The Nature Conservancy in Rhode Island

Wonderful morning at Chafee Refuge, getting an update on the marsh restoration project U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Northeast Region and TNC started together in 2017. Videos to follow.

Thank you Nick Ernst and Rhode Island National Wildlife Refuges!

What a fantastic day to visit the John H. Chafee National Wildlife Refuge! 10 out of 10! Thank you Rhode Island National Wildlife Refuges!

Join TNC this Friday! The 'Yes on 4' coalition will kick off the campaign to pass the Green Bond on September 13th at 11am at Save The Bay - Narragansett Bay.

It's a $53 million investment in farming, forests, recreation, land restoration, and green infrastructure. Protecting our water, land, and quality of life is something all Rhode Islanders can agree on.

Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management Rhode Island Farm Bureau Audubon Society of Rhode Island Clean Water Action Rhode Island Rhode Island Land Trust Council

White Water Lilies are lighting up marshy areas of the Beaver River Preserve.

Whales and Offshore Wind: Addressing Myths and Matters of Fact

Join us on Thursday, Sept 12 at 12pm ET for a deep dive into whales and offshore wind.

Hear from Dr. Douglas Nowacek from Duke University and Jaclyn Daly from NOAA Fisheries about how whales use sound in the ocean and what steps are being taken to protect whales and other marine mammals.

Register: https://nature.ly/4eioJJE

Summertime encounter with a Great Shearwater that got tangled in fishing lines off Block Island, a half-mile past the wind turbines. Scott Comings untangled it and released it.

These beautiful ocean birds nest on islands in the South Atlantic during our winter, and wander as far north as Greenland during our summer.

GOOD NEWS! Guam Kingfishers are being reintroduced to TNC's Palmyra Atoll Preserve -- the first to return to the wild since the 1980s.

Locally known as Sihek, they will have a chance to breed in the wild and build their numbers until they can be reintroduced to a snake-free Guåhan (Guam), their true home.

Palmyra Atoll is well protected and predator-free, making it one of the few places in the world that is viable for wild introductions.

“These beautiful birds haven’t sung in the forests of Guam for more than 30 years, but this exciting moment [is] a pivotal step toward the eventual reintroduction of this stunning creature to Islan Guåhan.” Yolonda Topasna, Guam Dept. of Agriculture’s Division of Aquatic & Wildlife Resources.

Learn more about the efforts underway to return sihek to the wild here:
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📸: Thomas Mangolna/KUAM, ZSL, Graeme Gale

Love the orange feet and bright pinstripes on this Yellow-necked Caterpillar. They feed in groups and about 20 of them were munching on a small scrub oak at the Queen's River Preserve. They are native moths and a food source for other insects and birds.

We need offshore wind to succeed in order to meet science-based carbon reduction targets. That means putting the Vineyard Wind blade failure in context and honestly evaluating what happened, so that it doesn't happen again.

The biggest problem facing offshore wind energy isn’t broken blades. It’s public opinion. • Rhode Island Current After the Vineyard Wind blade failure in July, selling skeptics on offshore wind has become even harder, including for the Revolution Wind farm being built off Rhode Island's coastline.

Great project at Oakland Beach! The City of Warwick is keeping more runoff out of Greenwich Bay, reducing flooding and water pollution -- and improving recreation. Green Bonds at work!

It's a terrific example of the RI Municipal Resilience Program, led by TNC and the Rhode Island Infrastructure Bank. Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management is investing in the project through a local recreation grant and Save The Bay - Narragansett Bay planted the re-built dunes, which look great.

They grow up so fast! White-tailed Deer and her fawn, grazing at the edge of the woods. Photo by Norm Grant

Now that is some side eye! Awesome portrait of a Green Frog at TNC's King Preserve in Saunderstown. Photo by Marina Kviker

CONSERVED! 63 acres of hardwood forest, bedrock outcrops and beautiful streams -- another great addition to TNC's Edge of Appalachia Preserve in southern Ohio! Congrats to The Nature Conservancy in Ohio!

📸: © Terry Seidel/TNC

Evening walk at the Queen’s River Preserve, under resilient pines that survived the fire.

TNC’s first ever beach volleyball team!

Veronica Kroha, Lucy Rigby-Leather, Nicole Collins and Nolan Kelley had a blast representing TNC at the Block Island Summer Beach Volleyball League. Ryan Doyle and Sophia Delmonte (not pictured) filled in when needed and supported them the whole summer. Go Team!

After the Queen’s River fire, American Burnweed is doing its job: providing nectar for bees and butterflies and blocking invasives from taking over while the forest recovers.

CONSERVED! 65 acres of field and forest. Congratulations to Norma O'Leary, the Burrillville Land Trust and Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management on conserving this beautiful farm. TNC was proud to support their efforts.

More info here: https://nature.ly/3T55vis

Here they come! Ruby-throated Hummingbird migration will be picking up soon, heading to Mexico and Central America.
Photo by Norm Grant

On Block Island? This week's Community Science Stroll features the amazing Wild Bees of Rhode Island. Meet at Fresh Pond (Lakeside Drive trail marker) on August 29 at 10am. With Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management

Community Science Stroll: R.I. Wild Bees When you are asked what is a bee or what does a bee look like, do you immediately think of honeybees or bumblebees? That is most people’s reaction. But you

Siting offshore wind projects is a balancing act: promoting clean energy, while avoiding user conflicts and minimizing harm to natural resources. In the Gulf of Maine, a science-based approach reduced the lease area by 80%, without undermining Maine's renewable energy goals.

Stakeholders Study Underwater Populations as Offshore Wind Grows - ecoRI News Species’ populations, patterns, and ecosystems constantly change, and gathering data is difficult, expensive, and time-consuming.

Something BIG washed up at TNC's Whale Rock Preserve recently. We asked The Atlantic Shark Institute and they said it's the vertebral column of a Basking Shark. Pretty cool find and photo by Katelyn Barrett.

Good news to start the week! More info on the Block Island property that TNC recently conserved across from the Town Beach, with the Block Island Land Trust and the Block Island Conservancy.

Conservation partners acquire key holding on Trim’s Pond The Nature Conservancy (TNC), the Block Island Land Trust and the Block Island Conservancy announce the permanent conservation of a highly visible coastal property, important to the island community.

Channeled Whelk - one of several that TNC scientists found in their fish traps on Friday, between Gaspee Point and Conimicut