Guided by the comments of more than 3,000 New England boaters and advocates, the U.S. Coast Guard has scaled back plans to remove hundreds of navigational buoys across the region, including in Rhode Island.
Rhode Island is now poised to lose 20 buoys, rather than 37, under a revised plan unveiled by the Coast Guard in September. Across the Northeast, the maritime agency is looking to remove 233 buoys from federal waters, down from an original 350.
The Coast Guard will add lighting and sound signals to nearly one-third of those still slated to be discontinued to help reduce negative impacts for mariners.
The Coast Guard maintains roughly 400 buoys across Rhode Island. The buoys targeted for removal in the revised plan are identified online in an interactive map.
R.I. buoys slated for removal
- Narragansett Bay Entrance Lighted Whistle Buoy NB
- East Passage Gong Buoy 4
- East Passage Buoy 12A
- East Passage Lighted Buoy 17
- Prudence Island Southend Buoy PI
- East Passage Lighted Buoy 25
- Musselbed Shoals Gong Buoy 6
- Providence River Approach Channel Lighted Buoy 13
- Ohio Ledge Bell Buoy OL
- Tiverton Channel Buoy 3
- Mount Hope Bay Buoy 2
- Mount Hope Bay Channel Buoy 3
- Wickford Harbor Gong Buoy 2
- Quonset Channel Buoy 4
- Quonset Channel Buoy 5
- Patience Island Lighted Bell Buoy 8
- Point Judith Lighted Buoy 2
- Watch Hill Passage Buoy WH
- Block Island NE Whistle Buoy 5
- Dickens Point Shoal Bell Buoy 6
The Coast Guard billed the removal of navigational markers as an embrace of modern technology, targeting the oldest buoys that were put in place before modern GPS systems. But mariners, environmental groups and lawmakers, including U.S. Sen Jack Reed, criticized the cuts, which they said could compromise safety for boaters who rely on the markers in bad weather, and when GPS systems are unavailable.
Reed touted the results of public feedback in a statement on Thursday, while urging affected mariners to continue to write in during a reopened public comment period.
“Rhode Islanders know these waters best and their voices have already made a difference,” Reed said. “Because of strong public participation earlier this year, the Coast Guard scaled back its removal list by nearly half. That shows how important it is for mariners, fishermen, and harbor officials to speak up again. Even during a government shutdown, this comment window is open — and every perspective matters.”
The U.S. Coast Guard will continue to accept written public comments on its navigation plan changes through Nov. 15.
Coast Guard officials specifically would like those providing feedback to indicate “the size and type of your vessel, how you use the buoys to navigate and the distance at which you start looking for and using it.”
Email D01-SMB-DPWPublicComments@uscg.mil and refer to Project No. 01-25-015.
GET THE MORNING HEADLINES.
Rhode Island Current is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Rhode Island Current maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Janine L. Weisman for questions: info@rhodeislandcurrent.com.