The House of Representatives has passed legislation that, if passed by the Senate and signed into law by the governor, could spell the end of a plan to develop a small oyster farm at the Sapowet Marsh Management Area in Tiverton.

Introduced by Rep. John G. Edwards (District 70, Tiverton), the bill would prohibit any commercial development at Sapowet Cove, and authorize the Department of Environmental Management to allow and promote passive outdoor recreation at the management area and to enter into leases for the agricultural use of any portion of the land.

If it is approved by the Senate and signed by Gov. McKee, the bill would likely be the end of a plan by Little Compton brothers Sean and Patrick Bowen, who have been trying for four years to earn state approval to develop a one-acre farm just southwest of the Seapowet Road bridge. That plan, which is up for consideration before the Coastal Resources Management Council, has run into sharp resistance in Tiverton, and Rep. Edwards' legislation is the third piece of legislation submitted to kill the Bowens' plan. Earlier legislation which would have prohibited oyster farms along the Sakonnet River shoreline died twice in committee.

The Sapowet Marsh Management Area was created in 1948 under a grant from the Truman Administration to the Rhode Island Department of Natural Resources and has since grown to almost 300 acres.

“The original reason the area was purchased was to preserve this critical marsh area to keep it free of commercial and residential development, and to allow continued public access for hunting, fishing, shellfishing and general recreation for future generations,” Rep. Edwards said. “Now, 76 years later, the area consisting of Sapowet Cove is being considered as an oyster farm location. Sapowet Cove is an integral part of what makes Sapowet Marsh Management Area unique in the Sakonnet River area; people can wade, swim, shellfish, kayak, sailboard and kiteboard in this beautiful, untouched cove.”

Under the legislation, Sapowet Cove, an area of water that runs from Sapowet Point east to the bridge and then south, perpendicular to Seapowet Avenue, would not at any time be commercially developed or in any way modified from its current undeveloped state. The water at the mouth of the marsh, for a distance of 2,000 feet from the bridge to Sapowet Point, would not be used for any purpose other than passive outdoor recreation.

The bill defines passive outdoor recreation as “the use of land and water for the restorations, conservation, and management of fish and wildlife and their habitats and wildlife-associated recreation such as hunting and fishing.”

The measure now moves to the Senate, where similar legislation (2024-S 2415) has been introduced by Sen. Louis P. DiPalma (D-Dist. 12, Middletown, Newport, Tiverton, Little Compton).