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People interested in land conservation have many more resources to turn to now than were available to Rob Lewis in the early 1970s.
Today more than 40 land trusts operate throughout Rhode Island. More than half are nonprofit organizations; the rest are municipal entities created through charters, ordinances or state law.
The Rhode Island Land Trust Council is a statewide consortium of trusts. For information about a land trust in your area, call Director Rupert Friday at (401) 331-7110, ext. 39. The council is also developing a Web site at http://www.rilandtrust.org.
Grow Smart Rhode Island is a statewide organization that works to strengthen city centers and reduce sprawl. Its Web site is www.growsmartri.com.
The Nature Conservancy, an international land conservation group with offices in Providence and Block Island, has raised tens of millions of dollars to buy and protect land in Rhode Island. It also hosts the state Land Trust Council. It can be reached by calling (401) 331-7110 or by going to http://www.nature.org/ wherewework/northamerica/ states/rhodeisland/.
The Aubudon Society of Rhode Island manages more than 9,500 acres of wildlife refuges in Rhode Island and does a great deal of advocacy work on behalf of land conservation. It can be reached at http://www.asri.org/refuges.htm or by calling (401) 949-5454.
The U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service manages a growing refuge system across southern Rhode Island and Block Island. You can reach their offices by calling (401) 364-9124 or by going to: http://northeast.fws.gov/ri/rirc.htm. It also enlists the help of volunteers through a group called Friends of the National Wildlife Refuges of Rhode Island.
