It takes real money
By Rob Smith / ecoRI News staff
Having an unbroken block of forest along the state’s western border has long been the conservation goal for environmental officials and environmental groups.
The Department of Environmental Management, with The
Nature Conservancy of Rhode Island, recently announced the state bought nearly 70 acres of
forestland on the Princess Pine Estate in Hopkinton to be incorporated into the
Rockville Wildlife Management Area.
The North Road purchase borders DEM, Nature Conservancy and
Audubon Society lands, in a 2,140-acre block of preserved open and recreational
space. It will also boost public access for boating and fishing along Wincheck
Pond.
“By keeping the forest connected, the area will continue to be a stronghold for migratory songbirds, provide clean air and clean water, and offer recreational opportunities that are uniquely wild in Rhode Island,” said Scott Comings, associate state director for The Nature Conservancy, in the statement announcing the purchase.
Conserving land is expensive. The final purchase price for
the Princess Pine Estate was $1.66 million, but allows the land to be preserved
in perpetuity, and open for public recreation. Most of the money came from
public funds: $800,000 from a U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service grant; $361,000
from open space Green Bond money; and $500,000 from the Rhode Island chapter of
The Nature Conservancy.
The April 15 announcement of the purchase came the day after
a contentious House Finance Committee meeting at which environmental groups and
open space advocates rallied to “save” this year’s Green Bond by making it
greener.
Sponsored by Rep. Megan Cotter, D-Exeter, H8144 would bring this year’s Green Bond proposal to
$67.5 million, and put money in the bond for open space conservation,
recreation and farmland preservation that Gov. Dan McKee left out in his budget
proposal.
“What is one thing everyone in your communities can agree
on, regardless of party affiliation?” Cotter asked the House Finance Committee
during her legislation’s hearing on April 14. “The one thing is open space.
This passed in every community in the last election. I’m frustrated we have to
add the $16 million for these programs back in.”
Companion legislation has been introduced in the Senate by
Sen. Louis DiPalma, D-Middletown. The bills add $2 million for local open space
grants, $3 million for state open space grants, $2 million for farm
preservation, $3 million for outdoor recreation grants, $5 million for
improvements and renovations to Fort Adams, and $2.5 million for the Girl
Scouts of Southeastern New England for programming at the Mariner Cabin and
Program Center.
It’s not the first time a McKee Green Bond proposal has left
out conservation funding. The 2022 bond contained money for open space
acquisition and forest management, but no money for the farmland preservation
activities run by the state Agricultural
Lands Preservation Commission (ALPC).
In 2024, the governor’s bond proposal left out open space
acquisition and forest management funding, in addition to the ALPC. Cotter and
DiPalma sponsored legislation to inject an extra $16 million in the Green Bond
to make up for it.
Environmental groups are backing this year’s additions to
the bond, with dozens of advocates testifying in person or submitting written
comments supporting Cotter’s legislation. The April 14 hearing was the first
public hearing on adding conservation funds to this year’s Green Bond.
Kate Sayles, executive director for the Rhode Island Land
Trust Council, said the bond reflected the kind of Ocean State that Rhode
Islanders want to live in, and that it is frustrating to keep asking to fund
popular programs.
“Bottom line, it’s frustrating we have to come up here and
do this every other year and all ask for the little pieces of what we need to
be a sustainable state,” Sayles said.
For land conservation, state dollars are important. Federal
or philanthropic grants, like some of those used to buy Princess Pine Estate,
often require some kind of local or state investment to unlock matching or even
double the amount of funds used for conservation. On average, for every $1
dollar the state puts in, the state can receive up to another $1.70 from the
federal government’s conservation programs.
Conservation, advocates note, is popular. The Nature
Conservancy of Rhode Island over the past few years has commissioned regular
surveys of state voters to find out how they feel about the Green Bond. The
latest poll, completed last fall, surveyed 426 voters in
November 2025 and showed that those voters would actually support an even
bigger Green Bond.
Sixty-seven percent of voters, around two-thirds of those
surveyed, leaned toward approving a $98 million bond measure, according to the
survey results. Those voters include 86% of Democrats, 65% of independents, 75%
of all women, and 61% of all men supporting the hypothetical bond.
The top priorities for the hypothetical bond included
protecting sources of drinking water (approval at 93%) and protecting working
farms (polling at 88%).
“This is what our communities want,” Cotter said. “They want
a Green Bond that’s actually green.”