Groton Two sailboats that were blown ashore on a beach at Bluff Point State Park and Coastal Reserve during a storm last October remain abandoned months later.
The vessels, named Waypoint and Motivation, on the sandy shore have piqued the interest of passersby, such as Stephanie Belser, who walks the Bluff Point trails every two or three days.
Belser said she first noticed the boats, located pretty far down what is officially called Bushy Point Beach, a day or two after a nor easter in October. She called the state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection to report them and was told the agency had received a lot of calls about the vessels.
Bears can become dependent on readily available backyard food sources and quickly become a nuisance, the DEM says in a press release. Black bears have an excellent sense of smell and will investigate odors they identify as an easy meal – and will regularly frequent a site once a food source is identified.
Rhode Island s black bear population is small, probably fewer than 10, according to Charlie Brown, a wildlife biologist for the Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management s division of fish and wildlife, but population is expected to increase in the next few years. As bear populations in Connecticut and Massachusetts grow, some of those bears are likely to wander into Rhode Island looking for space to spread out.
3/31/2021
Rising water levels force property owner to abandon home
Michael Mongeon stands in the backyard of his property at 199 Eddie Dowling Highway, where a swampy wetland has left him with few options for using the house. (Breeze photo by Lauren Clem)
NORTH SMITHFIELD – When Michael Mongeon first bought the property at 199 Eddie Dowling Highway in 2010, he said, the backyard was a grassy area, and the tenants who lived there liked to play badminton outside.
Since then, it’s become a swamp where cattails and other wetland vegetation have taken over the property right up to the back door.
“When I got this property, the whole backyard was grass. Now, you can’t walk out there without sinking a foot into the mud,” he said during a visit to the home last week.
The three are Lake Tiogue, Coventry; Spring Grove Pond, Glocester; and Wallum Lake, Burrillville.
The DEM decided to stock the ponds because of improved water level and access.
The DEM announced last week that the trout season would start at 6 a.m. on April 7, a few days early, in an effort to ease crowds during the pandemic. The trout fishing season traditionally starts at 6 a.m. on the second Saturday in April with an opening day event that brings out thousands of anglers around the state.