Trails and Stewardship
A new boardwalk on the Sakonnet Greenway Trail
The Aquidneck Island Land Trust unveiled the newly rebuilt Maya L. Auchincloss Boardwalk on the Sakonnet Greenway Trail between Sandy Point Avenue and Bramans Lane in Portsmouth. The 700-foot boardwalk, now constructed with durable, low-maintenance materials, replaces an older structure that had fallen into disrepair. Funded primarily through the Estate of Maya L. Auchincloss, the gift creates a lasting legacy to her.
Stretching 11 miles through farmlands, woodlands, and wetlands, the Sakonnet Greenway Trail offers a unique glimpse of Aquidneck Island’s landscape. The first section of trail was opened in 2002, and the Land Trust has worked with property owners to add more and more miles over time, most recently with an additional mile around Glen Farm Stables. With the completion of the Maya L. Auchincloss Boardwalk, six different bridges have been replaced or built in the last few years. The Land Trust is in the process of updating kiosk and directional signage this year, and continues to work with partners, volunteers, and landowners to improve and maintain the trail.
Beechleaf Disease at Oakland Forest
Beech Leaf Disease is devastating specimen beech and beech forests across the region, including the Land Trust’s own Oakland Forest, an old-growth American Beech forest in Portsmouth. The Land Trust is excited to partner with Bartlett Tree Research Laboratories on a research study of Beech Leaf Disease treatments in a natural forest setting at Oakland Forest, as well as a forest recovery plan.
The research may save a small number of treated beech trees. And there are a number of other healthy mature tree species in the forest. However, many of the dominant beeches have already died or in the process of dying, and the forest is changing. The Land Trust will work with Bartlett in the coming years to protect existing seedlings from deer browse, re-plant native seedlings, and remove invasive species in the hopes that over time the forest will recover from the large-scale beech mortality.
