In January Rhode Island’s General Assembly convened to begin their 2025 legislative session. BHA’s Rhode Island team has moved the needle on our top policy priorities in recent years – we worked to enact legislation protecting shoreline access in 2023 and prohibiting captive hunting & wildlife importation in 2024 - and we have consistently advocated for Rhode Island’s public lands, waters and wildlife in RI’s legislative and regulatory arenas. Below you will find the Rhode Island team’s top policy priorities for 2025.
Priority: Reforming RI’s Coastal Resources Management Council
BHA’s Rhode Island team has been involved in legislative conversations about restructuring RI’s Coastal Resources Management Council (CRMC) for several years. As the agency responsible for balancing the protection and development of the Ocean State’s coastal resources, CRMC’s decisions affect the opportunities available to hunters and anglers along RI’s coasts, and the habitats that many of RI’s fish and wildlife depend upon.
During the last several years dozens of legislative bills have proposed changes to some or all of the statutory authority currently assigned to CRMC. Many of the issues that have plagued CRMC for years – chronic delays in making simple permitting decisions, lack of members and frequent missed/cancelled meetings, and the increasing number of flawed decisions being overturned by the courts – are caused by CRMC’s politically-appointed board, and can only be solved by a complete overhaul. That is why BHA’s Rhode Island team has only supported legislation to eliminate the politically-appointed council.
In 2025 BHA’s RI team will continue to work with both chambers of the RI General Assembly to highlight the need to reform CRMC, with the goal of establishing a true administrative agency, staffed by experts, that is capable of effectively and efficiently carrying out the difficult task of balancing the protection and development of RI’s coastal zone.
Priority: Continuing to Advance Public Shoreline Access
In 2023, BHA’s Rhode Island team was integral in the passage of historic shoreline access legislation. Last year only one out of three shoreline access bills supported by BHA passed the General Assembly and became law, so some legislative work remains. Currently two legislative commissions (created through by the passage of H7361 & H7731A) are focusing on shoreline/beach issues. Additionally, two lawsuits filed in RI Superior Court challenging the 2023 law have yet to be resolved, but will almost certainly see movement this year.
In 2025 BHA’s RI team will continue to seek out opportunities to further the public’s access to RI’s shoreline – whether they occur within study commissions, the General Assembly, the judiciary, or elsewhere.
Priority: Advocating for Access, Wildlife Habitat in Aquaculture Permitting
For the last several years BHA’s Rhode Island team has spoken out against proposed aquaculture developments that would negatively affect public access for hunting and angling and impact critical wildlife habitat. Regrettably, RI’s Coastal Resources Management Council (CRMC) has increased pressure on our most prized undeveloped coastal areas by implementing a notice procedure that pushes potential aquaculturists away from populated areas to avoid opposition from neighborhoods. We have no doubt that flawed proposals will continue to be submitted and entertained, and CRMC has been lackadaisical to dismiss even the most flawed of aquaculture applications.
Recognizing that some of the best hunting and fishing opportunities in the Ocean State exist within our coastal waters, BHA’s Rhode Island team will continue to work in 2025 to ensure that both the interests of hunters & anglers and wildlife habitat are considered as part of the aquaculture permitting process.