Support oyster farming on the Sakonnet River!

State Representative John Edwards (Tiverton) has submitted a new bill, H7060, to the RI General Assembly - see the full text here. This is Rep Edwards' third legislative attempt to block Little Compton farmers Patrick and Sean Bowen from developing an oyster farm on their acre of land in the Sapowet Marsh area of Tiverton.

The goal of Edwards' bill is to prohibit commercial development in the Sapowet Marsh area of Tiverton, specifically targeting the shoreline where Little Compton farmers Patrick and Sean Bowen have, for several years, been seeking a permit from the Coastal Resources Management Council (CRMC) to develop an oyster farm. 

LC's Town Council met on February 8, 2024 to vote unanimously to reject Bill H7060 and to communicate our town's support of the Bowen's oyster farm to our state representative Michelle McGaw and state senator Louis DiPalma. 

Consider supporting your LC farmers by writing Letters to the Editor of the Sakonnet Times and communicating with your elected officials to reject 2024-H 7060!  

For more background, the Sakonnet Times has published a few articles on this topic: https://www.eastbayri.com/stories/bill-would-ban-commercial-uses-at-sapowet,119397 and https://www.eastbayri.com/stories/sakonnet-aquaculture-bill-dies-in-session,113495.