ALT ANNOUNCES CAMPAIGN TO CONSERVE PORTION OF GLEN FARM

Middletown, RI. – March 4, 2020 – Aquidneck Land Trust (“ALT”) has announced a campaign to conserve 7.5-acres of the historic Glen Farm in Portsmouth. The property has significant conservation values and could be developed into as many as eight house lots. The land trust has raised $213,000 of the $472,000 needed to preserve the land, which abuts the Glen Farm Stables near the intersection of Glen Road and Glen Farm Road.

“We have a tremendous opportunity to permanently protect this beautiful piece of farmland,” said Chuck Allott, Executive Director of ALT. “This land is part of the iconic view corridor, looking from East Main Road to the Sakonnet River. It has valuable wildlife habitat and was once part of the vast Taylor estate, which spanned 500 acres and dates back to 1882. We are thrilled to have the chance to conserve it.”

The property is contiguous to a creek that drains into the Sakonnet River, just 500 feet north of Sandy Point Beach, a popular public beach. Development on the property could pollute the creek with fertilizers, pesticides, and other contaminants, potentially impairing the beach. If conserved, the land will continue to be sustainably managed as an essential grazing paddock for horses from the adjacent Glen Farm Stables, and will offer the public a short walking path around the perimeter of the pasture.

The Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management (“RIDEM”) awarded a $200,000 grant to ALT last week for the campaign, and a generous gift was also received from The Betty Byrne de Zahara 1997 Charitable Trust. The land trust has until May 2021 to raise the remaining $259,000 needed to conserve the property.