Aquidneck Land Trust’s recent conservation successes include two Portsmouth properties, described in more detail below. Hedly Street is a 9.85-acre wetlands property across from Maplewood Farm with important habitat and water resource value. Zurlo Farmland is an 11.48-acre property located near other conserved land in Portsmouth. The Land Trust has conserved properties with many types of conservation values since its founding in 1990, and we are grateful to the individuals, foundations, businesses, and municipalities for supporting our important mission. Together, we have protected 2,815.90 acres across 99 properties on Aquidneck Island!
Hedly Street
Hedly Street is a 9.85-acre wetlands property on Hedly Street in Portsmouth. The majority of the property is forested wetland dominated by red maples. There is also a section of upland forest and meadow near Hedley Street. Throughout the property, multiple tributaries meander through into Bloody Brook, which eventually empties into Narragansett Bay. The site has excellent habitat for year-round and migratory birds, raptors, amphibians, and mammals. ALT staff have documented over 100 flora and fauna species on the property. The property hosts multiple tributaries that eventually run into Narragansett Bay. Protecting this land helps protect our coastal waters downstream.
Zurlo Farmland
Zurlo Farmland is an 11.48-acre farmland property across two parcels on Moitoza Lane in Portsmouth. The land is located within the St. Mary’s Pond and Sisson Pond drinking water supply watershed, has 100% prime farmland soils and is near other conserved lands such as Wicks Nurseries, Spruce Acres Farm, and Cloverbud Ranch. The conservation easement purchased ensures the land will be protected as open space in perpetuity. After getting an appraisal for the development rights, the Land Trust and the Zurlos worked together to conserve the land; the Zurlos purchased the property in 2021 and ALT paid for a conservation easement covering both parcels in early 2023. Other than outzones around two existing houses, all of the property is now conserved. About two-thirds of the property is farmland and the remaining third is natural vegetation.
Wood Estabrook Preserve
Wood Estabrook Preserve is a 4.91-acre wetlands property on Portsmouth’s northwest shore. The property was donated to ALT by its owners, Peter S. Wood and Polly Estabrook, and is part of a larger 44-acre marsh and beach area situated between the railroad line and the bay. A CRMC-designated path runs through the site and offers public beach access and parking near Pheasant Drive. The site includes salt marsh and scrub-shrub habitat, and is visible from the path, railroad, surrounding houses, and boats out at sea. The property is strategically located should a multi-use path on the adjacent railroad line ever be created. A number of bird species have been recorded on site visits, including glossy ibis, osprey, great egret, and American black duck.
Peabody Farmland
Peabody Farmland is a 9.54-acre farmland property off of Third Beach Road in Middletown. It was conserved by Aquidneck Land Trust in 2020. The property is within the Maidford/Paradise drinking supply watershed and is located near other conserved lands, including the Arnow property, conserved in 2016, and the Norman Bird Sanctuary. It has prime farmland soils and has long been in agricultural use, most recently as a hayfield and for vegetable farming. The property owner, Forester Peabody, worked with his father, John Peabody, and the Land Trust to conserve the land prior to the elder Mr. Peabody’s death in 2022.
Jones Preserve
Jones Preserve is a 20.97-acre conserved area north of Bramans Lane in Portsmouth that was conserved in 2022. The land extends from East Main Road to the north end of Malee Terrace and is adjacent to other conserved land in the Sakonnet Greenway open space corridor. It has forested and scrub-shrub habitat and prime farm soils.The multi-party deal included two separate parcels which were sold and merged into a new parcel. The Land Trust placed a permanent conservation easement on the 20.97 acres of land, which will remain private and be used for farming and wildlife habitat. A half-acre outzone on the property will allow for a future single-family home with the remaining land in conservation.
Berry Farmland
Berry Farmland is an 8.64-acre farmland property in Middletown. It has frontage on East Main Road and is also visible looking north from Oliphant Lane, making it part of a scenic view corridor. It has USDA prime farmland soil and is within the drinking supply watershed. The Land Trust purchased the land from the Berry Family, who had previously leased it to Rhode Island Nurseries for farming. It laid fallow for several years but the Land Trust has resumed leasing it as farmland. The farm abuts other agricultural land on its southwest side, with residential areas to its north and west.
Green End Preserve
Green End Preserve is a 14.73-acre Middletown property located on Green End Avenue between Vaucluse and Howland Avenues. The property, now known as Green End Preserve, was purchased and conserved by Aquidneck Land Trust in March 2022. It features upland meadow habitat and prime soils on half of its area, and a large wetland area surrounding a portion of Little Creek. Green End Preserve is contiguous to other Land Trust-conserved land and is part of a scenic viewscape from Green End Avenue. Its upland and wetland riparian area provide habitat for foraging and nesting by birds, amphibians, insects, and mammals. Aquidneck Land Trust is grateful to the many individuals who contributed to the permanent conservation of this important property.
More Land Success Stories
Swiss Village
Swiss Village is an historic Newport property that was first developed as a sustainable farm in the early 1900s. The Swiss Village Foundation donated a conservation easement to ALT in December 2021, covering twenty-five acres of the property. ALT is grateful to the SVF for its generous donation, marking the 86th property conserved by the land trust since its founding in 1990.
Originally known as Surprise Valley Farm, or what locals labeled “Swiss Village” due to its resemblance to Switzerland, Arthur Curtiss James developed the farm in 1916. Operated since 2002 by the SVF Foundation, the property has been taken over by Ocean Hour Farm.
