PROVIDENCE – A Rhode Island state senator has introduced a bill that would create a commission that would identify ecologically significant woodlands and draft guidelines for cities and towns in how to protect them.
Introduced by Sen. Bridget Valverde, D-North Kingstown, the measure is called the Woodland Preservation and Stewardship Act and was created in collaboration with the Audubon Society of Rhode Island.
According to a bill description released by the General Assembly media information service, the bill would establish “that it is the state’s policy to preserve the integrity and viability of woodlands” and would direct the R.I. Department of Environmental Management to develop recommendations for woodland stewardship and urban forestry by April 2020.
Mary MacDonald is a staff writer for the PBN. Contact her at macdonald@pbn.com.
