DEM acquires nearly 93 acres of farmland on Prudence Island

THE NEARLY 93-acre Eugene Chase Farm has been acquired on Prudence Island by the state Department of Environmental Management, in partnership with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, The Nature Conservancy and Prudence Conservancy.
THE NEARLY 93-acre Eugene Chase Farm has been acquired on Prudence Island by the state Department of Environmental Management, in partnership with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, The Nature Conservancy and Prudence Conservancy.

PORTSMOUTH – The nearly 93-acre Eugene Chase Farm has been acquired on Prudence Island by the state Department of Environmental Management, in partnership with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, The Nature Conservancy and Prudence Conservancy.

“This acquisition represents an important conservation opportunity for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s National Estuarine Research Reserve System,” Alison Krepp, program officer with NOAA’s Office for Coastal Management, said in a statement. “As one of the last large, undeveloped and unprotected tracts on Prudence Island, we are pleased to have the opportunity to protect such important coastal habitats for recreation, education and research in the Narragansett Bay.”

The farm is the latest in Rhode Island’s ongoing efforts to preserve lands for public access, environmental education and research. More than 64,000 acres of land have been protected through DEM land conservation programs since 1965

The Eugene Chase Farm was used as farmland for more than a century until the mid-1900s and owned by the Little Family. It is undeveloped and will be incorporated into the Narragansett Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve, a state-federal partnership established for the preservation of coastal lands for research, education and passive recreation.

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The reserve manages more than 4,200 acres of land and estuarine habitat across Prudence, Patience, Hope and Dyer islands. The reserve is used to conduct research and monitor water quality and ecological conditions in the bay to forecast environmental quality and trends.

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