Rego Farmland
Rego Farmland is a 12-acre active hayfield boasting 100% prime farmland soil. ALT has purchased this property and will lease the land for farming. It is located within the ALT Sakonnet Greenway Habitat corridor as well as a large east-west open space corridor, stretching across the middle of Aquidneck Island. It is connected to other open space properties and farms, creating an invaluable habitat patch for wildlife to migrate, forage, and nest. Rego Farmland fronts East Main Road and is part of the scenic view corridor that stretches to the Sakonnet River.
Jones Preserve
Jones Preserve is a 15.38-acre site located within a rare, 92-acre tract of contiguous forested and wild land. It features successional forest and scrub-shrub habitat, with a mix of native species such as bayberry, red maple, and birch. It serves as habitat for resident and migratory birds, raptors, and small mammals. Jones Preserve is contiguous to other ALT-conserved land, and is located within the corridor of connected lands known as the Sakonnet Greenway. This corridor includes 40 properties protected by ALT and covers 1,365 acres of land on the east side of Aquidneck Island. Aside from one home site, the land will be managed as a combination of wildlife habitat and farmland.
Sweet Berry Farm
Sweet Berry Farm is a beloved destination for Islanders and visitors alike. Eighty-four acres of the farm was already under conservation easement with ALT; a recent campaign to place an additional 5.49 acres of the farm was completed in March 2021. The property is within the Maidford River/Paradise Brook drinking supply watershed, has been farmed continuously since 1939, and is a vital link in the Sakonnet Greenway wildlife habit corridor. The property will be used to grow pumpkins and strawberries. Our thanks to 270 donors, including the Town of Middletown and the Agricultural Land Preservation Commission, for their support.
Glen Farm
Glen Farm was once part of a vast, 500-acre estate in 1882. The 7.5-acre section that will soon be conserved is along Glen Farm Road, a bucolic setting popular with walkers, bikers, and horseback riders. 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 property is contiguous to a creek that drains into the Sakonnet River, just 500 feet north of Sandy Point Beach. Conserving the property will help protect the creek and the public beach.
Cushing Property
The Cushing Coleman property, located on Ocean Drive, includes the landmark geological formation known as Spouting Rock, which still explodes in high surf. It has 3,000 feet of rocky shoreline, natural vegetation, and lawn areas, jutting into the Atlantic Ocean between Bailey’s Beach and Gooseberry Beach. The property’s natural features, elevation, and topography provide unique scenic views from the east (Cliff Walk, Bailey’s/Reject’s Beach, and Ocean Avenue), the south (the public waters of Rhode Island Sound), and the west (Gooseberry Island, Ocean Avenue, Gooseberry/Hazard’s Beach, and Gooseberry Cove). In addition to the cultural and historic values that its setting provides, it offers other conservation values such as wildlife habitat and coastal water resource protection. The conservation easement on the 9.85-acre property was generously donated to ALT.
EC Properties LLC
The EC Properties LLC parcel, located on Ledge Road, has 200 feet of coastline and is visible from the publicly-accessible Cliff Walk trail. The site offers scenic views from Ocean Avenue, Bailey’s Beach, and Reject’s Beach, and to boaters and sailors passing by on the ocean. The site has typical Newport rock out-croppings, a scenic feature of the Newport Neck area, and a number of tidal pools. The conservation easement on the 3.77-acre property was generously donated to ALT.
Spruce Acres Farm, Middletown & Portsmouth, RI
In 2017, ALT purchased and conserved a 22.67-acre property known as Spruce Acres Farm. Today, this former tree farm is a treasured community asset, offering the 1.5-mile Gewirz Trail, an outdoor pavilion with picnic tables, community gardens, a pollinator garden, educational signage, and more. Spruce Acres has numerous important conservation values. It has prime farmland soil, is located within the Sisson Pond drinking supply watershed, provides wildlife habitat for various small mammals, birds, and pollinator, and is adjacent to other conserved lands. Spruce Acres is located at 1286 East Main Road in Middletown (though spans the Middletown/Portsmouth border!) and is open daily, dawn ’til dusk.
Arnow Property, Middletown, RI
The Arnow property was conserved in 2015 and is located in Middletown, near the Norman Bird Sanctuary. The 12.49-acre parcel is partially located within the Maidford River/Paradise Brook watersheds and includes prime farmland soils, wildlife habitat, and an historic barn. The property provides a scenic backdrop along Third Beach Road and is at the southern tip of the corridor of protected open space known as the Sakonnet Greenway. Howland Avenue was formerly the road to the Taggart’s Ferry Landing, a ferry line that ferried produce from Little Compton to Newport from the 1700s until 1870. The property even hosts a cricket league on one its fields.
ALT worked with Dr. Louis Arnow to permanently protect the land he had lived on for decades. “I’m glad my mission and the Land Trust’s aligned. I’ve been on this beautiful property since the late 1960s. It means a lot to me to know my property is now preserved forever,” said Louis Arnow, when the easement was final.
St. Mary’s Church, Portsmouth, RI
ALT conserved the 72.18-acre St. Mary’s Church property in 2015 after raising over $3 million from the RI Agricultural Land Preservation Commission, USDA-NRCS, the Town of Portsmouth, six foundations, and 40 individuals. The property includes approximately 50 acres of prime soil farmland and 22 acres of riparian forest along the border of St. Mary’s Pond, one of the drinking supplies on Aquidneck Island. The property provides prime farmland; protects our source water quality in the St. Mary’s Pond watershed; serves as excellent habitat for a variety of bird, small mammal, and amphibian species; offers a scenic viewscape; and preserves open space along the East Main Road corridor. ALT owns 24.7 acres of the farmland, which it currently leases as hayfields to Aquidneck Farms.