Special Land Matters Walk & Talk on May 5^th at Important Property to be Conserved

Saturday, May 5th at 9 a.m., the Aquidneck Land Trust (ALT) will lead a special “Land Matters Walk & Talk” tour of a very important property to be conserved. “Swan Farm is currently the focus of a major time-sensitive initiative by the Land Trust to raise $3 million to permanently protect this property through a conservation restriction. A conceptual subdivision plan by an engineer demonstrated that the proposed 125+/- acre conservation area could be developed into at least 40 residential lots if Swan Farm is not conserved. This is our call to action!” says ALT Executive Director Ted Clement. The tour will start directly across from 953 Wapping Road (where the farm stand used to be), a short distance north of the Old Mill Road intersection. Space is limited, so please make reservations at 849-2799, ext. 19 or csabato@ailt.org.

The two-hour tour will cover Swan Farm's many different wildlife habitats, including vernal pools, wet meadows, open fields, and the largest unconserved and unfragmented forest remaining on Aquidneck Island, as well as their important wildlife, agricultural and aesthetic values. During this time of year, visitors may see some of the many avian, mammalian and reptilian species, such as black-capped chickadees, flickers, blue jays, red-tailed and harrier hawks, great horned owls, red fox, deer, rabbits and various waterfowl that are known to dwell on the property.

Swan Farm, located within the Sakonnet Greenway, is home to numerous important species, including the Northern Harrier (State Endangered), Dark-eyed Junco (State Species of Concern), and Blue-winged Teal (State Species of Concern). In addition, the Barn Owl, listed as State Endangered, is known to nest in only two locations in Rhode Island, one of which is the Sakonnet Greenway. The Barn Owl has been nesting and reproducing at two nearby farms, already conserved by the Aquidneck Land Trust, and because Swan Farm is less than 1 mile away from both farms and well within the owl’s feeding grounds, it is believed to support the Barn Owl as well.

Linda Steere, president and principal wildlife biologist of Applied Bio-Systems, Inc, conducted a biological evaluation of Swan Farm in December 2005 and said the property “provides a high value wildlife habitat through the interspersion of habitat types and the wildlife edges they create. The result is a high diversity of wildlife species, avian and mammalian, evidenced by the wildlife list generated during our site evaluation. Because it contains the largest unfragmented forest on Aquidneck Island and a diverse wildlife population, this site should be preserved.”

This email update has been sent to the entire Aquidneck Land Trust email list. Please let us know if you do not wish to receive these email updates by replying to this message. If you have any questions or comments, please call 401/849-2799 x19 or email csabato@ailt.org.