As our town’s local land trust, South Kingstown Land Trust works on projects both large and small. We cannot, nor do we strive to, preserve all land (people need places to live too); SKLT works with willing landowners to protect properties in the best available natural resource areas that provide the greatest public and environmental benefit. Acquisition may be accomplished by obtaining ownership of land or by placing a conservation easement on the land. Our staff is well versed in bringing even complicated projects to a successful close.
The following summarizes SKLT’s priorities for protecting land.
- Protection of groundwater resources, including groundwater aquifer areas, recharge areas, and wellhead protection areas;
- Biodiversity and ecosystem resources, including land in relatively natural, undisturbed condition, presence of habitat for rare or threatened species or natural communities, large areas of undeveloped forest, wetlands, and lands adjacent to rivers, streams, or ponds;
- Farmland, including actively farmed or containing prime or important soils;
- Aesthetic, cultural, and recreational resources, including scenic vistas and lands with public recreational or cultural value;
- Enhancing climate change resilience, including barrier beaches, marsh migration areas, wildlife corridors, and areas vulnerable to flooding;
- Size and location, including land of sufficient size to retain conservation values, and land abutting or in close proximity to other protected land.
