Hello everyone, thank you for taking the time to read about our cause. We are a group of Westerly and Hopkinton, Rhode Island residents. We are trying to protect the wetlands and ecosystem, fish and wildlife along with recreational, educational and ecological benefits the Pawcatuck River at its current level provides.

We have formed “Save The Wetlands and Pawcatuck River Association” which is a domestic non-profit corporation. Our mission is to protect and preserve the federally designated “Wild and Scenic” Pawcatuck River, the wetlands that have formed over hundreds of years, all the aquatic species and a multitude of birds that call this section of the river home. Our goal is to preserve this beautiful river and maintain the head pond at its current height for today and future generations.

Our story begins back in 2020, when a group of homeowners along the Pawcatuck River in Westerly and Hopkinton, Rhode Island became aware of a project sponsored by the Town of Westerly and several funding agencies to remove the Potter Hill Dam and lower the water level upstream, consequently draining and altering countless acres of wetlands into forested shrub wetlands and displacing various species of fish and wildlife. These altered wetlands will permanently be overcome with invasive species such as phragmites which will negatively impact the scenic aspects of this beautiful river.

The funding agencies’ vision is to restore the Pawcatuck River back to its original state (pre-revolutionary times) and increase fish migration. We all agree that improving fish passage allowing migratory fish to spawn upstream would be an asset but restoring the river to pre-revolutionary times…not so much! Currently the Pawcatuck River is home to 67 species of fish, more than any other watershed in Rhode Island.

The funding agencies are also promoting dam removal as increasing flood resiliency to the Westerly business district. This is patently false. The U.S. Army Corp. of Engineers and even the current engineering firm have stated “there is no downstream flood resiliency added by removing the dam”. An unintended consequence of dam removal and lowering the river level could even create worse flooding in the downtown Westerly area.

Our petition, www.change.org/savethewetlands, shows our struggle from the beginning to our current status. Our Town Council in Westerly from 2020 to 2022 voted unanimously to maintain the river’s current level. Unfortunately, our current Council has a different opinion. This project has turned into an unkind battle with many rude and unprofessional comments coming directly from our Council to taxpayers of Westerly. Therefore, we have had no choice but to seek professional legal assistance, this being the reason for our gofundme page. All proceeds raised will go towards our legal fight to protect the River, Wetlands and Wildlife.