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News Release RI Department of Environmental Management 235 Promenade Street, Providence, RI 02908 (401) 222-2771 TDD/(401) 222-4462
DEM ANNOUNCES BORDERS PROPERTY PURCHASE IN FOSTER PROVIDENCE -- Department of Environmental Management Acting Director Frederick Vincent today joined representatives from the Rhode Island Agricultural Land Preservation Commission, US Department of Agriculture - Natural Resources Conservation Service, and The Nature Conservancy to announce the acquisition of the 197-acre Borders property in Foster. The Rhode Island Agricultural Land Preservation Commission has acquired the development rights to the actively farmed property, which will be used for open space and agricultural purposes."Protection of the development rights to the Borders property will ensure continued agricultural use of this prime farmland and the protection of an important scenic vista in the Town of Foster," said DEM Acting Director Frederick Vincent. "The preservation of this historic farm provides fertile soils for today's and tomorrow's farmers and also protects important wildlife habitat and open space." Director Vincent noted that Borders is the 56th farm that the state has protected through the efforts of the RI Agricultural Land Preservation Commission and a multitude of partnering agencies. Including the Borders acquisition, 4,254 acres of farmland have been preserved since 1985 through the state farmland protection program. Located near the Scituate Reservoir, the Borders property is an historic farm that is part of a grant of land from the King of England. The farm's approximately 200 acres include cropland and woodland, stretching almost half a mile on both sides of North Road. The farm supports a herd of beef cows and contains many acres of pasture and hay lands. The handsome farmhouse was built in the early 19th century by the Phillips family, and has spectacular views over the rolling hills to the East. The farm was the site of reintroduction of wild turkeys to Rhode Island in the 1980s, and provides forest and meadow habitats for many common and rare species including gray and red foxes, raccoons, deer, otters and fishers. Charles M. Borders has lived on and worked his North Road dairy farm since he was born almost 80 years ago. Charles and his late wife, Margery Pickett Borders, former Foster Town Clerk and Town Council President, had hoped that their farm could be preserved for future generations to enjoy. To realize that goal, Mr. Borders donated his farm to a nonprofit organization, Borders Farm Preservation, Inc. Proceeds from the sale of the development rights to the farm will provide an endowment to maintain the land as farmland. Mr. Borders will have life tenancy on the farm, after which the property will become an interactive museum of 20th Century New England farming and a community farming, gardening, educational, and recreational resource. "The Natural Resources Conservation Service is very pleased to partner with the Rhode Island Agricultural Land Preservation Commission, The Nature Conservancy, and the Champlin Foundations to preserve Borders Farm in Foster," said Judith M. Doerner, state conservationist from the US Department of Agriculture. "The purchase of the development rights for this parcel will help to ensure the continued protection of Rhode Island's agricultural and natural landscapes for present and future generations to come. This caps a very successful year for agricultural land preservation efforts in Rhode Island, where over 300 acres of agricultural land have been approved for funding with the USDA Farm and Ranch Lands Protection Program." "The preservation of the Borders Farm is the result of the unique public-private partnership of The Nature Conservancy, DEM, The Champlin Foundations, and the USDA. Protecting Rhode Island's farms is an ongoing goal of this partnership, and The Conservancy is delighted to participate," said Kathleen Wainwright, Director of Conservation Programs for The Nature Conservancy. The total purchase price for the property was $550,000, with $44,300 from the Rhode Island Agricultural Land Preservation Commission; $250,000 from The Nature Conservancy, through a generous grant from The Champlin Foundations; and $255,700 in federal funding from the US Department of Agriculture - Natural Resources Conservation Services, through a grant to the Agricultural Land Preservation Commission. -30- |
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