Project Description
The Sandy Bottom Road property consisted of approximately 23 acres of undeveloped upland and wetland habitat along the South Branch of the Pawtuxet River in eastern Coventry, RI. Used as a staging area for construction projects, as well as an illegal dump site, construction debris and discarded materials had accumulated on the site for decades. The Town of Coventry purchased the parcel in March 2000, which abuts two other conservation areas, protecting a total of approximately 59 acres of open space. The property consists of wetlands, including an Atlantic white cedar swamp, red maple swamp, tussock sedge marsh and shrub swamp and uplands, including a one-acre early-successional old field, white pine-oak woodlands, and red maple forest. Situated in a rapidly developing area of Coventry, the property provided opportunities for wetland restoration, as well as passive public recreation and education. In 2002, utilizing funds from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the Town of Coventry, in cooperation with the Rhode Island Association of Wetland Scientists, submitted a plan for wetland restoration and education on the property, including floodplain restoration, wetland enhancement, and wetland creation. A linear array of spoil piles laid along the margin of the forested wetland which abuts the Pawtuxet River in the southwest portion of the property. The piles contained rubble from boulders, concrete and asphalt, as well as debris such as tires and remnants of domestic appliances. Invasive plant species, including Japanese knotweed and Asiatic bittersweet, covered some of the fill along the wetland margin. Phragmites, a common and rapidly growing invasive reed, also dominated large portions of the scrub-shrub wetland bordering Sandy Pond Road in the northwest portion of the property.
Site improvements began in 2012 when Coventry's Department of Public Works and Department of Parks and Recreation began removing solid waste and contaminated soils. To restore the wetland areas, a retention basin was installed to prevent storm water runoff from directly flowing into the river. The functions and values of the existing forested wetland were restored by removing fill, regrading the soil to restore original elevations, and revegetating the area with native plants. Phragmites and other invasive species were removed to help prevent their colonization into the restored areas. Crews also constructed a walking path with guard rails and a 400-foot long elevated boardwalk to the Whipple Conservation Area that traverses the cedar swamp. Named the Sandy Acres Recreation Area, the property officially opened to the public for the Columbus Day weekend in October 2013.
Parties Implementing Restoration
Rhode Island Association of Wetland Scientists; Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management; Town of Coventry, RI
DOI Project Representatives
Fish and Wildlife Service