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Volunteers Help Clear Invasive Plant from Waterbodies
This past spring and summer, community volunteers helped remove water chestnut, an aquatic invasive plant, from waterbodies in Rhode Island and southern Massachusetts. Working by boat across 16 events, a total of 256 community members hand-pulled an estimated 23 cubic yards, totaling approximately 6,505 pounds of plant material. These efforts are part of a water…
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PFAS River Monitoring Project Launched in Rhode Island
In June, NEIWPCC, in partnership with the Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management (RIDEM), launched a new project to assess baseline concentrations of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in rivers across the state. Establishing these baseline conditions is a key first step toward understanding the scope and scale of PFAS contamination in Rhode Island’s freshwater…
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Volunteers Remove Invasive Plant from Waterways
Working from both land and water, volunteers hand-pulled water chestnut, an invasive plant, from waterbodies in Rhode Island and Massachusetts. Over the course of 10 events this past June and July, 133 community members removed forty-six cubic yards of plant material from four locations, totaling 463 volunteer hours. These efforts are part of a habitat…
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Environmental Groups Recruiting Volunteers to Harvest Invasive Aquatic Plant from Local Ponds
Several environmental organizations are banding together in calling for volunteers to help remove invasive water chestnut (Trapa natans) from local ponds in the Blackstone and Ten Mile River watersheds, located in Southeast Massachusetts and Rhode Island. The events will be held throughout the month of June and are open to all members of the community.…
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SNEP Funding Supports Water Chestnut Management in Rhode Island and Massachusetts
The Southeast New England Program (SNEP) awarded NEIWPCC a $262,077 grant for habitat restoration efforts in two interstate watersheds. The project, Community-Based Habitat Restoration: Water Chestnut Management in the Blackstone and Ten Mile Watersheds, will launch in the spring of 2023. Both the Blackstone and Ten Mile watersheds are located in southeastern Massachusetts with sections…