2017 Environmental Achievement Award
Julie Sharpe of Saunderstown, R.I.
President of the Narrow River Land Trust
Julie Sharpe is president of the Narrow River Land Trust and has worked with the University of Rhode Island Watershed Watch program for the past 24 years. In the 1990s, she helped establish the Rhode Island Natural History Survey to monitor the state’s biodiversity. She has served on the boards of the Narragansett Conservation Commission, Narrow River Preservation Association, Historic New England and the Rhode Island Natural History Survey.
Along with her family, Sharpe founded the Conservation Stewardship Collaborative to steward Rhode Island’s 100,000 acres of conserved land. In her nomination, Cathy Lund, DVM, wrote that Sharpe, “single-handedly created an advocacy platform by forming Narrow River Land Trust, and has made the acquisition and conservation of that watershed a personal mission. Her work has installed conservation easements on privately-owned land, and she has spared no effort in rallying supporters and donors to provide the funds and energy to secure available land along that watershed area. This tireless and singular effort has resulted in lasting public benefit and has positively impacted the health of the Narragansett Bay ecosystem.”