Save Gould Island
Jamestown Town Council; Newport Town Council; North Kingstown Town Council; Portsmouth Town Council; Narragansett Town Council; Middletown Town Council
For 36 years, Gould Island in Narragansett Bay has been a wildlife sanctuary, free of human disturbance. It is a critical breeding site for a number of colonial-nesting waterbirds that are experiencing population declines and listed in the RI State Wildlife Action Plan as species of greatest conservation need.
Recently, the RI Department of Environmental Management has proposed opening the island to overnight camping and recreation. The Audubon Society of Rhode Island opposes any effort to remove the wildlife sanctuary deed restriction from this island.
Sign our petition to urge the state of Rhode Island to reject the Jamestown Town Council’s resolution to repurpose the southernmost 17 acres of Gould Island from a wildlife sanctuary to public recreation!
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To:
Jamestown Town Council; Newport Town Council; North Kingstown Town Council; Portsmouth Town Council; Narragansett Town Council; Middletown Town Council
From:
[Your Name]
For 36 years, Gould Island in Narragansett Bay has been a wildlife sanctuary, free of human disturbance. It is a critical breeding site for a number of colonial-nesting waterbirds that are experiencing population declines and listed in the RI State Wildlife Action Plan as species of greatest conservation need.
I am deeply concerned by the recent proposal by the Jamestown Town Council’s resolution to repurpose the southernmost 17 acres of Gould Island from a wildlife sanctuary to public recreation. The resolution, which calls for removing the wildlife sanctuary deed restriction on Gould Island to allow for recreational use, flies in the face of the RI DEM’s stated goals of conserving the declining bird populations nesting on Gould Island.
I urge the Jamestown Town Council to engage with conservation experts before moving forward and for RI DEM to uphold its conservation commitments and prioritize species protection over recreational development.