Thank you for running the excellent Sept. 30 article on the salt ponds (“Too still waters”). The salt ponds along the southern Rhode Island coast are fabulous resources, used by Rhode Islanders from all across the state for activities that include clamming, fishing, swimming, boating, birding, beach combing, and much more.

Clean, vibrant ponds are an economic engine in South County, providing fishing and aquaculture opportunities, as well as recreational activities that attract tourists to our state.

They are also nurseries, which produce vast quantities of food for the lower end of the food chain. The ponds and breachways are teeming right now, with small bunker and mature silversides, which have grown throughout the summer in the relative safety of the ponds. Soon, as water temperatures in the ponds drop, great clouds of these small fish will leave the ponds and feed the migration of bass and blues along the shore — an event much anticipated by those who travel from near and far for fall fishing along Rhode Island beaches.

Sadly, as the article pointed out, the ponds have suffered over the past several decades. Many species such as oysters and scallops, which once helped define our coastal region, are greatly reduced.

Maintaining and/or restoring the health of the salt ponds is critical to this region and will benefit a great many Rhode Islanders. Now is the time for action. We urge all who enjoy the ponds and marine life along the coast to join us in fighting to protect these wonderful resources. To learn more, please visit www.saltpondscoalition.org.

MARK BULLINGER

Westerly

The writer is executive director of the Salt Ponds Coalition.