Glacial rocks in the forest just west of the Arcadia Management Area, in western Exeter, are just one feature of the border region between Rhode Island and Connecticut. Money is being allocated for expert planning for the area, including Exeter, R.I., and Killingly, Conn.

The Providence Journal / Frieda Squires

Two towns on the Connecticut border, Exeter, R.I., and Killingly, Conn., have been selected to receive some $200,000 in expert assistance to create economic opportunities while conserving and enhancing their “natural amenities.”

The communities were selected by the Borderlands Project, a joint effort of the Rhode Island Economic Policy Council and The Nature Conservancy, which is working to create economic and community development in the 20 rural towns on both sides of the border, while conserving land.

“The Borderlands are home to more than 200,000 people, many businesses and hundreds of thousands of visitors every year,” the group said in a statement. “It also contains some of the most ecologically important lands in the Northeast, including unfragmented forest habitats and pristine watersheds.

In the pilot program focusing on the two towns, economists, designers, planners and others will help the towns plan their futures.

The Borderlands Village Innovation Pilot will bring the two towns together with agencies and organizations from both states to collaborate on their visions. Partnerships also have been formed with the Orton Family Foundation and the Lincoln Institute of Land Policy to provide more expertise and resources.

In Exeter, the program will encourage residents to examine growth, particularly along Route 2.

“The technical support made possible through this pilot will allow Exeter to continue to grow while maintaining its rural and scenic character,” Exeter Town Council President Calvin Ellis said in a statement.

Kip Bergstrom, executive director of the Rhode Island Economic Policy Council, said in a statement that the project “allows us to test what we’ve been hearing as part of our Borderlands Project activities; that there is a critical link between traditional village centers and surrounding farms and forests. We need to develop ways to reinvent existing or planned village centers so that we protect their historic form but enhance their economic function. This requires that we conserve the more rural landscapes that define them.”

For more information, go to www.borderlandsproject.org or call (401) 521-3120, ext. 101.

It’s deer-collision season for drivers

It’s time to watch out for deer!

The state Department of Environmental Management is warning motorists that the deer mating season is under way so motorists should be careful, particularly at dawn and dusk when deer are most active.

There were 618 collisions between deer and cars by August of this year, with the most accidents, 59, occurring in South Kingstown, followed by 48 in North Kingstown.

Deer collisions must be reported to the DEM at (401) 222-3070 within 24 hours. Local police and the driver’s insurance company also should be informed. A driver may request permission to keep the deer if it is killed.

The DEM also made several other announcements recently:

• A public hearing on proposed changes in commercial fishing regulations is scheduled for Tuesday, Nov. 27, at 6 p.m. in Corless Auditorium at the University of Rhode Island’s Bay Campus. Amendments are proposed to quotas for summer flounder and black sea bass. Details are available at the DEM’s Web site, www.dem.ri.gov. Click on “Offices and Divisions,” then “Fish and Wildlife,” and then “Marine Fisheries.”

• The muzzleloading deer season will continue to Nov. 25. Antlerless deer may also be taken on private land from Dec. 22 to 25. For more information, go to DEM’s Web site and click on “Topics,” then “Outdoor Recreation/Fisheries,” and then “Wildlife/HunterEd.”

• Archery deer-hunting season is under way on Prudence and Patience islands, Block Island and Conanicut/Aquidneck islands. Rules in each area vary, so get details on the DEM’s Web site under “Regulations.”

A way to reuse those old sneakers

Worn-out sneakers are being collected at Providence City Hall and outside the Center for Environmental Studies at Brown University as part of a recycling project organized by Andres Salmeron, a seventh grader at the Wheeler School, in Providence.

Salmeron says he learned that National Geographic for Kids is hoping to collect worn- out sneakers to set its third Guinness World Record for the longest chain of shoes. National Geographic then plans to transfer the sneakers to the Reuse-a-Shoe program run by Nike Inc. Nike converts old sneakers into material to surface playgrounds.

Salmeron says he hopes Rhode Islanders will make lots of contributions to the national recycling efforts by dropping shoes into the containers he has provided at the two Providence locations.

RWU official to head to D.C.

Kristen Fletcher, director of the Marine Affairs Institute and the Rhode Island Sea Grant Legal Program at Roger Williams University, is leaving to become executive director of the Coastal States Organization in Washington, D.C.

The CSO is a nonprofit organization that represents the interests of the 35 coastal states and territories in federal legislative and policy-making opportunities. Fletcher begins her new job Dec. 10.

She has directed the Marine Affairs Institute at Roger Williams since 2003. Besides writing reports and organizing conferences, Fletcher teaches at Roger Williams Law School and in the University of Rhode Island Marine Affairs program. She also oversees the joint law degree and marine affairs degree program offered by the two universities.

Dean David A. Logan said Fletcher “does so many things well that she will be hard to replace, but she now has the chance to make an impact on the national stage, and I am sure she will.”

Compost bins at half price

Compost bins will be for sale at half price from 8 a.m. to noon on Saturday, Nov. 17, at the state’s Central Landfill in Johnston.

The bins usually sell for $50, but they will be available for $25 during the sale. There will be a limit of two bins per customer while supplies last, and no rainchecks.

The bins are easy to assemble and can hold 12 cubic feet of material.

Leaf and yard waste is the second-largest component of waste at the landfill.

The Rhode Island Resource Recovery Corporation is also offering large-volume paper shredding at the landfill Nov. 17 and will collect household hazardous wastes and electronic wastes. For more information, go to rirrc.org.

A chance to meet a live wolf

An educational program on wolves, featuring a live wolf, will be presented at Friday at noon in Bryant University’s Janikies Theatre.

The program, provided by the Wolf Conservation Center, will feature Atka, a five-year-old gray wolf.

The event is sponsored by Bryant’s Department of Science and Technology and the university’s Office of Academic Affairs. Seating is free, but reservations must be made by calling (401) 232-6245.

The Environmental Journal is a listing of brief news items about the actions of individuals, organizations and businesses that affect the air we breathe, the water we drink and the landscape that surrounds us. If you have comments or suggestions, please contact environment reporter Peter B. Lord at (401) 277-8036, or by e-mail at plord@projo.com or by writing him, care of The Providence Journal, 75 Fountain St., Providence, RI 02902.

plord@projo.com