Nature Conservancy Acquires Land In Town

The Nature Conservancy in Rhode Island recently purchased 42.6-acre piece of land from the Whale Rock Land Company in Narragansett, and another 47 acres may not be far behind.

The portion of land is a green headland across the mouth of the Narrow River and can be seen from the Narragansett Town Beach. According to Kathleen Wainright, land protection manager at the Nature Conservancy of Rhode Island they are going to be working with the town of Narragansett and their partners to make the property accessible to the public in certain areas. Besides hopefully offering public access to the portion of the land that is a cobble beach, there will be a parking lot and trails to get down to the beach area.

Because some parts of it are wetlands, they have to wait to get wetland permits before anything can be done to the property. According to Wainright, they might have to build some bridges over certain portions of the property, so as to not destroy the habitat and vegetation. 

According to the Nature Conservancy, the freshwater wetlands and shrub lands that are apart of the property yield much-needed habitat and shelter for migratory songbirds as they fly north across Block Island Sound.

“We are so pleased to have conserved this important property,” said Terry Sullivan, Rhode Island Nature Conservancy state director. “The coastal areas of Rhode Island define what we are as a state. Protecting our coastlines through land conservation ensures that our coastal waters will stay clean and healthy.”