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| The Wood-Pawcatuck watershed is now recognized by Congress as scenic and wild. (David Smith/ecoRI News) |
The legislation, first introduced in 2012, will provide the
watershed federal protection and access to federal money for programs and
studies. The legislation passed in the House last week.
Sen. Jack Reed, D-R.I., attached two Rhode Island public lands
initiatives to the National Defense Authorization Act. Besides the designation
for the watershed, the other is the Blackstone River Valley National Historical
Park Establishment Act to create a new unit of the National Park System along
the John H. Chafee Blackstone River Valley National Heritage Corridor.
It was the second time the bill had been introduced in Congress.
The first attempt in 2012 passed the House but died in the Senate. The second
attempt was filed last year.
“Pursuing a Wild and Scenic designation was the catalyst for the creation of the Wood-Pawcatuck Watershed Association in the early 1980s,” the WPWA’s current executive director, Chris Fox, said.
“I am very pleased that progress toward obtaining this
designation has finally been achieved and I am proud of our staff, partners and
the Rhode Island and Connecticut congressional delegations’ tireless efforts to
reach this milestone. The passage of this act provides protection for rivers
that generate significant tourism and recreation revenue for Rhode Island and
Connecticut. The designation further supports the ongoing revitalization of the
Pawcatuck River and its tributaries as a prime destination for migratory fish.”
The Wood-Pawcatuck Watershed Protection Act will make federal
restoration and conservation resources available for a three-year study funded
by the National Park Service. A meeting to start that process is expected in
January between federal and state officials. The three-year study would include
meetings with various town officials, landowners and organizations, such as the
WPWA.
If the park service ultimately recommends the designation, the
group will go back to Congress to amend the Rivers Act to include the
watershed.
WPWA program director Denise Poyer said
that in anticipation of the bill’s passage, Rep. Jim Langevin, D-R.I.,
requested a reconnaissance survey of the Wood-Pawcatuck watershed. The survey was completed in 2013, and its summary
states, “The National Park Service reconnaissance survey team has determined,
based on readily available information, that segments of the Wood-Pawcatuck
River exhibit free-flowing character and noteworthy natural, cultural and
recreational resource values likely to meet eligibility criteria for inclusion
in the National Wild and Scenic Rivers System.”
The watershed covers 300 square miles, which includes 14 towns
in Rhode Island and Connecticut. It features five rivers — Wood, Pawcatuck,
Beaver, Chipuxet and Queen — and numerous streams.
“The Wood and Pawcatuck rivers are important to Rhode Island’s
economy and environment and we must protect these natural resources,” Sen. Jack
Reed, D-R.I., said. “This initiative could help develop a collaborative river
management plan to address issues ranging from fish passages to the restoration
of wetlands to assistance with flood mitigation.”
The Wood River features the “highest biodiversity of any river
in New England,” Poyer said. She also noted that this new designation will
prohibit the building of any dams and hydropower projects.
What it doesn’t change, Poyer said, is zoning regulations and
property rights. “Landowners will not have to provide access to the rivers,”
she said.
The positives of the designation are that it will protect water
quality and draw interest to rivers, increase property values near the rivers
and result in economic development, Poyer said.
The downside, she said, is that it provides an extra layer of
review to all federally funded projects and permitting, including dam removals.
It could also increase the use of the rivers that might inadvertently create an
adverse impact.
The Blackstone River portion of the legislation would create a
multisite park that would include areas of the Old Slater Mill in Pawtucket and
nearby mill towns, including Slatersville (North Smithfield) and Ashton
(Cumberland) in Rhode Island and Whitinsville and Hopedale in Massachusetts.
“The Blackstone Valley is a national treasure that deserves to
be preserved,” Reed said. “It is the birthplace of the American Industrial
Revolution and includes thousands of acres of beautiful, undeveloped land, and
waterways that are home to diverse wildlife, cultural sites, and numerous
recreational opportunities for Rhode Islanders.”
Designated as a National Heritage Corridor in 1986 by Congress,
the John H. Chafee Blackstone River Valley
National Heritage Corridor links
24 communities along the Blackstone River, from Providence to Worcester, Mass.
The designation for the Blackstone River Valley likely would be
run collaboratively through a special partnership that would allow the National
Park Service to manage and operate the facilities and provide educational
services in the park in partnership with regional and local preservation groups
that would lead the efforts to preserve the surrounding rural and agriculture
landscape within the existing corridor, according to Reed.
According to the Blackstone Valley Tourism Council, more than
$25 million has been spent on preserving historic buildings, creating museums,
constructing visitor centers and building permanent exhibits in the Heritage
Corridor.