Bonnie Van Slyke’s Comments At Grand Opening Of The Patricia Sprague Forest Preserve

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Bonnie Van Slyke is a member of the Charlestown Town Council and also serves as the Town Council Liaison to the Planning and Recreation Commissions. Bonnie spoke these remarks at the August 26th grand opening of the Patricia Sprague Forest Preserve.


I’m Bonnie Van Slyke, a member of the Charlestown Town Council. What a glorious day!

Some thank you’s are in order. Thanks to Grace Klinger and the members of the Conservation Commission and the Friends of Conservation for their hard work—some in oppressive summer heat—to bring back old trails and install a new trail and kiosk. The Preserve is one of six town-owned properties that the Conservation Commission cares for very, very well. We are grateful.

Patricia Sprague was devoted to conservation. Thank you to her sons, Mark and Peter, for honoring her devotion to conservation by agreeing to sell this beautiful property for preservation and the creation of a permanent legacy to their mother.

This Preserve is also a testament to hard work and collaboration. Thank you to Karen Jarret, President of the Charlestown Land Trust, and the Chair of the Planning Commission, Ruth Platner, for recognizing the value of this property. Thanks to the Charlestown Land Trust for working with the owners, for applying to the RI Department of Environmental Management for a Natural Heritage Grant, and for arranging the partnership with the Town. Thank you to the DEM for agreeing that this property is indeed very special and awarding a grant for approximately $260,000 toward its purchase.

The Town supplied the balance, a little over $340,000, to purchase the property. The town now owns the Preserve, and it will be protected in perpetuity (which Karen Jarret emphasizes means “forever”!) because the DEM and the CLT hold a joint conservation easement.

The Preserve has approximately 1600 feet of frontage on a pristine section of the Pawcatuck River, hopefully soon to be designated by the US Congress as a Wild and Scenic River.

Here are a floodplain forest, vernal pools, fields, and unique glacial features. The river, wetlands, fields, and undeveloped uplands protect water quality and important habitat, including many rare plants and animals. It provides a frame for the historic village of Carolina, which is on the National Register of Historic Places.

The Preserve joins other protected land that contains a diversity of natural resources featuring the area’s dramatic geological history and many unique ecological communities. Besides protecting groundwater and wildlife habitat, these natural areas, and the Preserve, provide some of the best hiking, hunting, fishing, swimming and boating opportunities in Rhode Island.

The deep green forest and cool blue water of the Pawcatuck River have been described by the Chair of the Planning Commission as Charlestown’s emerald and sapphire crown, and indeed this Preserve is one of the jewels in that crown.

This is a happy day. Thank you all!

Bonnie Van Slyke

You can learn more about Bonnie at her profile page.

You can learn more about the Patricia Sprague Forest Preserve at our Guide to Public Recreation/Conservation Areas in Charlestown

Click on any photo below to start a slideshow of the opening ceremony