Rhode Island Natural History Survey

08/28/2026

We're excited about this good news from Cape Cod. The Survey used the Massachusetts Audubon Society experience as a model when we created 4 spadefoot breeding pools in Rhode Island. Spadefoots are our rarest h**p and we're anxiously awaiting the breeding success that is finally taking place on Cape Cod. Our partners included Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management, College of the Environment and Life Sciences, USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service, South Kingstown Land Trust, and the Richmond land trust. Keep your fingers and the toes on your spade feet crossed!

Since 2011, Long Pasture Wildlife Sanctuary has worked alongside conservation partners to restore Eastern Spadefoot toads to Ashumet Holly Wildlife Sanctuary in East Falmouth, where the species once thrived. 

08/20/2026

Here is a picture taken today at URI's East Farm of a praying mantis eating a bumblebee. Those are the legs and pollen sac on leaf at the bottom and she still has a piece of the bee in her right hand. People are stuck on the idea that praying mantises are good for your garden... ...they are not. We say it every year: there is no native praying mantis in Rhode Island; every one you see is an invasive species, a generalist predator on insects that visit flowers...aka pollinators. Remove adults now and gather up and dispose of egg cases in the spring.

08/20/2026

We're very proud of our Botany Fellows, and this partnership with Brown University and URI's College of the Environment and Life Sciences. With funding from Brown and the Narragansett Bay Estuary Program, the Fellows are providing a lot of new, first-hand information about the present condition of plant biodiversity in Rhode Island. In the next few months, their new information will be added to BORIIS, the rare species database, and be being used for planning and permitting throughout the state.

07/24/2026

Last night was our annual moth night on Block Island organized by The Nature Conservancy in Rhode Island and the The Ocean View Foundation HUGE thanks to Kimberley Gaffett and Nigel Grindley! 30 human attendees and lots of interesting moths large and small.

07/15/2026

Help Check for Hitch-Hiking Plants on boats & gear!

Sign up now to attend a RI DEM training session - to learn Clean-Drain-Dry protocols.

The Public is Welcome, but folks must participate in a 2-hour training session on Tuesday, July 28 at 10am or 6pm in Kingston, RI at the Survey's office.

Scan the QR code to Register!

07/14/2026

The Survey is hiring a full-time Forest Legacy Technician to work closely with RIDEM on the Rhode Island Forest Legacy Program. This unique role will support forest conservation planning, landowner outreach, GIS mapping, monitoring of protected lands, and implementation of the 2030 State Forest Action Plan. Application review begins July 27.

To apply: Send a cover letter, resume, and three professional references to [email protected].

Find the complete position posting here: www.dem.ri.gov/forest-legacy-tech

07/12/2026

Come one, come all, families & friends! Celebrate National Moth Week with the Survey at our annual

Midsummer MOTH MINGLE! Friday evening, July 17 in Kingston, RI

Bring a flashlight or headlamp and your curiosity... We provide the rest!

FREE & Open to the Public... but PLEASE RSVP using the link below, or the QR code in the photo.

RSVP here: https://tinyurl.com/EFMothMingle2026

06/17/2026

The General Assembly just passed Rhode Island's first comprehensive invasive plant law! Congratulations to all who made it happen including the bills' sponsors. The Survey has been working to manage invasives and educate people about this issue for 25 years, including through our Youth Conservation League crews, shown here with the roots of an Oriental bittersweet plant they dug out of the dunes at Napatree. There's lots more work to do . . . lists to make, regulations to promulgate, detection and response strategies to develop . . . but we're on our way!

06/06/2026

BioBlitz 2026 is in the books. Prelim count of 1,095 species in 24 hours...plus lifetimes of learning, lifetime friendships, and biodiversity data to help save the world! Thanks to 300+ volunteer scientists and site hosts Audubon Society of Rhode Island and URI College of the Environment and Life Sciences . .