Made
official during the City of Newport Council meeting on Wednesday,
September 12th, the Aquidneck Land Trust (ALT) and the City of
Newport solidified an important conservation collaboration that
benefits both entities as well as the Aquidneck Island community.
Under the agreement, ALT will provide Newport with $50,000 and other
assistance to help support the City’s Gooseneck Cove salt marsh
restoration project, and the City of Newport will provide ALT with
perpetual Conservation Easements on the City-owned 55-acre Gooseneck
Cove area and 12-acre Morton Park. The agreement is the latest
chapter in an ongoing successful partnership between ALT and Newport
that has created various benefits for the community, including the
conservation of the 30-acre Miantonomi Park, six-acre Sunset Hill
Park and the 20-acre Almy Pond Conservation Area.
Gooseneck Cove is a compromised salt marsh in the Ocean Avenue area of
Newport. Three primary obstructions – Ocean Avenue, Hazard Road and an
old dam – prevent adequate tidal flushing of the Gooseneck Cove area
and have left the area with exposed barren peat flats, algal blooms
and decreased water quality and habitat value. The restoration project
will restore the tidal flushing and improve the quality of the marsh
habitat. With an agreement to provide Newport with $50,000 and other
assistance such as a survey plan of the area, ALT has now joined the
City, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the U.S.
Department of Agriculture - Natural Resources Conservation Service,
Save The Bay, and EA Engineering, Science, and Technology on this
important restoration project.
In
addition, to maximize conservation benefits to the community, the City
of Newport will grant perpetual Conservation Easements to ALT on the
City-owned Gooseneck Cove area and Morton Park on Spring Street in
Newport. Newport will continue to own the Gooseneck Cove area and
Morton Park, but ALT will receive permanent Conservation Easements on
these parcels so that these lands remain open space and continue to
provide the community with important wildlife habitat, outdoor
recreational opportunities, scenic vistas, etc. The significance of
this effort is highlighted by the fact that many municipal
conservation lands, such as parks, have been lost to development and
other uses when such lands lack permanent conservation restrictions.
While the Gooseneck Cove area has an old State Conservation Easement
on it, Morton Park lacks a Conservation Easement currently.
Regarding the agreement reached with ALT, Mayor Stephen C. Waluk
stated, “This is an excellent opportunity for the City to partner with
the ALT to preserve open space at Morton Park and participate in the
restoration of Gooseneck Cove.”
“On
behalf of the Board of Trustees of the Aquidneck Land Trust, I salute
the City of Newport for again thinking outside of the box with us in
an effort to create important and lasting conservation benefits for
our community,” said ALT’s Executive Director Ted Clement.
The Aquidneck Land Trust’s mission is to preserve Aquidneck Island’s
open spaces and natural character for the lasting benefit of our
community. The Land Trust has conserved over 1,886 acres on Aquidneck
Island. The Land Trust is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization. For
more information about the Land Trust and its Swan Farm project, visit
www.AquidneckLandTrust.org.
