EAST GREENWICH, R.I. (WPRI) — There will soon be a new place to hike and enjoy nature in the Frenchtown neighborhood of East Greenwich.

The town teamed up with the R.I. Department of Environmental Management (DEM) to conserve 39.86 acres of land known as the Pine-Lister Farm property on Tillinghast Road.

“Rarely are we able to acquire lands in town that exemplify the East Greenwich landscape so well,” East Greenwich Town Manager Andy Nota explained.

The land is home to a stretch of forest with the head waters of the Hunt River running through the area, anchoring the southern end of the Tillinghast Road Historic District .

The DEM awarded East Greenwich $400,000 as part of the agency’s Local Open Space Grant Program to buy the $1,900,000 property.

The agency is working to stop forests like this one from being broken up by roads or other kinds of development. According to the DEM , preventing forest fragmentation helps conserve wildlife habitat and maintain water quality too.

The land will now be protected for conservation efforts and traditional forest uses.

“From large white pine stands to mixed hardwood forests, to prime farm soils and river frontage, the property is extraordinary,” Nota said.

Under town management, Pine-Lister Farm will become a publicly accessible hiking area with parking off of Tillinghast Road and trail head signage.

“This project is an excellent example of the important land conservation work being done at the local level throughout Rhode Island,” DEM Director Terry Gray said.

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