Fish and Wildlife Director Highlights Importance of Rhode Island’s Coastal Refuges

The state’s coastal ponds and wildlife refuges don’t get top billing,
but they are fundamentally important to the health of the local ecosystem

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Director Martha Williams visited the Trustom Pond National Wildlife Refuge in South Kingstown.
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Director Martha Williams visited the Trustom Pond National Wildlife Refuge in South Kingstown.
Alex Nunes/The Public’s Radio
Share
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Director Martha Williams visited the Trustom Pond National Wildlife Refuge in South Kingstown.
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Director Martha Williams visited the Trustom Pond National Wildlife Refuge in South Kingstown.
Alex Nunes/The Public’s Radio
Fish and Wildlife Director Highlights Importance of Rhode Island’s Coastal Refuges
Copy

Martha Williams, the head of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, was in Rhode Island in mid-October to mark the annual National Wildlife Refuge Week.

Williams met up with The Public’s Radio reporter for a morning of birding at the Trustom Pond refuge in South Kingstown, and to talk about the importance of Rhode Island’s coastal ponds and efforts to protect them.

The Trustom Pond National Wildlife Refuge is more than 780 acres of protected land, nearly half of that donated in the mid-1970s. Williams was there to highlight the agency’s work on salt marsh restoration.

This interview was conducted by The Public’s Radio. You can read the entire story here.

Rhode Island has pulled back its $35M investment, rerouting funds to other projects as the Trump administration freezes offshore wind permitting
A research team at Brown called Breathe Providence is asking people to track what they smell, in an effort to better understand air pollution in Rhode Island
Residents cite screen time, news fatigue and low early interest in the governor’s race
Campaign-funded survey finds Block trailing Dan McKee and Helena Foulkes head-to-head, but gaining ground when voters hear more about his background
Dolan Perkins-Valdez says her story about a secret community of formerly enslaved people in the Appalachians is resonating in Rhode Island
Judge calls the Justice Department’s request a “fishing expedition” for sensitive voter information