The Watch Hill Conservancy

“Line 28 - some members of the conservancy's board are members of the one bay street center board of directors from which the conservancy purchased three units in the lanphear livery condominium association in 2020. Some members of the conservancy's board are trustees of the a.m. Roberts, jr. Charitable foundation from which the conservancy requests grant funding for a variety of programs. The conservancy contracts peter v. August (current president and science advisor) for professional assistance in areas that are outside of, and in addition to, his roles as president and science advisor which include but are not limited to it systems and website management, data management, and communications.”

“The organizations members have the power to elect or appoint one or more members of the governing body.”

“The organizations members have the power to elect or appoint one or more members of the governing body.”

“The 990 is reviewed by the president, ad hoc finance committee, and executive director. Subsequent to their review, the 990 is provided to the board of directors for their review and approval prior to filing with the irs.”

“Directors and key employees are expected to disclose any potential conflicts of interest on an annual basis. The executive director and attorney regularly monitor foundation relationships and are responsible for raising conflict of interest issues.”

“The compensation for the executive director is determined by recommendation of the executive committee to the board of directors. Compensation is based on an agreed upon annual amount.”

“The compensation for consultants and independent contractors is determined by recommendation of the executive committee to the board of directors. Compensation is based on an agreed upon amount. Officers and directors do not receive compensation for their services as such.”

“990 may be available on the guidestar website. In addition, governing documents are available to the public upon request.”

“The watch hill conservancy was incorporated in 1999 to promote the preservation of the natural and built environments of watch hill, ri; to conserve, maintain, and enhance the scenic, open space and historical values and the character of watch hill; to educate the public concerning the same; to acquire and preserve interests in real property; and any other purposes incidental to the aforesaid purpose whether accomplished within watch hill or in other nearby areas of the town of westerly, ri or stonington, ct.”

“Conservation efforts - 2024 was the 19th year of the conservancy's involvement in napatree point conservation area programming, and the 12th year that the conservancy has been lead steward of napatree, assuming this role from the watch hill fire district in 2013. The conservancy conducts a variety of stewardship and environmental education programs in the conservation area. It also conducts environmental monitoring and ecological preservation on napatree. Our popular children's program, the napatree investigators had 75 youngsters participate in 2024. Our napatree conservation efforts include the stewardship of the properties currently identified in the napatree point conservation area conservation easement with the whfd, property the conservancy owns under conservation easement with ridem, and other parcels the conservancy owns on napatree point. Napatree point is the most pristine barrier beach ecosystem in the region and is highly valued by the public who visit the conservation area year- round. Conservation activities also include the maintenance of other parcels currently owned by the conservancy which are outside of the napatree point conservation area. In 2024 we increased the number and variety of outreach activities to inform the community of our stewardship and educational activities on napatree.”

“Preserving community character - an important part of the conservancy's mission is to preserve and enhance the historic character of the community. Most of watch hill is recognized as an historic district on the national register of historic places as designated by the united states secretary of the interior and the national park service. The watch hill historic district's designation report lists more than 180 structures as significantly contributing to the historic value of the district. The historic character of watch hill is under constant pressure from development, changes to state and town building and zoning codes, severe weather, and increased flooding from rising seas. The watch hill conservancy has been particularly busy working jointly with the watch hill fire district leadership to respond to these pressures. In 2024, the conservancy was highly involved in monitoring proposed development activity and state and local governmental decisions that could result in significant change to community character or have negative impacts to the historic district designation.”

“Informing the community - 2024 was the conservancy's seventh year hosting the lanphear live speaker series. The conservancy designed the series to inform the community on topics that are interesting and timely, typically covering areas such as science, history, nature and technology. Lanphear live is held in the chaplin b. Barnes reading room at the lanphear livery and is provided at no cost to those who attend. The virtual presentations we hosted in 2020 in response to the pandemic were so popular that the conservancy continues to record and share its lanphear live programs with the public on its website and youtube channel. Owning and managing the reading room as a community space is a relatively new initiative for the conservancy. The conservancy acquired the property in late 2020. Carrying and maintaining the space results in significant costs to the organization. The conservancy is working to offset these costs by seeking outside funding (community programming sponsors and grant funding) to support the community programming and by renting the space to third-parties.”