Dredging also deepens the breachway channel to improve navigation for boats that use the waterway.

This enables plants like eelgrass to grow, and the marsh and pond to thrive. Approximately 30,000 cubic yards of material dredged from the breachway have added between six vertical inches and a foot of sediment to the marsh. Fish and Wildlife Department project addresses these issues, and restores a barrier island damaged by Hurricane Sandy. This makes navigation difficult for boaters who enjoy the pond, and covers environmentally important grass beds.Ī recently completed Coastal Resources Management Corporation (CRMC) and U.S. Within the Charlestown breachway in Ninigret Pond, sand has been accumulating as it is swept in by shoreline currents. Hurricane Sandy in 2012 also took its toll on the area. Vegetation in the marsh has been dying from increased flooding caused by rising sea levels. However, rising sea levels in Rhode Island have been drowning the natural area, which acts as a buffer to storms and provides protection to area residents. The neighboring Ninigret Salt Marsh serves as a nursery for fish, feeding ground for wading birds and a nesting area for migratory birds. Clams, quahogs and blue crabs can also be found in the pond’s shallow waters. And anglers reel in whitefish, smelt, winter flounder and northern pike. Windsurfers zig-zag their way across the 1,539-acre coastal lagoon. Kayakers spend hours exploring the natural beauty of the numerous coves along the shoreline of Ninigret Pond in Charlestown, Rhode Island.

Ninigret pond hydraulic dredge