2002 -- H 8218

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LC03290

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STATE OF RHODE ISLAND

IN GENERAL ASSEMBLY

JANUARY SESSION, A.D. 2002

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H O U S E R E S O L U T I O N

CONGRATULATING THE NARRAGANSETT BAY ESTUARY PROGRAM ON

PRODUCING THE "ATLAS OF NARRAGANSETT BAY COASTAL HABITATS"

     Introduced By: Representatives Naughton, Martineau, Crowley, Henseler, and Kennedy

     Date Introduced: May 30, 2002

     Referred To: House read and passed

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     WHEREAS, Narragansett Bay is the undisputed jewel of Rhode Island, a pulsating

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lifeline that provides boaters and beachgoers with a salt-sprayed playground, plays host to myriad

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ecosystems of marine life and provides fishermen with a bounty of fish, clams and lobster; and

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     WHEREAS, Our fair state would not be known as the Ocean State were it not for the

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Bay, which attracts more than 12 million visitors yearly to its coasts, waterways and beaches; and

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     WHEREAS, For 10,000 years, the Bay has stretched its saline fingers through the

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brackish shores of Bullock Point in East Providence to Apponaug Cove in Warwick to the islands

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of Hope and Prudence and Jamestown to the points of Beavertail, Brenton and Judith; and

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     WHEREAS, Between the 18th and mid-20th centuries, the Bay was blessed with a

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vibrant merchant culture, naval operations and plentiful oyster beds; and

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     WHEREAS, The Bay is now home to a diverse habitat of plant and animal life, including

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252 species of fish such as scup, tautog and winter flounder; lobsters that dwell in the craggy

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recesses of the ocean floor; harbor seals that sun themselves on our shores from November to

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April; eelgrass beds that provide shelter and spawning areas for fish and shellfish; terrapins that

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hibernate in the mud come winter; and

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     WHEREAS, This thriving habitat is in actuality an estuary, a body of water where fresh

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water from rivers meets salt water from the ocean; and

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     WHEREAS, Narragansett Bay is one of 28 estuaries recognized and protected by the

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National Estuary Program; and

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     WHEREAS, In 1995, the Narragansett Bay Estuary Program (NBEP) decided there was a

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demonstrated need to build a comprehensive "road map" of the Bay to chronicle the diverse

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ecosystems and life forms that call the Bay home; and

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     WHEREAS, Every watery inch of the Bay's 147-square-miles has recently been

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chronicled and documented by the staff of the Narragansett Bay Estuary Program in its

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informative, colorful, 18-page booklet entitled the "Atlas of Narragansett Bay Coastal Habitats";

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and

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     WHEREAS, By chronicling the life forms that inhabit Narragansett Bay we can better

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educate others about the existence and importance of the Bay's habitats; and

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     WHEREAS, There is no other place in Rhode Island as integral to the state's economic

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and environmental health than the 706 billion gallons of water that course through the state and

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make up the Narragansett Bay; now, therefore be it

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     RESOLVED, That this House of Representatives of the State of Rhode Island and

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Providence Plantations hereby commends the Narragansett Bay Estuary Program and its

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employees for its educational and fact-filled publication, "Atlas of Narragansett Bay Coastal

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Habitats"; and be it further

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     RESOLVED, That the Secretary of State be and he hereby is authorized and directed to

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transmit a duly certified copy of this resolution to the Narragansett Bay Estuary Program.

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LC03290

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