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# Watershed Counts

Tracking the Health of Narragansett Bay and Beyond.

## Sitemaps

- [XML Sitemap](https://www.watershedcounts.org/sitemap.xml): Contains all public & indexable URLs for this website.

## Posts

- [Blog](https://www.watershedcounts.org/blog/)
- [Eelgrass Meadows: The "Underwater Forests" That Protect the Bay](https://www.watershedcounts.org/eelgrass-meadows-protecting-the-bay/) - Most people miss it. Eelgrass meadows grow just below the water's surface and do important work each day. Their subtle movements and contributions deserve more recognition. Eelgrass meadows are ocean secrets that deserve our appreciation. What Exactly Is Eelgrass? Eelgrass is not seaweed. But it is a flowering terrestrial plant that grows in the water.
- [Monitoring Matters: How We Track the Health of Our Watershed](https://www.watershedcounts.org/monitoring-matters-how-we-track-the-health-of-our-watershed/) - Water resource management strictly depends on watershed monitoring programs. Scientific teams together with resource managers obtain relevant information on water quality
- [Beyond the Surface: What Water Quality Tests Really Tell Us](https://www.watershedcounts.org/beyond-the-surface-what-water-quality-tests-really-tell-us/) - Water quality tests provide more than visual clarity inspections because they expose the concealed information about what water systems contain.
- [Recreation and Risk: The Science Behind Beach Closures](https://www.watershedcounts.org/recreation-and-risk-the-science-behind-beach-closures/) - Coastal communities together with their visitors experience beach closures as familiar yet annoying events mainly during summer season.
- [The Role of Citizen Science in Watershed Protection](https://www.watershedcounts.org/the-role-of-citizen-science-in-watershed-protection/) - Daily citizens are reshaping watershed protection through their actions of gathering water quality data and their abilities to process and distribute this significant information.
- [A Day in the Life of the Bay: Exploring the Natural Rhythms of Narragansett Waters](https://www.watershedcounts.org/a-day-in-the-life-of-the-bay-exploring-the-natural-rhythms-of-narragansett-waters/) - From the first blush of sunrise over the calm surface to the hush of twilight as the moon rises, Narragansett Bay pulses with a rhythm set by the tides.
- [Watershed to Table: How Clean Water Sustains Local Food and Fisheries](https://www.watershedcounts.org/watershed-to-table-how-clean-water-sustains-local-food-and-fisheries/) - Every thriving fishery together with successful local food system depends on clean water as its essential foundation.
- [Invasive Species in the Bay: What You Need to Know and How to Help](https://www.watershedcounts.org/invasive-species-in-the-bay-what-you-need-to-know-and-how-to-help/) - Non-native plants animals and microbes constitute invasive species which enter new ecosystems because of human activities to disrupt the natural ecosystem equilibrium
- [Resilient Communities: Preparing the Watershed for Climate Extremes](https://www.watershedcounts.org/resilient-communities-preparing-the-watershed-for-climate-extremes/) - The worldwide reality shows that climate extremes composed of storm intensity and extreme droughts together with heightened temperatures and rising sea levels occur more commonly and intensively.
- [Saltwater Systems Under Pressure: Protecting Estuaries in a Changing World](https://www.watershedcounts.org/saltwater-systems-under-pressure-protecting-estuaries-in-a-changing-world/) - Estuaries function as the most productive and essential ecosystems worldwide since they form the meeting point between fresh river water and ocean saltwater.
- [From Farm to Bay: How Land Use Affects Water Quality](https://www.watershedcounts.org/from-farm-to-bay-how-land-use-affects-water-quality/) - The path from agricultural land to coastal waters extends beyond visual beauty because the decisions we make about land directly control water ecosystem health.
- [How Climate Change is Reshaping the Narragansett Bay Watershed](https://www.watershedcounts.org/how-climate-change-is-reshaping-the-narragansett-bay-watershed/) - The Narragansett Bay watershed experiences dramatic physical and ecological and economic changes due to climate change.
- [The Hidden Link Between Forests and Clean Water](https://www.watershedcounts.org/the-hidden-link-between-forests-and-clean-water/) - People usually admire forests because they contain diverse life forms and stunning beauty while their essential ability to purify water stays beneath the general awareness.
- [Open Space Matters: Saving Land to Save Water](https://www.watershedcounts.org/open-space-matters-saving-land-to-save-water/) - Open spaces which include forests and wetlands and natural grasslands function as essential protectors of water purity. Multiple studies confirm that our land utilization

