Landowners Invited to Free Information Session
By Cynthia Drummond for BRVCA
May 30th 2024
RICHMOND – Private landowners are invited to learn about local conservation and environmental issues, as well as funding opportunities, at a free information session this Saturday, June 1, at the Higher Grounds Community Coffee House.
The session will be hosted by Rep. Megan Cotter, District 39, (Richmond, Exeter, Hopkinton), Gina Fuller, District Manager for the Southern Rhode Island Conservation District, and Jameson Long, of the Natural Resources Conservation Service, or NRCS.
Cotter, who chairs the state’s Forest Management Fire Prevention Commission, said that while the commission has focused largely on state-owned land, most of the land in Rhode Island is privately-owned.
“We can’t forget that private landowners make up the majority of open space in the State of Rhode Island, and so, education to those folks is just as important as taking care of state land,” she said.
Rhode Island’s forests were devastated by spongy moth infestations from 2015 to 2017 that killed one quarter of the state’s trees.
Richmond was particularly hard-hit by the invasive caterpillars, and is now left with hundreds of standing dead trees, which pose a hazard because they could fall at any time. Rhode Island Energy has removed dead trees near power lines and the town’s Department of Public Works removed what it could, but private landowners still face the challenge of removing dead trees from their properties, at a cost that most cannot afford.
One of the purposes of the information session is to make landowners aware of federal funding opportunities to help them manage their forests.
“A lot of landowners don’t know that there are grants and there’s money available to do work on their property,” Cotter said. “A lot of people don’t know that. NRCS is an incredible resource, using federal money to help landowners take care of their land. Getting that word out is probably one of the most important things that we can do.”
Gina Fuller explained that the Southern Rhode Island Conservation District is the regional branch of the NRCS.
“We’re the local representatives of the federal programs,” she said. “… The federal government has made a significant investment through the Inflation Reduction Act and several of the other spending bills, as well as the U.S. Farm Bill, to help private landowners manage their natural resources and we are holding this program in Ms. Cotter’s district, which includes Exeter and Richmond in particular, because there is a lot of interest in those areas related to the die-off of the trees from the gypsy moth, the wildfire in Exeter, and flooding concerns. So, we’ll be talking about programs and opportunities that people can take advantage of, if they’re experiencing any of those issues.”
Fuller added that representatives of the two federal services would also benefit from the session, by learning more about regional conservation issues.
“It also is an opportunity for us to find out what natural resource issues folks are having concerns with and allows us to further customize the Farm Bill programs for Rhode Island and Rhode Islanders’ needs,” she said.
The Information session will take place this Saturday, June 1, from 10 a.m. to noon at the Higher Grounds Community Coffee House, located at 39 Kingstown Road, Wyoming.
Residents who want to learn more about the program but are unable to attend the event on Saturday can contact Megan Cotter at: Megan@megancotterri.com