Nature Conservancy uses its big bucks to protect Moonstone property
By Nancy Lavin, Rhode Island Current
The pair of deals, announced on Monday, add 11 acres of sensitive coastal and wetland habitats to the 12,700 acres of protected open space statewide under ownership or conservation easements by The Nature Conservancy, said Tim Mooney, an organization spokesperson.
Globally, the nonprofit aims to preserve 30% of the world’s land and water, including 1.6 billion acres of land, by 2030.
That now includes a 5-acre “coastal gem” on Block Island’s Corn Neck Road, bought from private owners by The Nature Conservancy for $1 million. The purchase included a $700,000 contribution from The Block Island Land Trust and $100,000 from the Block Island Conservancy, with the remainder paid for through nonprofit donors. The marsh and pond-adjacent property features an array of wildlife, including horseshoe crabs and shoreline birds, as well as an important water source flowing into the Great Salt Pond.
“The island’s conservation community had been hoping to protect this property for more than 30 years,” Scott Comings, associate state director for The Nature Conservancy, and a Block Island resident, said in a statement.
The Nature Conservancy has also ensured protection of 6 acres of beachfront property overlooking South Kingstown’s Moonstone Beach through a donated conservation easement. The agreement maintains private ownership of the land but transfers development rights to the conservation nonprofit, ensuring the land is permanently protected. An adjacent 8-acre parcel by the same private owners has also been protected through an agreement with the South Kingstown Land Trust.
In addition to land under its ownership or easement rights, The Nature Conservancy has also helped protect another 20,000 acres of land across the state through partnerships with state and local government and nonprofit groups.
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