New England states to develop a strategy that views natural resources, not as isolated programs but as integrated systems that require collaborative management strategies. The regional scope of this initiative was determined to be too large and complex to approach all at once. Although the ecosystems and watersheds of New England do not necessarily follow the states' boundaries, the organization of such a large project requires a state by state focus. Besides Rhode Island, two other states have taken on the Resource Protection Project.

New Hampshire

The Granite State took a leadership role in 1993 by hosting the pilot Resource Protection Project. A workgroup of over 20 public and private organizations developed a process to identify priority resource areas that were in good ecological health. The New Hampshire Project targeted six areas: The Seacoast, Great Bay, The Mid-Connecticut River Valley, Ossipee Lake, Lake Umbagog, and the Connecticut Lakes Region.

Some of the implementation work pursued over the past year includes: obtaining designation of Great Bay into the National Estuary Program; developing a series of resource maps for the Connecticut River Joint Commission; organizing a meeting of scientists focused on endangered species at the Connecticut River Macrosite (in the mid-Connecticut River Valley); coordinating with the New Hampshire Coastal Program to produce a resource guide to Great Bay and the Seacoast; and promoting resource protection efforts in each priority area.

For more information, contact: Joel Zimmerman, New England Interstate Water Pollution Control Commission, 255 Ballardvale St., Wilmington, MA 01887

Tel: (508) 658-0500; e-mail: mail@neiwpcc.org.

Connecticut

The Connecticut Resource Protection Project was initiated in 1995 shortly after the Rhode Island Project, and has closely followed it's neighbor's efforts. The Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection has coordinated all of the workgroup activities in the state.

The Connecticut Resource Protection Project has targeted nine focus areas: Northwest Corner, Upper Farmington Area, Upper Connecticut River Corridor, Natchaug River Area, Pachaug River Area, Lower Connecticut River Corridor, West Rock Ridge Area, Suguatuck River Area, and Long Island Sound. Implementation projects will be initiated for the focus areas in the coming year through grants that will be distributed in early 1997.

For more information, contact: Laurie Gianotti or John Scull, Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection, 79 Elm Street, Hartford, CT 06106-5127 Tel: (860) 424-4199 x2873; e-mail: jonathan.scull@po.state.ct.us; web site: dep.state.ct.us