SALT PONDS: Dynamic and Threatened Ecosystems

By Dr. Scott Ruhren, Senior Director of Conservation

Along Rhode Island’s shoreline there is an almost continuous chain of salt and brackish ponds that support more wildlife than the better-known beaches in the state. These salt ponds have had a long history of human use - and abuse - as well as natural changes brought by hurricanes, shifting shorelines and sea-level rise. From the southern shore of Westerly all the way to Little Compton, Audubon protects 291 acres of these vital coastal systems.

Through careful protection, Audubon provides safe haven for special plants and a diversity of wildlife including breeding fish, shellfish and crustaceans. These ponds and their associated marshes, fields, and forests provide shelter in a developing coastline and stopover points for countless migratory birds.

Duck food plants found in these coastal areas include sago pondweed, wigeongrass and eelgrass. This abundance of plants and animal prey attract waterfowl such as Black Ducks, Buffleheads, mergansers, and wading birds like egrets and herons.

Coastal ponds are always changing and shifting. Some, like Trustom Pond in South Kingstown, are less salty because they are usually closed off from the ocean. The exception being when the barrier beach is blown open, or breached, by a storm. Other ponds, like Quonochontaug in Charlestown and Westerly, are kept open for commercial and recreational boat access. These openings, called breachways and waterways into ponds, require periodic dredging to allow for safe boating. “Quonnie” is one of the deepest and most saline in the state. The level of salinity in a location can affect which species thrive there.

Humans have long used salt ponds in Rhode Island as places to collect seaweed, shellfish and other natural resources. Over the past 100 years, the ponds continue to become more and more desirable for summer cottages, boating, fishing, clamming and bird watching. They are accessible and often shallow enough for wading, but as human use and development increases, protection of the natural resources found in these areas is more challenging.

Currently, scientists, environmentalists and the public debate about acceptable use of the ponds, maintaining breachways, and restrictions on housing construction to keep these coastal areas clean and the ecosystems functioning. Audubon has long protected the most fragile of ecosystems and we continually look for additional opportunities for conservation of these vital and threatened coastal habitats.

Audubon Protectd 291 Acres of Salt Pond Habitat

140 ACRES in Westerly

The Winnapaug Pond Watershed is protected by Audubon’s Lathrop Wildlife Refuge. Audubon also conserves Perkins Pond Edge Wildlife Refuge, Winnapaug Salt Marsh Wildlife Refuge, and Allison Conservation easement.

28 ACRES in Charlestown

Audubon protects acreage around Quonochontaug Salt Marsh, Gavitt Salt Marsh, Berry Swamp Wildlife Refuge, and Bull Brier Swamp Wildlife Refuge.

84 ACRES in Narragansett

Habitat is conserved by Audubon around Wesquage Pond and Ram Island Wildlife Refuge.

39 ACRES in Little Compton

Salt Pond habitat in the Pequaw-Honk Conservation Easement along Quicksand Pond, Long Pond Marsh, Spectacle Island Wildlife Refuge, and the Haffenreffer Wildlife Refuge along the Round Pond shore are all protected by Audubon.