Sustainable Water Quality Solutions Project Introduction and Brainstorming Session
Exploring Sustainable Water Quality Solutions for Upper Narragansett Bay:
Project Intro & Brainstorming Session
Tuesday December 2, 2014: 1-4 PM
Narragansett Bay Commission
Providence, RI
You are cordially invited to a meeting to brainstorm future opportunities for the restoration and sustainable water quality management of Upper Narragansett Bay on Tuesday, December 2, 2014, 1 to 4 PM at the Narragansett Bay Commission headquarters in Providence, RI.
Background
The Rhode Island Bays, Rivers and Watersheds Coordination Team has launched a stakeholders process to identify sustainable, cost-effective management and restoration strategies that will further improve water quality and the overall ecological health of upper Narragansett Bay.
Phase one of the stakeholders process seeks to 1) identify, examine, and evaluate four to five ecosystem-based approaches that could be undertaken within the bay or along the coastline that will improve water and habitat quality , 2) identify data and research gaps regarding the most promising approaches, and 3) develop consensus on which approaches merit further pursuit and planning.
To lead this process, the Coordination Team has convened a Project Steering Committee (PSC) consisting of the organizations and individuals whose input, participation, and consensus is most needed to select and approve the most promising approaches. The PSC is supported by the Horsley Witten Group and the Consensus Building Institute.
Purpose
The PSC and consultants have initially identified four ecosystembased management categories that merit further research and consideration:
o Shellfish & Macroalgae Cultivation & Restoration
o Reducing Tidal & Circulatory Restrictions
o Restoring Wetlands
o Enhancing Buffer Zones & Shorelines
o Stormwater Management & Green Infrastructure
This kick-off meeting will convene scientists, technical experts, and management officials with a diversity of technical expertise to share and discuss their questions, ideas, and knowledge on these categories of alternative strategies for restoring the water quality, habitats, and ecological integrity of Upper Narragansett Bay. Meeting participants will be encouraged to brainstorm and share additional options and ideas that warrant further consideration. Findings from the meeting will be used to organize a series of targeted, topical workshops to be held in the first half of 2015.
Attached here is a draft meeting agenda.
If you can possibly join us, please RSVP by Wednesday, November 26 to:
Kimberly Kirwan
kimberly.kirwan@narrabay.com
401 468 8848 x391
If you cannot join us, let us know if there is someone that we should invite in your place.
Thank you in advance for joining us. We look forward to a productive meeting!
PSC Members:
Angelo Liberti & Sue Kiernan Department of Environmental Management
Tom Uva & Pamela Reitsma Narragansett Bay Commission
Ames Colt Bays, Rivers, and Watersheds Coordination Team
Jeff Willis Coastal Resources Management Council
Jared Rhodes Statewide Planning
Tom Borden Narragansett Bay Estuary Program
Hal Walker EPA ORD Atlantic Ecology Division
Mark Nelson & Stacie Smith Horsley Witten Group & Consensus Building Institute