State acquires more than 90 acres on Prudence Island

By The Associated Press

news@abc6.com 

PORTSMOUTH, R.I. (AP) _ A more than 90-acre swath of former farmland on Prudence Island in Narragansett Bay has been purchased by the state so it can be preserved as conservation land.

The state Department of Environmental Management announced the $900,000 acquisition of the former Eugene Chase Farm on Monday.

The property used as farmland for more than a century until the mid-1900s is undeveloped and will be incorporated into the Narragansett Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve, established for the preservation of coastal lands for research, education, and recreation.

The acquisition was made in partnership with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, The Nature Conservancy, and Prudence Conservancy.

With the addition of the Chase Farm, more than 80 percent of Prudence Island is now protected. 

(C) The Associated Press 2015