Agriculture in RI

Five farmers share their stories - the urgent need to protect Rhode Island's remaining working farms is complicated by challenges that farmers face:  finding land to farm and sustaining the economic viability of farms.

Click on the photo above to watch the video.

Protecting Rhode Island's Working Farms

Go to the Farm Conservation page for the Council's other videos and reports about farm conservation in Rhode Island.

Rhode Island Land Trust Council

The Rhode Island Land Trust Council is a coalition of the state's land trusts - community-based organizations formed to protect land that preserves the open spaces, natural areas, scenic character, farm lands, forests, historic sites, watersheds, and drinking water supplies that define the character of our communities and our state. Collectively, land trusts are preserving the special places that are our heritage and will be our legacy for future generations.

Photo credit: David Thalmann, Aquidneck Land Trust

Land Trusts in Rhode Island are grass roots organizations that reflect the uniqueness and priorities of their communities. The first land trusts in Rhode Island were formed in 1972 (Sakonnet Preservation Association and Block Island Conservancy). Today there are over 45 land trusts in Rhode Island operating in all but four of the state's 39 municipalities.

Only seven Rhode Island land trusts have staff - the others are volunteer organizations. Dozens of people across the state dedicate 100's of hours of their time to preserve and manage our communities' most valued open space lands.

Land and Water Conservation Summit

Saturday March 10, 2012 - offers 30 workshops to help land trust leaders gain new skills and information so that your land trust can be more effective. This is the best opportunity each year for land trust board members and volunteers to network with your peers from around the state and network with leaders from watershed organizations and conservation commissions. You won't want to miss it. The full program and online registration are available at the Land and Water Partnership website. Save $15 when you register before February 24!