Blackmore Forest

Blackmore Forest

After years of work,  the board announced in Sept of 2024  the acquisition of a 275-acre wooded parcel from Scouting America, Narragansett Council. The land is on the CT/RI border and abuts the Buck Hill Scout Reservation in Burrillville, RI. To the west it connects with our LeClair preserve and Quaddick State Park. “We’ve been working for several years to protect this property,” explained Mike St. Lawrence, President of the Wyndham Land Trust. “We identified it as a key link in the wildlife corridor between Quaddick State Park/State Forest owned by Connecticut and state-owned parks and forests in both Rhode Island and Massachusetts. This represents a very large forest block– almost 15,000 acres–that provides critical wildlife habitat in Southern New England.”

“In addition, the new preserve, which we are calling Blackmore Forest, will protect extensive wetlands, including brooks that feed into Quaddick Pond, the Five Mile River, and ultimately the Thames River and Long Island Sound. It’s a historic site with partial remnants of Thompson’s Town Farm, formerly an alms house for the poor and destitute in town.”

Le Clair Section

The LeClair Preserve is a substantial land donation that abuts Quaddick State Forest on Leclair Road in Thomson. Donated by Marie Leclair, the parcel is 76 acres in size and located near the Wyndham Land Trust’s 79-acre Tamler Preserve. The preserve is a large upland forest that was logged heavily prior to being donated to the land trust. The old logging roads provide good access around the property, although a formal trail has not been constructed yet. The majority of the property is oak and white pine, and it is part of a large forest track that extends well into Rhode Island. Barred owls, pine warblers, ovenbirds, and wood thrushes are some of the nesting bird species that have been reported here. Reports of whip-poor wills have not been confirmed.
“Marie’s husband, Roland, purchased the property in the mid 1950’s,” said Andy Rzeznikiewicz, a member of the Wyndham Land Trust Board of Directors. “Marie enjoyed countless hours hiking around the property with her three beloved dogs. She is happy that this forest will be protected forever.”