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| Not the Burrillville Open Space |
July 2, 2012 - The state Department of Environmental Management (DEM) has acquired 189 acres from the Boy Scouts of Rhode Island on a parcel in Burrillville that is adjacent to more than 7,000 acres of state-preserved land.
The property is considered among the highest priority conservation parcels in the state, according to the DEM, and the high concentration of protected land in the area allows for increased habitat protection with minimal disturbance.
Preservation of the property strongly aligns with the state’s comprehensive wildlife conservation strategy.
The state’s contribution to this conservation project from voter approved bond funds accounted for less than 10 percent of the total purchase price. The total cost of the acquisition was $900,000. DEM provided $83,000 from state Open Space Bond funds, $367,000 was provided by a federal wildlife incentive grant from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and $450,000 came from grant funds provided by The Nature Conservancy and The Champlin Foundations.
In March the DEM bought 84 acres in Richmond and we wrote an article contrasting that to the proposed YMCA land purchase deal here in Charlestown.
As we did in our March article, let’s see how this deal compares with Charlestown’s YMCA proposal.
Burrillville acquisition
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Charlestown’s Y-Gate
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Size of acquisition – 189 acres
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27.5 acres
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Acquisition cost: $900,000
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$600,000 plus cleanup
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Basis for cost: open space bought at an open space price
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Trashed-out Y-camp zoned as open space-rec, but priced as if it was a residential development
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Source of money: federal, state and non-profits (non-profits that had no interest in the YMCA land)
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Town of
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Cost per acre: $4,762
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$21,818 plus cleanup
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Condition of property: pristine
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Trashed out campground, derelict buildings, old septic systems, cracked asphalt, etc.
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Ownership & management: State of
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Access: unlimited
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Likely by appointment only
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Water access: Brook
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Pond
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Is the land really open space? Yep, no question
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The Charlestown Conservation Commission says it isn’t
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Complete DEM press release on the Burrillville purchase is available here.
A tip of the hat to ecori.org for publishing the press release which brought this to our attention.
