Middletown, RI. – October 20, 2021 – On Wednesday, October 27th, the Aquidneck Land Trust’s Oakland Forest in Portsmouth will be formally inducted into the national Old-Growth Forest Network. Sarah RobbGrieco, Northeast Regional Manager for the Old-Growth Forest Network, will present a plaque to ALT Executive Director Chuck Allott to celebrate the dedication of the forest.

Oakland Forest includes a regionally ecologically unique old-growth American beech forest, with trees estimated to be between 200 and 300 years based on tree coring done in 2000. It was conserved by ALT with the support of the community in 2000. In addition to beech, the forest includes old growth tree forms of other species including white oak and red maple. The property was once part of a ‘gentleman’s farm’ owned by the Vanderbilt family in the 1800 and 1900s. There is a row of 100-year-old rhododendrons running through the forested part of the old estate. The property includes a short 0.6-mile loop trail that traverses a 10-acre meadow and 20 acres of the old-growth beech forest. More information on the trail rules and other ALT trails can be found on their website: www.ailt.org.

“The story of Oakland Forest is a true grassroots conservation success story and one of the first properties ALT worked to save over 20 years ago,” said ALT Conservation Director Alex Chuman. “Once slated for development into condominiums, ALT worked with the community to purchase the land to forever protect this unique resource. It is a truly special thing to have an old-growth forest here on Aquidneck Island, one that is now recognized to be part of a national network.”

The mission of the Old-Growth Forest Network (OGFN) is to connect people with nature by creating a national network of protected, mature, publicly accessible, native forests. The organization’s goal is to preserve at least one forest in every county in the United States that can sustain a forest, estimated to be 2,370 out of a total of 3,140 counties. OGFN’s program works to identify forests for the Network, ensure their protection from logging, and connect people to these properties to experience old-growth forests. OGFN also educates about the extraordinary ecological and human wellness benefits of old-growth forests, and speaks out regarding immediate threats to specific ancient forests.

Founded in 2012, OGFN has over 145 forests in 27 states currently in the Network. Oakland Forest will be the first Rhode Island forest to join the Old-Growth Forest Network. It will join other northeast forests such as Mohawk Trail State Forest in Franklin County, MA, Belden Forest in Hartford County, CT and Zoar Valley Unique Area in Cattaraugus County, NY. The full list of forests in the Network may be viewed at www.oldgrowthforest.net.

Sarah RobbGrieco, OGFN’s Northeast Regional Manager, states, “We are thrilled to be welcoming this beautiful and important forest to the Network as the forest representative for Newport County and our first Rhode Island forest. We applaud Aquidneck Land Trust for their work in preserving this special forest for generations to come.”

OGFN depends on a volunteer in each U.S. county to help identify and induct forests into the Network. Nathan Cornell of Warwick and Rachel Briggs of Chepachet are volunteer supporters of the Old Growth Forest Network and are County Coordinators for Newport County. Interested volunteers are welcome to contact OGFN through www.oldgrowthforest.net.

Contact:
ALT: Gretchen Markert, Communications Manager, 401-849-2799, ext. 13, gmarkert@ailt.org
Old-Growth Forest Network: Sarah RobbGrieco, Northeast Regional Manager, 978-807-7409, sarahrg@oldgrowthforest.net

About the Aquidneck Land Trust: Aquidneck Land Trust’s time-sensitive mission is to preserve and steward Aquidneck Island’s open spaces for the lasting benefit of the community. The organization has conserved 2,641.11 acres on 85 properties across Aquidneck Island since its founding in 1990. ALT is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization and the first land trust in Rhode Island to have received national accreditation.

For more information, visit www.ailt.org.
790 Aquidneck Avenue | Middletown, RI 02842| 401.849.2799 | www.ailt.org

Middletown, RI. – July 22, 2021 – Aquidneck Land Trust (“ALT”) announces a land campaign to conserve two properties in Portsmouth. The properties total 27.4 acres and have important conservation values, including farmland, forestland, wildlife habitat, and scenic vistas. ALT has raised a significant portion of the $1.44 million needed to conserve the properties but must raise the final $150,000 by December, 2021, to permanently protect them from development.

The first property, known as Rego Farmland, is a 12-acre active hayfield with 100% prime soil. It is approximately .5 miles north of Glen Road and is one of several farmland parcels that provide scenic views along East Main Road. It is within the ALT Sakonnet Greenway habitat corridor, an area that includes 40 properties already protected by ALT. The corridor covers 1,365 acres of land on the east side of Aquidneck Island. ALT plans to purchase the land outright and continue to lease it for farming.

The second property, known as Jones Preserve, is a 15.38-acre site situated within a 92-acre tract of forestland. It is approximately .5 north of Bramans Lane and is contiguous to other ALT-conserved land. Like the Rego property, it is also located within the Sakonnet Greenway habitat corridor. The property serves as habitat for resident and migratory birds, raptors, and small mammals. Aside from one new home site that will be allowed to be built on site in a half-acre outzone, the land will be managed as a combination of wildlife habitat and farmland protected under a conservation easement.

“This is a tremendous opportunity to conserve two very important properties on Aquidneck Island,” said Chuck Allott, ALT Executive Director. “We are grateful to the property owners for agreeing to conserve their land, and we are thrilled to extend the acreage in the Sakonnet Greenway habitat corridor. The contiguous wildlife habitat, prime farmland, and scenic viewscapes are irreplaceable.”

More information on the properties is available on the ALT website, www.ailt.org.

Middletown, RI. – May 20, 2021 – Aquidneck Land Trust (“ALT”) announces the opening of a new 165-foot boardwalk at its Little Creek Preserve property on Bramans Lane in Portsmouth. The boardwalk is one of many improvements made to the 15+-acre site, which was conserved by ALT in 2018. The boardwalk terminates in an 8’x16’ viewing platform over a marsh. The property features picnic tables, benches, and a half-mile loop trail that links to the Sakonnet Greenway Trail, a 10-mile nature trail through ALT-conserved properties stretching from Linden Land in Portsmouth to Wyatt Road in Middletown.

“The boardwalk is a terrific addition to this beautiful property,” said Chuck Allott, Executive Director of ALT. “We are very grateful to the hundreds of donors who contributed both to its purchase and, later, to the improvement fund. We thank the Bafflin Foundation and the Betty Byrne de Zahara Charitable Fund for their generosity as well, and invite everyone to enjoy the results of this community-supported project.” The boardwalk was built by JAM Construction and designed by Narragansett Engineering.

Little Creek Preserve is home to the headwaters of Little Creek and is bordered by three other ALT-protected open spaces. Formerly part of a dairy farm, it is now conserved in perpetuity as a public open space and wildlife refuge. The mix of meadow, upland scrub-shrub, marsh, forested wetlands, vernal pools, and riparian areas around Little Creek provide habitat for a range of amphibian, mammalian, and avian species. The property is a great spot for birding and is free and open to the public daily, from dawn until dusk.