900 Acres of R.I. Habitat Protected

By TIM FAULKNER/ecoRI News staff

PROVIDENCE — Nine hundred acres in the second-most densely populated state has been officially protected as open space. At a Statehouse ceremony Nov. 2, a $4.3 million grant was split between 16 organizations to protect sensitive wildlife areas and open recreational trails and preserve farmland.

The public money, raised through a 2004 state bond referendum, will seem like a bargain in the years ahead, according to Rupert Friday, head of the Rhode Island Land Trust Council. "It just goes to show you these really are investments and these (properties) are going to be worth a lot more in the future than they are now," he said.

Although the land is undeveloped, it will be a boost for the economy, bringing hunters, hikers and tourists to rural communities. "It's out-of-state money coming in and it's economic development for Rhode Island," Friday said.

He added that another bond referendum will be needed soon, as only about $2 million remain from the $70 million raised in '04.

Here's how the money was divided:

Barrington: $240,690 to the Barrington Land Conservation Trust for the 10.6-acre Stanley Farm on the Palmer River.

Block Island: $400,000 to the Block Island Conservancy for a conservation easement on 6 acres of managed grassland.

Charlestown: $367,000 to the Charlestown Land Trust to acquire 28 acres of YMCA property on the eastern shore of Watchaug Pond.

Chepachet: $387,825 to the Gloucester Land Trust for a 56-acre parcel with frontage on the Smith and Sayles Reservoir.

Coventry: $325,000 to the town's land trust for 175 acres in western Coventry adjacent to the Neylon Property Conservation Area.

Exeter and South Kingstown: $370,000 to the Audobon Society of Rhode Island for the 50-acre Quaiapen property. It will add to the 1,100-acre Marion Eppley Wildlife Sanctuary.

Johnston: $170,800 to the town for the 84-acre Vacca parcel, a heavily wooded site contiguous to the town forest and Johnston Memorial Park.

North Kingston: $400,000 to the Narrow River Land Trust for more than 200 acres in 11 parcels located south of Snuff Mill Road.

North Smithfield: $400,000 to the North Smithfield land Trust and the town for the 38-acre Booth Pond property. It will include hiking trails to protected lands in Woonsocket.

Portsmouth: $400,000 to the Aquidneck Island Land Trust for 70 acres of forest, fields and wetlands within the Center Island Greenway.

Richmond: $159,000 to the Nature Conservancy for the 35-acre Rihonen property on the Usquapaug River. The land includes public recreational trails.

South Kingstown: $300,000 to the South Kingstown Land Trust for a conservation easement on the 31-acre Wells Farm with 900 feet of frontage on Yawgoo Pond.

Tiverton: $187,500 to the Tiverton Land Trust for the 16-acre Clark Parcel located within the state National Heritage Sin and Flesh Brook Habitat, near the Fort Barton redoubt; $81,250 also was awarded to the Tiverton Open Space Commission for the 23-acre Baier property within the Pocassetlands regional forest.

Westerly: $134,000 to the Westerly Land Trust for a 72-acre former camp used by Girl Scouts of Rhode Island. The land is within the Woody Hill Management Area and Shelter Harbor Golf Course.

The state Department of Environmental Management (DEM) approved the grants from a pool of 30 applications requesting $7.72 million.