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Aquidneck Land Trust Names New Executive Director
Conservationist Ted Clement to Lead Organization
MIDDLETOWN, R.I., May 5, 2005 - Aquidneck Land Trust (ALT) has named environmental lawyer and local conservationist Edward "Ted" Sortwell Clement, Jr., as its executive director.
"With his knowledge of land acquisition, conservation, and the law, Ted is an ideal choice to guide our growing organization into the future," ALT Board Chair Alison Vareika said of Clement, who has served as ALT's acting executive director since March.
Co-chair of Lawyers for Land Trusts, Clement has been ALT's land protection director for the past five years. He is intimately involved with ongoing efforts to acquire and protect land on the Island. To date, the Land Trust has preserved 1,168.04 acres, nearly tripling its conserved land in the past five years, and earned an outstanding reputation throughout the region.
"Ted brings a passion and a wealth of land protection expertise and experience to his role as executive director of ALT," said Rupert Friday, Director of the Rhode Island Land Trust Council. "His leadership is an asset to the state's land trust community."
During his tenure at the Land Trust, Clement has worked with numerous local officials, including Portsmouth Town Administrator Bob G. Driscoll, who applauded his appointment.
"Ted will certainly move the Land Trust's agenda forward in a very progressive manner," Driscoll said. "I have a lot of respect for Ted and I think everyone in Portsmouth does who has worked with Ted. His appointment is very good news."
This year alone, the Land Trust has conserved: the 45.55-acre Town Pond area in Portsmouth; the 14.9-acre Sullivan property and the 2.62-acre Harrison property in Middletown; and the Clubhouse Partner land, 1.1 acres strategically abutting the already preserved Norman Bird Sanctuary.
Several other projects, including Escobar Farm and Miantonomi Park, are on tap to be conserved this year as the Land Trust urgently pursues its mission in the midst of skyrocketing property values and diminishing available land.
"I plan to continue the incredible progress we have made while focusing on long-term sustainability for the organization, engendering love and respect for the land that sustains us, and what's next for the Land Trust," Clement said.
The Land Trust is in the process of obtaining a conservation easement on most of Escobar Farm in Portsmouth, one of the two remaining dairy farms on the Island. Owner Louis Escobar said it has been a pleasure working with Clement. "When he first came onboard as land protection director, he was very sincere and trustworthy," Escobar said. "Ted is a person who has all the experience and the qualifications. He is not a stranger to the people of Aquidneck Island."
In addition to working with officials, land owners, volunteers, supporters, and stewards on various conservation projects, Clement will focus on bringing the Sakonnet Greenway Trail to fruition. The trail, which is to run from "The Glen" in Portsmouth to the Middletown recreational complex on Wyatt Road, promises to be the longest public trail on Aquidneck Island. Clement, who earned his law degree with a focus on the environment and conservation from Vermont Law School, has been laying the legal infrastructure for the trail for the past few years.
"When the Sakonnet Greenway Trail is completed, people will directly benefit from our work while having experiences that will deepen their connection to the land," said Clement, who worked for the Vermont Land Trust before coming to Rhode Island. He discovered his connection with the land as a high school student at the Salisbury School, a prep school in Salisbury, Conn. A field biology teacher introduced him to the importance of nature around him.
"I was lucky to be in that environment, surrounded by woods, and to have a great teacher," he said. He became a Peace Corps national park volunteer in Thailand and an instructor/environmental educator for the Outward Bound School after completing his major in environmental studies at the University of Vermont. He lives with his wife Boonsuay and their two sons in Portsmouth.
Founded as an all-volunteer effort in 1990, ALT is one of more than 40 land trusts in Rhode Island. Its mission is to preserve the Island,s open spaces and natural character for the lasting benefit of our community. ALT is a 501(C) 3 non-profit organization that specifically seeks to retire development rights by placing conservation easements on privately and publicly held open space parcels on the Island. Visit AquidneckLandTrust.org or call 401-849-2799.
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