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News Release RI Department of Environmental Management 235 Promenade St., Providence, RI 02908 (401) 222-2771 TDD/(401) 222-4462
DEM PERMANENTLY PROTECTS 44 ACRES OF SCITUATE FORESTLAND PROVIDENCE - The Department of Environmental Management has announced the permanent protection of 44 acres of forestland in Scituate with the purchase of a conservation easement through the Forest Legacy Program. The $218,000 purchase was funded by a grant from the U.S. Forest Service.The property, located on Central Pike, is owned by Steven Thomas of Scituate, who has managed the forest resource for more than 20 years. Mr. Thomas selectively harvests timber, fuelwood, and alternative forest products such as witch hazel, and will continue to do so following the recommendations of a written forest management plan. Because the easement will help protect Cork Brook, a tributary stream of the Scituate Reservoir, the Providence Water Supply Board has paid for the cost of the plan. The goal of the Forest Legacy Program is to promote and protect traditional forest values and uses by preventing the conversion of forestland to non-forest uses. Under the program significant forest areas have been identified for protection. Periodically DEM announces a new application period for landowners interested in selling a conservation easement to the state to protect their land from conversion. Competition for the limited funding is keen. The next application announcement is expected in December. DEM's Division of Forest Environment administers Rhode Island's Forest Legacy Program. According to Division Chief Thomas Dupree, managed forests face the same development pressures as agricultural lands and are of vital significance for green space and wildlife habitats, and also to the economy. Small forest and wood-related businesses contribute over $120 million a year to the state's economy. The most common threats to managed forests are from direct development or through fragmentation of ownership of large forested parcels into smaller parcels, reducing the likelihood of proper forest stewardship. More than half the state is considered significantly fragmented forestland, primarily in the form of small privately owned parcels. To date, DEM and its conservation partners have spent $1.5 million of grant monies from the US Forest Service to conserve 656 acres of significant forestland in Rhode Island. Three pending acquisitions will bring that total to $2.09 million for the protection of 1,544 forested acres threatened with conversion. DEM is also seeking $1.18 million more in funding from the Forest Service to protect an additional 636 acres. -30- |
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