Saving Tiverton's high ground

Grants enable purchase of over 100 Pocasset Ridge acres

By Bruce Burdett
Posted 2/15/18

TIVERTON — The growing Pocasset Ridge collection of saved woodlands in the Tiverton ‘high country’ has expanded by another hundred acres and now covers over 500 acres of uninterrupted forest …

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Saving Tiverton's high ground

Grants enable purchase of over 100 Pocasset Ridge acres

Posted

TIVERTON — The growing Pocasset Ridge collection of saved woodlands in the Tiverton ‘high country’ has expanded by another hundred acres and now covers over 500 acres of uninterrupted forest within a mile of the Sakonnet River.

The state Department of Environmental Management announced late last week a pair of grants that together will be used by the Tiverton Land Trust to save two large pieces of that land.

•  A $137,000 grant is being used to acquire 42 acres from the John Manchester family. The Tiverton Land Trust, the Town of Tiverton, The Nature Conservancy and the Tiverton Open Space and Land Preservation Commission have worked to conserve this area for several decades with the funding support of the Open Space Grant program, the state said. The property consists of a variety of forested habitats in excellent condition and will provide additional public recreational opportunities,” DEM said. The Land Trust is working to raise more money to complete the purchase.

• $96,600 will pay for 60 acres owned by the Matta family (the “F&J” land — Frank and Joe). The land is nearly adjacent to the Manchester property.

Eric Watne, president of the Tiverton Land Trust said the goal of the joint effort has been to “establish continuous forest space” through that part of town — it’s already the biggest in the East Bay.

“The area exhibits a wonderful variety of habitats resulting from the juxtaposition of swamps, brooks, upland forest, barren ridge, exposed bedrock and scattered concentrations of glacial debris,” Mr. Watne said. 

John Berg, Sakonnet landscape manager for the Nature Conservancy, called it an exciting addition to the extraordinary and growing Pocasset Ridge collection of properties which opened late in 2017.

Driving down Main Road, the ridge is the high ground visible off to the east (left) in the vicinity of the old WLNE TV tower and runs from near Weetamoo Woods and the Pardon Gray land on toward the north.

“This new addition helps fill in a gap in the land that had already been acquired,” Mr. Berg said. “It adds to the puzzle.”

“To be able to walk three miles through forest land without interruption by roads or houses in this part of the world is pretty special,” Mr. Berg said.

Although it is entirely wooded, existing trails along the ridge line lead to a few spots that open to amazing views. One, atop a 90-foot cliff, looks out over Nannaquaket Pond to Portsmouth; another cliff looks northwest to Bristol.

Since much of the land was too steep for agriculture, little of it was ever cleared for farming so trees here are fairly old growth “by the standards of this area,” although the area was logged from time to time.

“There are lots of oak and beech trees and some amazing small plants” — he said he was happily surprised to discover trailing arbutus — “a little punch that packs a big punch,” a beautiful smell from quite a distance.

Although trails lead through parts of the other Pocasset Ridge properties, trails have not yet been cut within these two latest acquisitions.

The Land Trust intends to study the properties in more detail before any such work is done to balance the goals of protecting a wild place and allowing the public to enjoy the land. Mr. Watne said the land is accessible for now via a new access point opened recently off Main Road where the town maintains a storage shed — close to where Punkateest Neck Road merges with Main Road.

“We are currently working to have GPS mapping available that can be accessed remotely however maps are accessible from our website,” he added.

There are no houses or other buildings on the land but probably are remnants from long-ago inhabitants, Mr. Berg said — things like stone walls, small cellar holes and Native American relics.

The Tiverton land groups expressed appreciation to the DEM whose open space grants have funded a considerable part of the Pocasset Ridge effort. Of the roughly $3.5 million spent so far, over a third has come through DEM’s bond issues backed by the state’s voters. The rest came from the land preservation groups, the town, foundations and private gifts.

“If this fund had not been available to our organizations in the past, I am 100 pecen certain the conservation area at Pocasset Ridge would not exist, now,” he said.

“I’m glad we got started on this when we did,” Mr. Berg said, since getting the needed funds at a time of rising land prices is a challenge.

Also sharing some of the $3.75 million handed out by DEM was the Aquidneck Land Trust — $151,500 to acquire 15.6 acres from the Silvia family at the headwaters of Little Creek in Portsmouth, which drains to the Sakonnet River. The parcel is adjacent to the Aquidneck Land Trust’s 10-mile Sakonnet Greenway Trail and will provide an opportunity to reroute the trail onto the property and create a trailside park for passive recreation. The property also contains important wetland and early successional habitats. space, improving recreational facilities, and cleaning up lands and waters. 

"Rhode Island’s unparalleled natural beauty and wealth of green spaces are at the heart of what attracts people and businesses to locate here,” said Governor Gina Raimondo at Friday’s announcement.  “The grants we are awarding today – and the Green Economy and Clean Water Bond included in my budget – will help us preserve and protect precious open space and farmland.  These are smart investments that will benefit Rhode Island’s economy, communities, and families for generations to come.”

“The open space grants being awarded today will contribute to the conservation of an incredible array of properties that delight families and support wildlife,” said DEM Director Janet Coit.  “This year, the grant criteria also included a category aimed at planning for impacts of climate change. “

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