The Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management has completed its largest conservation purchase in a decade, preserving nearly 1,000 acres in the northwest corner of the state.
The 942 acres of forested land in Burrillville is one of the last large undeveloped parcels remaining in the state, and Rhode Island DEM officials said it will be used for public recreation.
Officials said the conservation of this unusually large property for Rhode Island provides critical connectivity between the more than 4,000-acre George Washington Management Area and Pulaski State Park to the south, the 2,220-acre Buck Hill Management Area to the north, a large tract of conservation land in Connecticut to the west, and the Douglas State Forest to the north in Massachusetts, resulting in a total contiguous protected area of more than 13,000 acres.
The Buck Hill property formerly belonged to the Rhode Island Boy Scouts. The Rhode Island DEM received a $1.2 million grant from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service through the Wildlife Restoration Program and a $301,250 award from the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation through Walmart’s Acres for America Program to complete the purchase.
The Boy Scouts will retain approximately 200 acres of land on the northern side of Wakefield Pond for continued scout use as a weekend camp.
Officials said the newly-protected property consists of high-quality forested upland, mostly oak and maple, and an important cedar swamp.
The property will be incorporated into Buck Hill Management Area and will be managed by DEM’s Division of Fish & Wildlife for outdoor recreation.
The site will be open to the public, but 140 acres of the property on Buck Hill Road will be temporarily closed to public access for site improvements. The remainder of the property can be accessed from George Washington Management Area.
