Land & Water Projects - Aquidneck Island Land Trust

Land Projects

Park Highlight

The Carol C. Ballard Park and Wildlife Preserve

The Carol C. Ballard Park & Wildlife Preserve is a 75-acre wild and natural open space. The 17-acre park portion has ample opportunities for passive recreation on 1.25 miles of hiking trails. It offers scenic vistas, a mix of habitats supporting a diversity of wildlife species, and trails that vary between wetland boardwalks and rocky ridges. The 58-acre wildlife preserve surrounding Gooseneck Cove does not offer direct public access but its beauty and wildlife can be fully enjoyed from Hazard Road, particularly during the winter when the roadway is closed to vehicles.

CONSERVATION:

Ballard Park as you see it today exists due to the generosity of the Ballard Family. In 1990, Carol C. Ballard donated 13 acres of the park to the City of Newport under terms that it be used for passive recreational and park use, and at the same time, sold an adjacent 58 acres to the City of Newport (now known as Gooseneck Cove) for use as wildlife habitat. The Aquidneck Island Land Trust worked with the City to place a permanent conservation easement on the 58-acre Gooseneck Cove property in 2007. From 1996 to 2018, a non-profit called the Friends of Ballard Park worked in partnership with the City of Newport to maintain and manage the park for public use. In 2021, the Ballard Family donated a neighboring 3.67-acre parcel to be combined into the park property, an endowment was created to help take care of the park, and the Aquidneck Island Land Trust acquired a conservation easement on the entirety of the park, formally creating the Carol C. Ballard Wildlife Preserve and Park in perpetuity. Today, the City of Newport maintains and manages the park.

HISTORY:

The park was the site of granite quarries between 1830-1936, the remnants of which can be clearly seen along the trails. The quarries produced road paving and building materials, including stone sent to a number of Newport estates. The site was part of John Alfred Hazard’s ‘Rocky Farm,’ bequeathed to Newport Hospital in 1880, subdivided and repeatedly sold. The areas to the north outside the quarry closer to present day Wickham Road was used for agriculture and pasture until the 1950s. In 1981 the Ballard Family purchased the property.

In calendar year 2024 the Land Trust conserved 3 new properties and opened a new trail segment.

1. Greenvale Vineyards

Greenvale VineyardsAt the end of 2024, the Land Trust worked with the State of Rhode Island’s Agricultural Land Preservation Commission and landowners Bill and Nancy Wilson to conserve a 13-acre portion of the vineyard off Wapping Road in Portsmouth. The USDA’s Natural Resource Conservation Service also contributed a significant grant to the easement. The land has been working farmland for generations and is connected to other conservation properties, adding onto the protected corridor of lands on the eastern side of Aquidneck Island, known as the Sakonnet Greenway.

2. Spring Park

Spring ParkThe Land Trust partnered with the Spring Park Committee, City of Newport, and Church Community Housing on Newport’s newest park, Spring Park, permanently protecting the historic site. Once a gas station, the park is now a gathering place that celebrates the city’s history and religious freedom.

3. Paquins Lane Farmland

Paquins Lane FarmlandWhen 25 acres of Lacerda Farm was about to go on the market off Paquins Lane in Portsmouth, the Land Trust partnered with neighbor Paul Zurlo to conserve the farm. The land, located in the St. Mary’s Pond watershed will be farmed sustainably with rotational grazing of grass-fed cattle by Slate Hill Cattle Company.

4. Glen Farm Stables Trail

Glen Farm Stables TrailThe Land Trust completed the Glen Farm Stables and Pasture Trail at the end of 2024, adding another mile to the end of the Sakonnet Greenway Trail, now the longest trail on the island at 12 miles. The new trail, completed in partnership with the Town of Portsmouth, has beautiful views of historic Glen Farm Stables.

Water Projects

The Land Trust works with the municipalities, local non-profits, and the community to protect our water resources. Project focuses include protection and restoration of land and riparian buffers in our watersheds, construction of green infrastructure to address stormwater run-off, and community outreach. Recent projects include:

1. Constructed Wetlands at Oakland Forest and Meadow

Oakland Forest PreserveTwo Wet Vegetated Treatment Systems were installed along the edge of the meadow at the Land Trust’s Oakland Forest Preserve. These human-made wetlands filter stormwater run-off coming from neighboring subdivisions before entering St. Mary’s Pond, one of our drinking supply reservoirs. This project was completed as part of the Island Waters partnership.

2. Almy Pond Watershed Restoration

Almy Pond Many organizations, as part of the Almy Pond Watershed Protectors, are working to improve water quality in Almy Pond, one of the most polluted bodies in the state. The City of Newport recently removed pavement alongside Land Trust conserved land on Sprouting Rock Drive and restored the area to meadow. Partners are exploring more green infrastructure projects and holding community meetings to discuss solutions to improve water quality in the pond.