The Renewable Resources Extension Act (RREA) Program at the University of Rhode Island provides resource managers and private forestland owners with educational programs, tools and information to sustain and properly manage Rhode Island’s renewable natural resource. Base funding support for this Program is provided by the USDA CSREES. These Program funds are leveraged by funding from a variety of federal, state, and local agencies.

This Program is a collaboration between the URI Cooperative Extension Natural Resources and Environment Program and the Environmental Data Center.

Program Objectives

To provide technical information, resources, training, and conduct pilot studies through which the best available natural resource data are made available to forest landowners, municipalities, professionals, and environmental and state organizations, and agencies for natural resource management.

To promote the development of sound public policy to sustain the State’s renewable resources.

To train land use managers in the value and use of geospatial technologies and to provide guidance for the integration of these technologies into the decision-making framework for resource management.

Target Audiences

Forest landowners, government agencies, interest groups, and policy makers. These groups are addressing the complexities of managing Rhode Island's renewable resources.

Program Components

Forest Management
Education and Training for Private Forest Landowners works in partnership with federal, state, and local agencies and organizations to provide materials and training to forest landowners on sustainable forest management.

Public Policy in Forest and Rangelands
Natural resource managers may access the most current spatial data to enhance their management decisions and develop sound public policy related to Forest and Rangeland Management. GeoSpatial Data Access gives users access to resources such as Rhode Island Geographic Information System (RIGIS) data, the Rhode Island Critical Resources Atlas, digital orthophotographs of Rhode Island, and Global Positioning System Base Station files.

Training in Use of Geographic Information Systems (GIS) provides hands-on technology training programs that allow resource managers and landowners to use and access GIS software, data, and tools for the protection and management of forest, rangeland, and other renewable resources.

Pilot Projects

Woodscaping
Creates tailored training programs and develop educational materials needed by small acreage woodland owners.

Critical Lands for Conservation
Developed a simple analytical protocol that provides local conservation organizations guidance in identifying the most important lands for conservation.

Environmental Monitoring in Rhode Island
A comprehensive review of air, land, and water monitoring in Rhode Island, including citizen monitoring of freshwater systems.

The Rhode Island Resource Protection Project
Project to identify the region's most ecologically healthy areas. Recognizing that human health and welfare are dependent on healthy, functioning natural ecosystems, and that there is a limited amount of time and money to spend on protecting the natural resources that make-up ecosystems, this process was developed to target the states' most important natural resources for attention.

Town Applications
Specific applications developed closely with Rhode Island communities to meet their goals. Past efforts include Environmental Geography of South Kingstown, Warwick Large Scale Orthophotography, West Greenwich Natural Resource Inventory.