Governor McKee’s Proposed Budget Has No Money For Land Conservation

For many election cycles, Rhode Island has had a Green Bond, and that bond question has always had money for open space purchases, forest conservation, or farmland protection.

This year’s state Green Bond has no funding for:

• the State Open Space program;
• the Local Open Space grant program;
• Farmland Protection;
• or Forest Conservation.

Charlestown voters typically support these bond questions with 60 to 70% voting “Yes”. And a fair share of the state open space money has been spent in Charlestown.

Money from these state bond questions was used to provide large percentages of the acquisition costs of the Patricia Sprague Forest Preserve, Tucker Woods Preserve, Great Swamp Wildlife Management Area, South Farm Preserve, School House Pond Preserve, Burlingame Park & Management Area, and many other parcels in Charlestown. Check out our Guide to Charlestown Open Space for descriptions of these preserves.

Charlestown most recently received $400,000.00 from the state Open Space grant program towards the purchase of 100 acres of forestland in northern Charlestown that contains an important wetland and wildlife complex that surrounds Saw Mill Pond. That grant was declined by members of the current Town Council, but the state transferred the grant award to the Charlestown Land Trust which is still pursuing that land protection project.

Despite the current Town Council’s block on exceptional land conservation projects, state open space grant money can still be awarded to the land trust for land conservation or used by the state to expand Burlingame or other state wildlife management areas. And Charlestown may not always have a Town Council that refuses to accept state grant money to protect large parcels that protect drinking water, wildlife, and hiking trails.

Money from the state Green Bond could continue to be important for Charlestown’s environment, but if the budget works its way through the State Legislature without changes to add funds for land and water conservation, it will be very difficult to continue to protect Charlestown’s beautiful natural resources.

Please contact your state legislators and let them know that you are concerned about the lack of land and water conservation funding in the Green Bond.

Charlestown’s State Representative
Tina Spears – rep-​​spears@rilegislature.gov

Charlestown’s State Senators
Victoria Gu – sen-gu@rilegislature.gov
Elaine Morgan – sen-morgan@rilegislature.gov

For other towns, you can find your legislators at the Voter Information Center.

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The banner image is a photo of a trail in the Patricia Sprague Forest Preserve in Charlestown.