Projo — Does RI's shoreline access law conflict with protected areas for shorebirds? What one case shows.

Written By Cate Brown

Taylor Ellis of South Kingstown is attempting to walk the entirety of Rhode Island’s ocean-facing coastline, one section at a time. David DelPoio/The Providence Journal

Jan 14, 2025

By Antonia Noori Farzan

A retired South Kingstown attorney accused of trespassing in a closed shorebird area on Moonstone Beach can't be found guilty because the mean high water line boundary wasn't clearly marked, according to a ruling from U.S. Magistrate Judge Lincoln D. Almond.

Moonstone Beach, which is part of the Trustom Pond National Wildlife Refuge, is closed to the public and roped off with posts during the summer months in order to protect the piping plover population.

Court filings indicate that on June 23, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service employees who were monitoring shorebirds witnessed James A. Donnelly walking along the beach about 10 feet landward of the posts that mark the closed-off area.

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Cate Brown
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