The Wood-Pawcatuck Wild and Scenic Rivers Study Committee was established in late 2015 and completed their major task, authoring the Stewardship Plan, by late 2018. Members for the Study Committee were sought from Exeter, Hopkinton, North Kingstown, Richmond, South Kingstown, West Greenwich and Westerly in Rhode Island and North Stonington, Sterling, Stonington, and Voluntown in Connecticut through a public application process open to all communities’ residents. Up to two committee members were appointed by each Town Council or Board of Selectmen and the Narragansett Indian Tribe. The Study Committee included similar members as the current Stewardship Council, including town representatives (individuals appointed by towns) and representatives of public agencies. Committee members represented a broad range of expertise and interests related to the Wood-Pawcatuck watershed. The Wood-Pawcatuck Watershed Association (WPWA) was asked to coordinate the study and serve as fiscal agent by Study Committee members and the National Parks Service.
Funding from the National Park Service Partnership Wild & Scenic Rivers Program (about $56,000 per year for the three-year York River Study) had been awarded through a Cooperative Agreement with WPWA.
Past Wood-Pawcatuck Wild and Scenic Rivers Study Committee members:
Members who Represented Towns:
- James Cole, Charlestown, RI
- Bruce Loeckler, Charlestown, RI
- Nils Wiberg, Charlestown, RI
- Virginia Wooten, Charlestown, RI
- Roy Heaton, Exeter, RI
- Sean Henry, Hopkinton, RI (Committee Chair)
- Maureen Kennelly, Hopkinton, RI
- Richard Diamond, North Kingstown, RI
- Meg Kerr, North Kingstown, RI
- Doug Harris, Narragansett Indian Tribe
- Madeline Jeffery, North Stonington, CT
- Richard Seager, North Stonington, CT
- Carol Ann Baker, Richmond, RI
- Tom McCormick, Richmond, RI
- Peter Paton, Richmond, RI
- Denise Stetson, Richmond, RI
- Ken Burke, South Kingstown, RI
- Dennis Migneault, South Kingstown, RI
- Karen Stein, South Kingstown, RI
- Oren Cooke, Sterling, CT
- Roger Gibson, Sterling, CT
- Robert McLevy, Sterling, CT
- James Leigh, Stonington, CT
- Fred Wagner, Stonington, CT
- Tracey Hanson, Voluntown, CT
- Jon Ericson, Westerly, RI
- Harrison Gatch, Westerly, RI
- Louis Sposato, Westerly, RI
Partnership Agencies:
- Catherine Sparks, RI Department of Environmental Management
- Jay Aron, RI Department of Environmental Management
- Eric Thomas, CT Department of Energy and Environmental Protection
- Meg Kerr, Audubon Society of RI
- Dave Prescott, Save The Bay
- Rachel Calabro, Save The Bay
- John O’Brien, The Nature Conservancy
- Joe MacAndrew, Wood-Pawcatuck Watershed Association
- Jamie Fosburgh, National Park Service
- Sarah Bursky, National Park Service
Study Coordinator: Denise Poyer, Wood-Pawcatuck Watershed Association