CONCORD, Mass. – The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, New England District, announces the first meeting of the Restoration Advisory Board, supporting investigation activities at Gould Island, will be held June 19 in Jamestown, R.I. The Corps recently established a Restoration Advisory Board to support the Corps environmental investigation activities at Gould Island in Narragansett Bay.
The Gould Island Restoration Advisory Board (RAB) meeting will be held on Tuesday, June 19, 2018 at 6:30 p.m. in the Jamestown Philomenian Library located at 26 North Road in Jamestown, R.I. 02835.
The RAB was established to facilitate in providing information to the local community and to provide an avenue to address recommendations and concerns regarding the potential impacts the project may have on the community. Membership of the RAB board has been established and the public at large is invited to attend this first meeting. The board serves as a point of contact between the community and the Corps.
If you would like more information on the meeting or the project itself contact Captain Erik Patton, USACE Project Manager, at 978-318-8051 or send an email to erik.m.patton.cpt@usace.army.mil.
This southern portion of Gould Island is a Formerly Used Defense Site (FUDS) which was used by the U.S. Navy from 1920 to 1973. This FUDS site was used for marine barracks, air hangars and infrastructure to support operations at the northern end of the island currently owned by the U.S. Navy. This southern portion of the island was transferred from the U.S. Navy to the state of Rhode Island after 1973 and is currently used as a bird sanctuary. Of the approximately 56 acres which comprise Gould Island, the U.S. Navy’s Naval Education and Training Center (NETC) still has jurisdiction over the 16.6 acres of land on the north end of the island. That portion of the island will not be investigated and is not eligible for investigation under the DERP/FUDS program.
The Navy excessed approximately 39 acres of Gould Island to the General Services Administration (GSA) in 1972. Of this 39 acres, approximately 16.9 acres were transferred to the Department of Interior, Bureau of Outdoor Recreation. That land was then transferred to the state of Rhode Island in 1975. In 1989, the GSA conveyed the remaining land, 22.25 acres to the state of Rhode Island. The 39.15 acres of property currently owned by the state of Rhode Island is managed by their Fish and Wildlife Department as a wildlife habitat and bird sanctuary. The island is heavily overgrown with trees and brush.
For more information contact Project Manager Captain Erik Patton at 978-318-8051 or by email to erik.m.patton.cpt@usace.army.mil.
Release no. 18-052