More than three years after Narragansett Electric made a donation to the town of North Kingstown and the state, 230 acres of untouched coastal woodlands at Rome Point is on its way to becoming an official nature preserve, scenic walking trail and viewing spot for Rhode Island’s resident wildlife.
“We’re grateful to Narragansett Electric for what they did,” said North Kingstown Town Manager Richard Kerbel, explaining that the utility donated its property to the state but the town has the development rights (a conservation easement). “People have been enjoying the property; it’s 12 months of enjoyment. The plan is to leave it as it is.”
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All the spot needs is an off-road parking area and some signage, according to officials from the state Department of Environmental Management, which will be maintaining and monitoring the John H. Chafee Nature Preserve, named after the late senator who was instrumental in getting the area designated.
“Over the years, the people who have gone in there to walk, jog or otherwise enjoy it have tried to keep it clean; people have been very respectful of it,” said Michael Ryan, executive vice president of Narragansett Electric. “There had been numerous inquiries by people to develop the land, and at the same time, preservationists coming to us wanting us to maintain or donate it. Sen. (John) Chafee, shortly before he died, sent a letter to us, and that was certainly a catalyst. We felt it was the right thing to do.”
According to the North Kingstown tax assessor, the land, which is divided into three plots, is valued at a total of $3,224,700. Narragansett Electric, which still maintains sub-transmission lines on the property, donated the land it had owned since 1953 to the state and town in early 2001, and has been working with both entities in its interest to keep the land as untouched and natural as possible.
“It was intended to be as natural as possible, including the maintenance of the trails,” said Larry Mouradjian, chief of parks and recreation for the DEM. “It was a very careful (master) plan, but at the same time we needed to keep the access for Narragansett Electric and emergency vehicles. It’s a matter of how long will it take to put in the parking lot and the signs. There are no plans for anything else.”
There are a number of trails that lead to different points along the waterfront, some heading out to the point where harbor seals lounge in the winter months, some winding through forest where remnants of the old Rome and Menzies farm and an old car are still visible, and some to a clearing and beach. Those trails have been marked by DEM and will remain, and a kiosk planned for the head of the trail will instruct the public to avoid smaller deer run trails that used to leave walkers a bit lost, Mouradjian said.
Among the changes, additional signage to the area will be larger, more permanent signs instructing visitors how to approach the seal-viewing beach carefully, along with educational signage pointing out local flora and fauna. Some of the region’s regular inhabitants include red and white oak and hickory trees, double-breasted cormorants, osprey, turkey vultures and hummingbirds; fox and coyotes, the American minx and white-tailed deer.
“It has been clear from day one that this is not going to be a Goddard Park or a Colt State Park; it’s going to be a nature preserve,” Kerbel said. “It’s a wonderful place and such a treasure that Narragansett Electric saw it fit to donate it to the town and the residents of the state.”
The town and state are currently obtaining approvals for permits to make a graveled parking area similar to that of Black Point in Narragansett, Mouradjian said. Before the permit is granted, the R.I. Historical Preservation and Heritage Commission and Department of Transportation must approve the plans. There is history of the area being occupied by Native Americans, prompting an archaeological site investigation, and the state is waiting to get the results.
“The town wanted it left the way it is – no camping, no fires, and a carry-in, carry-out policy like our other state parks,” Mouradjian said. “It’s a cooperative management strategy between the DEM and the town.”
