Thirty acres of farm land fronting Nonquit Farm will be preserved in perpetuity, thanks to conservation easements recently executed by the Tiverton Land Trust at Arrowhead Farm and the  neighboring Movement Ground Farm.

“We are incredibly pleased to complete this phase of the Nonquit Pond Farmlands project. These were key pieces of land to conserve and keep under agricultural control,” David Elliott, of the Tiverton Land Trust, said.

The project centered on securing conservation easements on two neighboring farms of approximately 30 acres that have been continuously worked for some 250 years. The combined properties span more than 1,000 feet of frontage along Nonquit Pond and will help further protect the Nonquit Pond watershed, a unique 44-square acre watershed that helps define south Tiverton’s rural landscape.

Kohei Ishihara, who runs Movement Ground Farm, said the easements will have a lasting positive effect on the fragile area.

“No matter what we may achieve over the course of our farm’s life, whether it’s a new greenhouse or a new method of low-till crop production or even a new barn, we know that conservation of these sacred lands will most likely be our most lasting accomplishment.”

The Land Trust worked with a host of public entities to complete the transactions. The Tiverton Open Space Commission, Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management (RIDEM), and the USDA Natural Resource Conservation Service (NRCS) all contributed significantly to the project, supplementing the money the trust raised from the Tiverton community.

“The value of open space has come into sharper relief in the past two years," said DEM Director Terry Gray. "The open space investments we are announcing are for our children and the generations to come who are counting on us to be good stewards of our beautiful state.”

Arrowhead Farm is an intact farmstead dating from very early in the 19th century with an onsite farmhouse built circa 1810 and the “Cook Burying Ground”, a 19th century family graveyard. The historic value of Arrowhead Farm goes beyond that of the farmhouse and graveyard. In 1984, when The Public Archaeology Laboratory conducted an extensive survey of the property, a collection of 718 artifacts were found, including shell middens, bone fragments and chipping debris, showing human occupation on the land for the last 4,000 to 5,000 years.

Arrowhead Farm's David Brower said he agrees with Ishihara's view on the easements' long-term implications.

"The Brower family has enjoyed the open space of this farmland for over 60 years. We are appreciative of the efforts to ensure its continued open space status for generations to come."