Charlestown Land Trust Members’ Annual Meeting with guest speaker Peter August, Professor Emeritus, URI Department of Natural Resources Science and Chair, Napatree Science Advisors
“The Napatree Point Conservation Area: Stewardship and Climate Change Challenges” When: Thursday, October 13 at 5:00 pm Where: Kettle Pond Visitor Center, 50 Bend Rd., Charlestown
Charlestown Land Trust’s annual meeting of members will be held on Thursday, October 13 at 5:00 PM at the Kettle Pond Visitors Center, 50 Bend Rd in Charlestown. Please RSVP if you are able to attend! Following the business meeting Peter August, Professor Emeritus, URI Department of Natural Resources Science and Chair, Napatree Science Advisors, will give an illustrated presentation on the stewardship and challenges at the Napatree Point Conservation Area.
How Napatree transformed from barren sand after the Hurricane of ’38 to one of the richest biodiversity hotspots in southern New England is a dramatic story of ecosystem resilience. Stewardship of the 86-acre Napatree Point Conservation Area is an ever-changing challenge. The barrier spit is heavily used in the summertime by beach goers and boaters anchored off its northern (bayside) shore. Keeping Napatree from “being loved to death” is no small challenge, as is protecting its many rare and endangered habitats and species. The future of the Conservation Area is presenting brand new stewardship challenges on Napatree – climate change induced nuisance tides, sea level rise, dune migration in heavy storms, and others. Peter will review the scientific monitoring they are doing to guide future stewardship and management programs.
Dr. Peter August is Professor Emeritus in the Department of Natural Resources Science at the University of Rhode Island. He has chaired the Napatree Science Advisors for 12 years and is President of The Watch Hill Conservancy. He is a landscape ecologist and uses GIS technology for conservation planning and public outreach. Those with an active/current membership with the Charlestown Land Trust are encouraged to vote at the business portion of the meeting. If you would like to join, or renew your membership, you can do so here!
Announcement Reproduced from the Charlestown Land Trust Website, you can view the original here.