Project Background
The northeast corner of Dartmouth is a lovely part of town that feels miles away from State Road’s hustle and bustle. Designated as scenic roads, Flag Swamp Road and Old Fall River Road offer picturesque views and a sense of peace and calm. This area holds the headwaters of the Shingle Island River which flows further south to Lake Noquochoke. This section of town also sits above an aquifer that is part of the Town’s drinking water source. The farms and forests here are critical to preserving precious habitat and clean water. Unfortunately, many of these ecologically valuable parcels are prime for development. This isn’t only true for wooded lots and parcels with beautiful meadows. With recent changes in regional economics, cranberry growers in Massachusetts are under significant pressure and these bog properties are under threat from development and other impacts.
Since 1990, DNRT has protected over 120 acres of forest featuring hemlock and Atlantic white cedar stands in the floodplain to the west of Flag Swamp Road. DNRT now has the opportunity to extend this protection to the 43-acre bog parcel on the east side of the road in this critically important part of Dartmouth.
With your support, this project will:
- Protect the rural character of this part of Dartmouth and preserve scenic views along a quarter mile of Flag Swamp Road across from land protected by DNRT.
- Conserve bog, canal, and riverside that provides significant wildlife habitat protection, including 6 acres designated aby the State of Massachusetts as “Critical Natural Landscape”.
- Protect the headwaters of the Shingle Island River and help ensure clean drinking water in Dartmouth.
- Provide public access to a nature trail network with expansive views of the bogs and forest!
We Need Your Support
DNRT has completed all due diligence investigations and spent months coordinating with the owner of this beautiful parcel.
However, in order to complete this project, we need to raise a total of $294,000 in gifts and pledges by October 2023. We have applied and received state funding in the amount of $179,000. If these grant applications are successful, that leaves, that leaves $115,000 that DNRT must raise from generous people like you – those who care most about preserving the scenic beauty, natural resources, and rural landscape of Dartmouth.
Note that payments can be made over two calendar years – 2023 and 2024 – allowing donors to maximize charitable income tax deductions.
Please join with others who care about conservation in Dartmouth and make a gift or pledge online or by mail today.