By KELLY SMITH

After nearly two years of hard work, the Buckeye Brook Coalition has finally gotten its wish . to be recognized by the Rhode Island Rivers Council as a watershed council.

.It passed with a unanimous vote,. said Stephen Insana, president of the Buckeye Brook Coalition. .The next step is to solicit public comment and make it final..

Insana said it is formality to allow 30 days to give the public the opportunity to comment on the matter, but he believes there will be no opposition to the recognition.

.The official announcement comes in June during Rhode Island Rivers Month,. said Insana.

Going from the Buckeye Brook Coalition to the Buckeye Brook Watershed Council will give the organization the right to protect the brook.s interests and have a say in how it is treated.

Additionally, it now has the right to sue and be sued on the brook.s behalf.

.I credit Michelle Komar and her professionalism [when creating the application] for getting us recognized,. said Insana of the coalition.s vice president.

The Buckeye Brook Coalition was formed in August 2002 after Insana, Komar and Christopher D.Ovidio of the Conservation Law Foundation each spoke out in favor of protecting the brook at a meeting for the Environmental Impact Statement for T.F. Green Airport. Insana, who had long been a supporter of the brook, was pleased to find others out there who share the same goals as he, which is to protect and preserve the brook. Other groups that make up the coalition are the City of Warwick, Save the Bay, Narragansett Bay Watch, Mill Cove Neighborhood Association, Federated Sportsmen Club of Rhode Island, Inc. and Concerned Airport Neighbors.

Buckeye Brook is the largest herring run in the state, competing only with Narrow River, known as Gilbert Stuart due to its proximity to the Gilbert Stuart birthplace. However, Buckeye Brook is the most productive, self-sustaining herring run, as opposed to the help the Gilbert Stuart herring run gets from fish ladders. The brook runs from Warwick Pond to Narragansett Bay.