Nature Conservancy Buys 18-Acres in Little Compton for Permanent Preservation

Eighteen acres of land in the center of Little Compton will be spared from development in perpetuity following the $300,000 sale of the site of the former Last Stand seasonal market to the Nature Conservancy.

The Conservancy announced Tuesday that the land will be protected permanently by way of a conservation easement held by the Agricultural Conservancy Trust. The Conservancy bought the land from George and Wayland Purmont thanks to the contributions of more than 60 private families and the Little Compton Agricultural Conservancy Trust, which provided a $145,250 grant.

The purchase enables the conservancy to expand its 136-acre Bumblebee Preserve.

“The Purmont family members have been incredible stewards of their land over the years, and I am grateful that they have entrusted The Nature Conservancy with its long-term protection,” said Terry Sullivan, State Director of Conservancy’s Rhode Island chapter. “The conservation of this property protects habitat for migratory birds, as well as the excellent water quality in Dundery Brook, flowing toward Briggs Marsh. It is a fantastic addition to our Bumblebee Preserve.”

George Mason, chairman of the Agricultural Conservancy Trust, said that “my co-trustees appreciated the opportunity to double the impact of their investment from the Town’s tax on real estate transfers, by matching private donations to the Conservancy to enable this land purchase.

“This is a terrific example of a great partnership that makes nature and the out-of-doors even more accessible to voters in Little Compton,” he said.

With the addition of the Purmont property, the Bumblebee Preserve now protects 136 acres of thicket and woodland. The Conservancy is developing plans for a new trailhead on West Main Road and a connecting trail to the Dundery Brook Trail, which features a fully accessible, three-quarter-mile-long boardwalk through a wetland forest.

The new trail will wind through a chain of four small ponds, surrounded by plantings of native shrubs and wildflowers. The Conservancy hopes to recruit volunteers this winter and spring to help with trail clearing and other stewardship activities.

For more details on the Nature Conservancy’s efforts in Rhode Island, visit: www.nature.org/rhodeisland

Owl photo by Geoff Dennis