TNC, Land Trust Celebrate Protection of O'Leary Family Farm
Conservation partners help fulfill Ernie O'Leary's dream of protecting Burrillville land and keeping it in farming.
Media Contacts
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Tim Mooney
The Nature Conservancy
Mobile: 401-529-1072
The Nature Conservancy joined the Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management (DEM) and members of the Burrillville Land Trust in the formal dedication of the Ernie and Norma O’Leary Agricultural and Conservation Land in Pascoag.
The 65-acre farm, which abuts the Buck Hill Management Area, was purchased by the land trust in May 2023. Known for its prime agricultural soil, the land had been owned by the O’Leary family since 1938, and for generations, it has been used to grow corn for their Connecticut dairy herd.
After Mr. O’Leary passed away in 2021, Mrs. O’Leary worked tirelessly to fulfill her late husband’s wish of seeing this piece of the Rhode Island agricultural landscape permanently conserved.
“Rhode Islanders are losing much of their healthy, produce-producing soils to the bulldozer," said Paul Roselli, president of the Burrillville Land Trust. “We are extremely happy to save this property for agriculture in perpetuity.”
The O’Learys will continue to grow corn on 22 acres of the property under a lease agreement with the land trust. The leased area will be closed to the public, but a short trail leads to a memorial bench and a long, scenic view of the cornfield.
“The land will continue to be farmed as Ernie wanted,” said Norma O’Leary. “I am very pleased with how this worked out and I know that Ernie would have felt the same.”
The farm was a high priority for conservation, part of a resilient, natural open space corridor that follows the Rhode Island-Connecticut border.
“By keeping the forest and farms connected, the area stays resilient to climate change and continues to sustain migratory birds and other wildlife in two states,” said Scott Comings, associate state director of The Nature Conservancy in Rhode Island.
More than half of the funding came from a DEM open space grant, supported by voter-approved Green Bonds. Additional grants were provided by the Bafflin Foundation, the June Rockwell Levy Foundation, members of the land trust, and The Nature Conservancy’s Thomas and Dorothy Ginty Memorial Endowment Fund.
The Nature Conservancy is a global conservation organization dedicated to conserving the lands and waters on which all life depends. Guided by science, we create innovative, on-the-ground solutions to our world’s toughest challenges so that nature and people can thrive together. We are tackling climate change, conserving lands, waters and oceans at an unprecedented scale, providing food and water sustainably and helping make cities more sustainable. The Nature Conservancy is working to make a lasting difference around the world in 81 countries and territories (40 by direct conservation impact and 41 through partners) through a collaborative approach that engages local communities, governments, the private sector, and other partners. To learn more, visit nature.org or follow @nature_press on X.