Dates: June 20-21
Locations: Pardon Gray Preserve, Weetamoo Woods, Emilie Ruecker Wildlife Refuge
RI BioBlitz 2003 was held from 3:00 p.m. on Friday, June 20 to 3:00 p.m. on Saturday, June 21. Science Central was located at the Tiverton Land Trust’s Pardon Gray Preserve (purchased with the assistance of The Nature Conservancy of Rhode Island and the Audubon Society of Rhode Island), and the event boundaries also included the Town of Tiverton’s Weetamoo Woods, Audubon’s Emilie Ruecker Wildlife Refuge, and the State of Rhode Island’s Seapowet Marsh Management Area.
In addition to the Natural History Survey, the event was supported by Tiverton Land Trust, Audubon Society of Rhode Island, the Town of Tiverton, and The Nature Conservancy of Rhode Island. Educational displays and public programs were provided by the organizers as well as RI Wild Plant Society, and Roger Williams Park Zoo. There was a cookout Friday night to celebrate the Summer Solstice.
There were 120 participants, the first Rhode Island bioblitz to crack 100, and a total of 885 species were identified. The event looked at approximately 1,200 acres in total, so the participants/acres ratio was 1/10, the species/participant was 7.2, and the species/acre was 0.7. Highlights included 100 species of birds, still the record for a Rhode Island bioblitz as of 2025.
A list of species identified by the 2003 RI BioBlitz event in Tiverton.
