Hike Francis Carter Preserve

Event Rating: Level 3 Distance: \~7.5 miles Elevation Gain: \~570 feet Time Duration: \~3 hours Blaze Orange: Required Hikers are required to have attended a level two hike (6+ miles) or greater within the past two months to sign up for this hike. We're going to hike the outer loop trails in the preserve. From nature.org: Francis Carter Preserve website The Carter Preserve is The Nature Conservancy’s second largest nature preserve in Rhode Island. With four interconnected loops, the preserve offers a mix of mildly rocky, up-and-down trails, plus a wide, flat path around one of the largest open grasslands in the state. Straddling the rocky uplands of the Charlestown moraine, the Carter Preserve connects several thousand acres of contiguous forest. Together, they comprise an 11-mile corridor of protected open space, running from the Ninigret National Wildlife Refuge to the state-owned Carolina Management Area. The Carter Preserve protects a mile-long stretch of the Wild & Scenic Pawcatuck River, and a variety of natural communities associated with it, including vernal pools, pitch pine barrens and a 60-acre open grassland. The Nature Conservancy established the Carter Preserve in 2001, with major contributions from The Champlin Foundation, the Cove Point Foundation and the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation. The preserve is dedicated to Francis “Frank” Carter, who led The Champlin Foundation for many years and helped build an enduring land conservation partnership with TNC and the RI Department of Environmental Management. TNC is restoring and maintaining wildlife habitat at the Carter Preserve, to help support declining grassland and shrub-nesting birds like grasshopper sparrows, prairie warblers, blue-winged warblers and American kestrels. Volunteers assist with ongoing stewardship projects including trail maintenance, preserve monitoring and…