First WRP Easement Purchase in Rhode Island

WARWICK – October 20, 2006 - In a ceremony at the Barton Farm, the Natural Resources Conservation Service paid the city $130,000 for a permanent easement on 30.4 acres of the 68-acre farm. The easement is funded by the Wetlands Reserve Program.  “It is the agency's first such purchase in Rhode Island,” said Joseph A. Bachand, a resource conservationist.  NRCS expects to spend $240,000 over several years creating marshes and trails and removing invasive vegetation.  Plans are also in the works to develop walking trails throughout the easement property. "By next spring, they will see work here," Bachand said. "We're just attempting to enhance the habitat out here and make it more attractive for migratory waterfowl."

The city bought the Barton Farm, in 2000 for $1.6 million to protect it from development. In the years since, it has found limited uses for the land; including establishing a city tree farm two years ago and allowing Westbay Community Action, the social services agency, to grow produce on part of the property.

"Bit by bit, we're creating a real multi-use area here," Mayor Scott Avedisian said.

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