Former Girl Scout Camp in NK Will be Preserved Forever

A swath of 161 acres of land off Boston Neck Road that touches Narrow River and was once the stomping grounds for Girl Scouts at the former Camp Nokewa will be preserved in perpituity.

The Nature Conservancy announced Friday that it has purchased the land from the Girl Scouts of Southern New England for $760,000 with funding provided by The Champlin Foundations.

It’s the largest Nature Conservancy land acquisition in the delicate Narrow River watershed and sits between Casey Farm and the Narrow River Land Trust’s Benson Property.

Combined, the area now forms a 700 acre haven from development and offers an opportunity for further habitat restoration on a stunning sliver of land in North Kingstown that is bordered by both Narrow River and Narragansett Bay’s West Passage.

“The Nature Conservancy’s work on the Narrow River – from the headwaters at Gilbert Stuart to the mouth at Whale Rock – is a great example our approach to conservation all over Rhode Island and around the world,” said Terry Sullivan, State Director of The Nature Conservancy in Rhode Island. We are integrating our traditional mission of land protection with the best available coastal science. That gives us a complete picture of how the ecosystem is functioning and allows us to be strategic in deciding where to allocate scarce resources.”

Historic cart paths on the property will be used to establish a hiking trail system. Access will be from Boston Neck and Snuff Mill Roads.

The area is located in a complex and vibrant but threatened coastal estuary. The Narrow River, along with Gilbert Stuart Brook and other headwater streams are top priorities for protection in the northeast, the Nature Conservancy said in a news release.

Hundreds of thousands of river herring swim past the Girl Scouts property in one of the most productive herring runs in Rhode Island.

The Champlin Foundation and the Nature Conservancy helped the state Department of Enviornmental Management buy Camp Nokewa from the Girl Scouts in 2010.

Friday’s announcement that the land will be preserved forever is just the latest in a long line of preservation acquisitions and easements.

Located just upstream, it’s now known as the Nokewa Management Area and protects Carrs Pond, where the herring go to spawn.

In the stretch of Narrow River that runs between Middlebridge and Pettaquamscutt Cove, the Nature Conservancy is evaluating different methods to reduce saltmarsh erosion at the John H. Chafee National Wildlife Refuge in cooperation with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

Also, Whale Rock Preserve, located at the mouth of Narrow River, has recently opened where it enters Narragansett Bay. The public can now enjoy a half-mile hiking trail that offers public access to the shore for fishing or just to marvel at the splendor of the river, which was carved by glaciers eons ago.

Another benefit to the land being preserved is that it will reduce the amount of nutrients entering the watershed from human development. More natural habitat means less chemicals and pesticides and more native plants and animals to join the neighborhood.