## Pages

- [Home](https://www.watershedcounts.org/) - Welcome to Watershed Counts Tracking the Health of Narragansett Bay and Beyond. Get Involved Tracking the Health of Narragansett Bay and Beyond Watershed Counts operates as a shared program to measure and share information regarding the environmental condition of Narragansett Bay and its watershed. A collective of scientists with community leaders and environmental groups together
- [2016 Watershed Counts Report](https://www.watershedcounts.org/report2016.html) - Download Report Print Version of the 2016 Report (does not include hyperlinks)(pdf) (3MB) Online Version of the 2016 Report (includes hyperlinks) (pdf) (6MB) Media Release (pdf) Download Posters (pdf) (8 MB) Postcard(pdf)
- [Partners](https://www.watershedcounts.org/partners.html) - Watershed Counts is produced by the Narragansett Bay Region Indicator Development Workgroup. The workgroup came together during the fall and winter of 2010 to focus on the development of environmental indicators for assessing and reporting on the condition of Narragansett Bay and its watershed. The group recognized and built from the long and rich history
- [Invasive Species](https://www.watershedcounts.org/invasives.html) - When plants or animals are released in areas outside their native range, without their natural predators, they can grow and reproduce out of control, destabilizing the environment and harming native species and human activities. They become "invasive species." Aquatic invasive plants are a widespread problem in RI freshwater lakes. A 2012 RI DEM report reviewed
- [Beach Closures](https://www.watershedcounts.org/beach.html) - Rhode Islanders cherish their personal relationship with the shore, and beach visitors from near and far are an important part of the region’s tourism economy. Beach closures reduce our quality of life and affect tourism. Closures are closely linked to rainfall as storm water runoff is a significant source of bacteria to many beaches. Sources
- [Freshwater Quality](https://www.watershedcounts.org/freshwater_quality.html) - There are almost 2,800 miles of rivers and 44,000 acres of lakes in the Narragansett Bay region. These fresh waters are a critical resource, providing habitat for fish and wildlife, exceptional opportunities for recreational boating, fishing and swimming and drinking water for almost two million people. Watershed Counts based its water quality analysis on the
- [Contact](https://www.watershedcounts.org/contact/) - We Want to Hear From You! Please Fill Out the Form Below for a Quick Response Name *Email *Subject Message CommentSubmit Contact
- [Privacy Policy](https://www.watershedcounts.org/privacy-policy/) - Who we are Our website address is: http://www.watershedcounts.org. Comments When visitors leave comments on the site we collect the data shown in the comments form, and also the visitor’s IP address and browser user agent string to help spam detection. An anonymized string created from your email address (also called a hash) may be provided

## Categories

- [Climate Change](https://www.watershedcounts.org/category/climate-change/)
- [Forests and Clean Water](https://www.watershedcounts.org/category/forests-and-clean-water/)
- [Water Quality](https://www.watershedcounts.org/category/water-quality/)
- [Saltwater Systems](https://www.watershedcounts.org/category/saltwater-systems/)
- [Invasive Species](https://www.watershedcounts.org/category/invasive-species/)
- [Land and Water](https://www.watershedcounts.org/category/land-and-water/)
- [Watershed Monitoring](https://www.watershedcounts.org/category/watershed-monitoring/)
- [Recreation and Risk](https://www.watershedcounts.org/category/recreation-and-risk/)
- [Narragansett Waters](https://www.watershedcounts.org/category/narragansett-waters/)
- [Watershed Protection](https://www.watershedcounts.org/category/watershed-protection/)
- [Local Food and Fisheries](https://www.watershedcounts.org/category/local-food-and-fisheries/)
- [Habitats & Ecosystems](https://www.watershedcounts.org/category/habitats-ecosystems/)