History Of Ninigret Park – The Decision To Transfer Federal Land To A Town Park

“I am not making a decision for or against nuclear power but rather, rejecting the proposal as a use for this particular site which is rich in natural beauty and unique values as precious as energy,” wrote Paul E. Goulding in June 1979. As Acting Administrator of the General Services Administration, Goulding had the task of disposing of 604 acres on the shore of Ninigret Pond that, from 1942 until the early 1970s, had been the Charlestown Naval Auxiliary Landing Field. Goulding authorized, first, the transfer of 307 acres to the Department of Interior to be administered as a portion of the National Wildlife Refuge System. He then authorized the transfer of 60 acres to the Environmental Protection Agency and finally the transfer, if possible, of 237 acres to the town of Charlestown. Of the acreage authorized to be transferred to Charlestown, Goulding directed that it be used substantially in accordance with the town’s proposal to the GSA. Further, Goulding stated, “Such use is not to be inconsistent with the use of the other 367 acres transferred to the Department of the Interior and the Environmental Protection Agency.”

Charlestown’s request—which was Alternative No. 5 in the Federal Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS) ordered by a federal court—was for the entire 604 acres and emphasized the reuse of the property for preservation, recreation, and the provision of municipal administrative and service functions.

The town’s request was outlined in the FEIS as follows:

• 367 acres for research/preservation activities (outdoor education, wildlife sanctuary, research facility, archeological sites).
• 182 acres for recreation activities (passive forms and active forms not requiring expensive facilities or high annual management—walking trails for upland and shoreside areas, open fields for picnicking, open playing spaces for baseball, football, softball, and so forth).
• 55 acres for municipal center and municipal water systems (office space for town officials and municipal service groups in a centralized area, facilities for municipal water system).

Goulding’s decision was appealed by the New England Power Company [NEPCO] and the decision upheld.  Further discussions about the transfer to Charlestown occurred, and the property was to be transferred in two parcels.

In 1980, the Town Council was clear that it would use the land to be transferred in accordance with its application and the requirements in Goulding’s 1979 decision and that the transfer should proceed. The Council was also clear that commercial and/or industrial use of the municipal land would be in conflict with the wildlife refuge.

Regarding the 172-acre parcel, the Town Council’s letter dated February 7, 1980, to the US Fish and Wildlife Service stated that the town intends to act in accordance with the requirements in Goulding’s decision:

“We want to assure your office that we intend to act in accordance with the requirements outlined in the Goulding decision, which clearly states that the 172 acres is to provide a buffer for the Fish and Wildlife Service refuge, and is to be used for recreational purposes.”

Similarly, regarding the 55-acre parcel, the Town Council’s letter to the General Services Administration, also dated February 7, 1980, stated that Goulding’s intent for the 55 acres is clear and that commercial and/or industrial use of the municipal property is in conflict with the use of the 307 acres transferred to the Department of Interior:

“It is our feeling after consultation with our Washington attorneys who represented the Town in the NEPCO appeals process, that Goulding’s intent for the Town’s portion of the property was clearly outlined in the decision and that to challenge the decision by attempting to purchase the land for commercial and/or industrial use would put the Town in a position where the proposed use is in conflict with the uses which the Fish and Wildlife Service intends for its land.”

The 172-acre parcel was transferred to the town under the National Park Service’s Federal Lands to Parks Program at no cost.

Charlestown was allowed to purchase the 55-acre parcel for municipal use. Many wanted to build a middle school on the property. The school would have been small given that Charlestown’s total residential population in 1980 was 4,000; however, consensus could not be reached, and the property was transferred without the condition that it be used for a school.

There are those who say that it was the accident at Three Mile Island in Pennsylvania on March 28, 1979, that had driven Goulding’s decision. Goulding did note in his decision that 90% of all electric power consumed in Rhode Island at the time was generated outside the state and that a nuclear power electric generating facility would have promoted the development of regional energy self-sufficiency. However, Goulding said, “I do not, however, see the rejection of this alternative as precluding alternative solutions to this problem.” And he did not see his decision as a statement regarding technical and national energy policy.

Rather, Goulding said he made his decision based on the natural beauty and unique values of the 604 acres—natural beauty and unique values that he deemed were “as precious as energy.” Goulding stated the transfer of the acreage for a wildlife refuge would protect and maintain valuable and irreplaceable wetland ecological systems and that his decision “will enhance the wildlife management network so important to present and future generations of our citizens.”

Goulding observed that the property is situated in a unique ecological area with a long history of migratory waterfowl use on the Atlantic flyway; that it is a resource with exceptionally high value for shellfish and other wildlife; and that the southerly portion of the property contains nearly 2 miles of shoreline on Ninigret Pond, wetlands, and lands considered as waterfowl nesting cover and a buffer to protect the nesting; and that within a five-mile radius of the site there were state and privately owned wildlife management areas, which at the time included the Indian Cedar Swamp Wildlife Management Area, Burlingame State Park, Rhode Island Audubon Society’s Kimball Wildlife Refuge, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service land around Trustom Pond, the Ninigret National Wildlife Refuge, the Ninigret Conservation Area, and the Moonstone Waterfowl Refuge.

Present-day town leaders would do well to consider the amazing contribution that the transfer of 604 acres is to the natural and recreational resources of the town, and the nation, when considering how to manage Ninigret Park and what uses of the 227 acres that it owns are suitable. 

Bonnie Van Slyke, the author of this post, was a member of the Charlestown Town Council from 2014 to 2022. She was the Town Council Liaison to the Planning Commission, Parks and Recreation Commission, and Senior Citizens Commission. She is a former officer and member of the Board of Directors of the Frosty Drew Observatory & Science Center, a former Chair of the Zoning Board of Appeals in Harvard, MA and a former member of the Board of Trustees of the Harvard Conservation Trust. Bonnie is a freelance copy editor, technical writer, and publications specialist. You can learn more about Bonnie on her profile page.