MCCULLOUGH PROPERTY – CONSERVATION EASEMENT

Plat 26, Lot 2. Donated December 2007 by Sandy and Dorothy McCullough

This conservation easement applies to most of a residential property of approximately 10 acres on Adams Point Road. The easement will protect approximately 8.9 acres of waterfront land from further development in perpetuity. It provides for continued residential use and accessory uses, and there is no public access; however, precluding further development of this property provides significant conservation value, given the location and characteristics of the property. Specifically, the area covered by the conservation easement includes significant frontage on Smith Cove, which is part of Narragansett Bay, extensive saltmarsh, coastal buffer vegetation along the shoreline, freshwater wetland, and a grove of mature trees. Much of the remaining property is open space, as well, including lawns and gardens.

Protecting land bordering on the cove has been a long time priority for the Trust. The cove, bordering wetlands and portions of upland provide significant habitat for a variety of aquatic, bird and terrestrial species. Protecting land surrounding this resource from dense development will help retain these habitat values, as well as other functions of healthy coastal wetlands, such as protection from storm surges. It will also assist in efforts to improve water quality in the cove and upper Narragansett Bay. Besides achieving these benefits on the particular property, the conservation easement sets an important example, which the Trust hopes will be followed by other land owners in the area surrounding the cove.