Apparently
the state isn’t so evil when it’s handing out money
By
Will Collette
One
thing Charlestown won’t get after it secedes from the rest of the state (no
doubt with help from our new secessionist state Representative Flip Filippi),
is money and support for projects it likes. For example, on December 8, the RI
Department of Environmental Management awarded 15 matching grants totaling $3.85
million.
Five
of those grants, totaling $1.33 million went to South County groups, including
$328,500 to the Charlestown Land Trust for a 50 acre parcel along the Pawcatuck
in Carolina.
DEM Director Janet Coit said "These grants
are an important investment in the future of our beautiful state, and represent
another milestone in our efforts to help protect and preserve Rhode Island’s
open spaces and natural heritage."
The grants provide up to 50 percent of funding,
up to a maximum of $400,000, to preserve open space lands that possess
significant natural, ecological, agricultural or scenic values, by direct
purchase or conservation easements. Special consideration was given to projects
that provide linkages between or expansion of existing preserved lands.
Here is the DEM description of the five South County projects it is funding:
CHARLESTOWN LAND
TRUST:
$328,250 to protect over 50 acres of land and nearly 4,000 feet of riverfront
along a pristine section of the Pawcatuck River in the Village of Carolina. The
project includes the purchase by the land trust of a 24-acre parcel at 425
Carolina Back Road, and the donation of development rights and a conservation
easement on a contiguous 28-acre lot at 487 Carolina Back Road.
Together, the
properties contain vernal pools, fertile meadows, open fields, forest,
spectacular views and impressive cliffs over the river. Contact person: Karen
Jarret, 742-6954.
NORTH KINGSTOWN: $124,500 to
acquire a 5.32-acre vegetated peninsula on Gilbert Stuart Road that extends into
Carr Pond. This coastal wooded habitat is extremely important to migratory
birds as well as many other species of birds and common Rhode Island mammals
including the gray squirrel, chipmunk, raccoon, and white-tailed deer.
The
property is located in an area with significant protected open space and its
acquisition fills in the last remaining gap around Carr Pond with a ring of
protected land. Contact: Planning Department, 294-3331 ext. 310.
RICHMOND RURAL
PRESERVATION LAND TRUST: $176,750 to acquire 112 acres of forestland on
Corey Trail. The property contains mature stands of oak and beech trees with
understories of high bush blueberry and other native vegetation; wetland
complexes, including forested red maple and shrub swamps; conifer stands
dominated by white pine; and stands of mountain laurel.
Almost all of the property
is part of an aquifer recharge area for the Wood River, and it also bisects a
wellhead protection area for a non-community well. The state-owned Carolina
Management Area is located 1,400 feet south of the property. Contact person:
Denise Poyer, 374-2722.
SOUTH KINGSTOWN
LAND TRUST:
$300,000 to acquire 22.7 acres of forest and open meadow on Torrey and
Middlebridge Roads within the Narrow River Watershed. The land is located in a
focus area identified by the US Fish & Wildlife Service as important for
conservation of the New England Cottontail, and it may also provide habitat for
the bald eagle, eastern box turtle, migrating warblers and other birds.
Surrounded
by a densely developed residential area, the land is contiguous (across
Middlebridge Road) to protected land owned by the Narrow River Land Trust and
its preservation will prevent the increase of surface runoff into the Narrow
River. Contact person: Joanne Riccitelli, 789-0962 ext. 2.
WESTERLY: $400,000 to
acquire a 433-acre forested parcel within a natural resource corridor that is contiguous
to active farm fields and large tracts of undeveloped woodland, including the
state’s Woody Hill Management Area. The property is comprised primarily of
mature oak and red maple forest, wetlands and small ponds, and provides
potential habitat for breeding amphibians and contiguous travel corridors for a
diversity of species including forest interior birds.
Among the species
recently identified on-site via vocalizations were the scarlet tanager,
red-eyed vireo, oven bird, eastern wood pewee and great crested flycatcher.
Contact person: Amy Grzybowski, 348-2617.
DEM received 22 applications for the current
round of grants, which were reviewed and ranked by the Natural Heritage
Preservation Advisory Committee with final awards made by the State Natural
Heritage Preservation Commission. The Commission then recommended awards to DEM
Director Janet Coit for review and approval. DEM is administering the grants.