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Our History

Our History
Through the years, board members of the Sakonnet Preservation Association built a foundation of conservation experience and expertise. With a primarily volunteer workforce and past reliance on donated properties and conservation easements, we have preserved land parcels that enhance the rural character of our town. In the process, we have successfully built our grassroots effort into a nationally respected land trust, accredited since 2011 by the Land Trust Alliance. The accreditation seal is only awarded to land conservation organizations that meet rigorous national standards for excellence, uphold public trust, and ensure that conservation efforts are permanent. 

We protect more than 460 acres through outright ownership or with the acquisition of conservation easements and development restrictions. We work collaboratively with property owners, public agencies, and other private conservation organizations to preserve property. Sakonnet Preservation also educates its members and the public about conservation and preservation issues with print and electronic newsletters, public programming, and curriculum activities in the local school. We are fully supported by donations from members, grants, and public and private funders.
 
Our Values
We believe that our town is defined by its natural beauty, its character rooted in a centuries-old connection to working lands and cherished vistas. If this natural beauty is lost, it can never be regained. Little Compton’s natural resources of forest, wetland, fresh water, coast, meadow and open land are vulnerable. Protecting them could be our greatest gift to future generations, a legacy that will outlast us all. With our landscapes and resources under increasing pressure of development, the Board of Sakonnet Preservation feels that the time is right for our organization to leverage the skills and expertise developed over five decades to play a more prominent role in conserving the lands of Little Compton.

Since 1972

In 1972, a committed group of residents joined together to form Sakonnet Preservation, the first community land trust in Rhode Island. We have worked with landowners and partners ever since to ensure that the landscapes that define Little Compton are preserved forever.