Westerly - State of Rhode Island: Division of Planning

The Westerly Comprehensive PlanWinnapaug Salt Marsh on the northern shore are managed by the Audubon Society of Rhode Island;. Misquamicut State Beach and Westerly’s two town beaches are public beaches located on thebarrier that forms the southern side of Winnapaug Pond in an area that is heavily developed. DunesPark Beach and Watch Hill beach are also public beaches. The Quonochontaug barrier withinWesterly, includes conservation areas managed by the Weekapaug Fire District, the WeekapaugFoundation for Conservation, and the Nopes Island Conservation Association. Fenway Beach ismanaged by the Weekapaug Fire District.Bluffs and Rocky ShoresIn addition to beaches and dunes, Westerly’s south shore is characterized by areas of coastal bluffsand rocky shores. Two areas of coastal bluffs include Watch Hill, where more than a mile of lowprofile bluffs extend east toward Maschaug Pond, and at Weekapaug Point. Small areas of rockyshoreline occur at Napatree Point, Watch Hill Point and Weekapaug Point.4.6.1 Rare Species and Unique HabitatsThe town of Westerly covers an area with many varied habitats ranging from barriers, salt water andbrackish ponds, tidal marshes, freshwater wetlands, rivers and streams, upland fields and woodlands.A number of valuable water resources in the watershed provide unique habitats for numerous rareand endangered species. About 70 percent of Rhode Island’s globally rare (generally found at fewerthan 100 sites worldwide) and 63 percent of the state rare species and natural communityoccurrences (i.e. rare plants and animals) are found within the Pawcatuck Watershed. 42 RIDEM’sRhode Island Natural Heritage Program (RINHP) tracks the state’s rare species and natural communitiesof conservation concern. The RINHP has developed lists of species, both plant and animal,considered to be endangered or threatened at the federal level, endangered or threatened at the statelevel, or of special concern in the state. These data sources are used to prioritize land protectionactivities throughout the public and private sectors. The RINHP has identified several sites inWesterly that are natural communities of conservation concern and where rare species are known toexist.Pawcatuck RiverThe Pawcatuck River and its tributaries support 40 species of fish including freshwater, anadromous(live in salt water and return to fresh water to spawn) and catadromous (live in fresh water and entersalt water to spawn) species. These species include striped bass, white perch, bluefish, smelt,alewives, shad and salmon, and wild and stocked populations of brook trout. The anadromousAtlantic salmon is listed as a federal endangered species. Fish passage restoration projects haverestored anadromous alewife, American shad, sea-run brown trout and rainbow smelt to the river.Small returns of adult Atlantic salmon have also been achieved. 43 Phantom Bog, located along thenorth shore of the Pawcatuck River at the northeast corner of Westerly, is the site of several rarespecies and communities of special emphasis or concern in the region.Crandall SwampCrandall Swamp is a major wetland complex dominated by Atlantic white cedar and red mapleswamps, but also containing a number of marsh, bog and open water habitats. The boundary ofCrandall Swamp includes Chapman Pond and adjacent wetlands, Phantom Bog, and adjoiningportions of the Pawcatuck River. It is one of the largest freshwater wetlands in Rhode Island, about42 …Pawcatuck Watershed Partnership, 1998, The Pawcatuck Watershed Report, p. 443 …Dillingham, Timothy P., et al, July 1993, The Pawcatuck River Estuary and Little Narragansett Bay: An Interstate Management Plan, pp. 70-72Westerly, Rhode Island 57