Edwards bill would prohibit development or modification of Sapowet Marsh Management Area

State House — Rep. John G. Edwards (D-Dist. 70, Tiverton, Portsmouth), the Majority Floor Manager of the House of Representatives, has introduced legislation that would protect the Sapowet Marsh Management Area in Tiverton and prohibit any commercial development on the 296-acre salt marsh.

The bill (2024-H 7060) would designate the area as open space to be utilized only for passive outdoor recreation. The legislation would add Sapowet Cove — an area of water that runs easterly from Sapowet Point to the Sapowet Avenue Bridge, and southerly, perpendicular to Sapowet Avenue — to the area already under the control of the Department of Environmental Management.

The Sapowet Marsh Management Area was originally created in 1948 under a grant from the Truman Administration to the Rhode Island Department of Natural Resources and has since grown to almost 300 acres.

“The original reason the area was purchased was to preserve this critical marsh area to keep it free of commercial and residential development, and to allow continued public access for hunting, fishing, shellfishing and general recreation for future generations,” said Representative Edwards. “Now, 76 years later, the area consisting of Sapowet Cove is being considered as an oyster farm location. Sapowet Cove is an integral part of what makes Sapowet Marsh Management Area unique in the Sakonnet River area; people can wade, swim, shellfish, kayak, sailboard and kiteboard in this beautiful, untouched cove.”

The Coastal Resources Management Council has drawn out the oyster farm’s application process for four years with no definitive answer or resolution. This legislation would spell out in law that the management area is for recreational purposes only — not commercial development.

The legislation, which is cosponsored by Representatives Brian Patrick Kennedy (D-Dist. 38, Hopkinton, Westerly), David A. Bennett (D-Dist. 20, Warwick, Cranston), Terri Cortvriend (D-Dist. 72, Portsmouth, Middletown) and Marvin L. Abney (D-Dist. 73 (Newport, Middletown), has been referred to the House Committee on Municipal Government and Housing.