PROVIDENCE - Twelve residents of the Rhode Island Veterans Home in Bristol will spend their morning fishing at the Colt State Park Fishing Pier on Wednesday, August 19 (10 a.m. to noon). The outing is being made possible through the efforts of the Disabled American Veterans (DAV) Chapter 15, Lawson-Raiola, and is the second fishing trip to Colt State Park for the veterans this summer. Many of the participating Veterans Home residents are over 80 years old and are veterans of World War II and the Korean War.
The handicap-accessible fishing pier at Colt State Park underwent a major reconstruction and expansion project in 2013 under a joint effort between the Department of Environmental Management and The Nature Conservancy. The reconstructed pier includes a new, ADA-accessible, 66-foot T-shaped extension with four handicap-accessible stations that allow for fishing from a wheelchair. The project at Colt was the first of several projects to go forward under the partnership between DEM and TNC to create and improve public access sites for fishing, boating and hunting throughout Rhode Island. Other improvement projects completed under this joint effort include the Galilee Boat Ramp in Narragansett and the Sakonnet Harbor Boat Launch in Little Compton.
"I'm thrilled that our pier at Colt State Park will enable residents of the RI Veterans Home to experience the joy of fishing on Narragansett Bay," said DEM Director Janet Coit. "DEM is committed to expanding shoreline and fishing access for all Rhode Islanders, regardless of their physical limitations. I can't think of a better way to illustrate this than the veterans' upcoming fishing trip to Colt State Park."