CHARLESTOWN – A coalition of environmental and land conservation groups is urging state officials to stop the sale of up to 50 acres of land that was originally part of Burlingame State Park.
Gov. Donald L. Carcieri included the proposed sale in his fiscal 2008 budget, projecting that the deal could bring in $3.4 million. Camp Pastore comprises 50 mostly wooded acres on Watchaug Pond in Charlestown, adjacent to Burlingame State Park.
“Rhode Island has already lost too many of our state’s scenic natural treasures to sprawl,” Matt Auten, advocate for Environment Rhode Island, said in a news release.
The coalition opposing the land sale includes The Nature Conservancy, the Rhode Island Land Trust Council, Environment Rhode Island, the Audubon Society of Rhode Island, Grow Smart Rhode Island, the South County Conservancy and the Conservation Law Foundation.
The property has been used for decades by the R.I. Department of Mental Health, Retardation & Hospitals for recreational purposes, and since 1986, it has belonged to MHRH.
