The state recently awarded $5.4 million in open space grants to 25 communities
and land trusts. The grants are expected to help protect more than 1,800 acres
of open space and farmland throughout the state.
"These grants will significantly add to the 4,265 acres of open space that
have been protected throughout Rhode Island in the past five years," Governor
Lincoln Almond said. "They reflect the wide range of properties from farms
and fields to forests, urban greenspace and wetlands that we need to protect
in order to preserve our natural heritage."
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The grants, all from previous state open space bond funds, will be matched by
$10.4 million in local bond funds, federal grants, and donations from non-profit
organizations and individuals. According to Almond, several current owners have
donated more than $1 million in land value to protect the properties forever.
According to Almond, the awards will keep more than 400 acres of farmland in
active farming and preserve more than 130 acres as urban greenspace. They will
protect such diverse and important resources as a natural heritage site that
is home to many rare plants, an addition to one of the state’s most important
endangered species habitats, one of the state’s most important archeological
sites, and a highly scenic property with a graphite mine unique to the region.
Many of the properties are located in or adjacent to planned greenways throughout
the state, Almond said.
"These 25 communities are unique, and important to the character of their
communities," said Jan Reitsma, director of the state Department of Environmental
Management. "As development pressure mounts, it becomes increasingly critical
to preserve land when we have the opportunity to do so. And the strong grass
roots support for land protection throughout the state is evidenced by significant
contributions provided by the many partners involved in these new acquisitions.
For instance, the Nunes family and the Aquidneck Island Land Trust are both
contributing funds to protect this important farmland."
Reitsma noted that strong demand and high quality of project proposals prompted
DEM to expand the funding base for this grant round. "We initially earmarked
$2.1 million for this round," said Reitsma. "However, after receiving
42 applications seeking more than $8 million in support, we decided to reprogram
monies that had been scheduled for next year in order to take advantage of important
opportunities available now that might be lost if we wait until next year."
While the state’s stepped-up campaign to secure critical lands is generally
keeping pace with the growing demand for open space bond funds. "Remaining
open space funds, totaling about $4 million, will be fully expended by next
fiscal year," Reitsma said. "We know of more than 50 projects of statewide
significance, some 38 farms and an untold number of projects that are slated
for future funding consideration. We cannot proceed with theses other projects
without additional support – namely that offered by the new bond measure."
Noting that Rhode Island ranks sixth in the country in terms of the rate at
which the state’s land area is being developed and that DEM has in excess of
5,500 addition acres of property under review, Almond said, "Open space
protection is increasingly a matter of now or never. It is important that we
have the funding available to protect our farms and urban greenspaces, our critical
habitats and unique vistas from development, for if we do not, that land is
forever lost," he said.
Awarded $300,000 each for various acquisitions were: The Aquidneck Island Land
Trust for development rights to 53 acres along Wyatt Road in Middletown; the
Town of Barrington for 10 acres of land on Bostworth Street adjacent to Veterans
Park; Block Island Conservancy Inc. for 24.5 acres in New Shoreham; Town of
Bristol for 20 acres of land on Narrows Road; Town of Charlestown for 118 acres
of land on Old Coach Road abutting property owned by The Nature Conservancy;
East Greenwich for 71 acres of the Boesch Farm on South Road; Lincoln for 125
acres of land as an addition to already protected land in Lime Rock; Town of
North Kingstown to buy development rights to 127 acres of farmland at Exeter
and Indian Corner Roads as part of an effort to protect the valuable agricultural
resources in the southwest part of the town; Town of South Kingstown to buy
47 acres of land on Zinns Drive, off Route 108 in Kingston; and the City of
Warwick for the development rights to 44 acres of the Morris Farm at the southern
end of Warwick Avenue.
