After an alert couple rescued a turtle trapped amongst the speeding cars of County Road, they brought the female terrapin to the very people who are responsible for protecting these hard-shelled citizens of Barrington:  The Barrington Land Conservation Trust.

Located on George Street sits the Doug Rayner Wildlife Sanctuary. Although the town owns the property, the Land Trust has a permanent conservation easement on the entire 75 acres.  

Close to 30 years ago, during the proposed development of Mallard Cove, the Trust sprang into action to preserve and protect the marshes of Hundred Acre Cove. Home to a variety of threatened bird species, the marshes also provided a nesting area for Diamondback Terrapins. Trust member and well-known naturalist, Doug Rayner, knew about the terrapins, but more study was needed to find out how they used the cove. Thus began the now 28-year-old study of the state-endangered terrapin population.

In 1994, Rayner, along with fellow land trust members Charlotte Sornborger and ornithologist Steven Reinert, drew up a management plan to protect the area known as Nockum Hill. The hill itself includes grassland, agricultural fields, and deciduous forest. It is surrounded by significant salt marsh, which has been designated as one of the most important in Rhode Island by the state's Department of Environmental Management.  

Nockum Hill is a peninsula that extends into the Barrington River and Hundred Acre Cove. Besides the terrapins, Nockum is also home to Seaside Sparrows, Marsh Wrens and Clapper Rails. But it is the Diamondbacks who are the real stars of the area.

Terrapins live in environments where saltwater tides meet freshwater rivers — or estuaries — to maintain their long life cycles (they can live up to 40 years or more). In the spring for roughly six weeks, males remain in the water while mature females emerge from the sandy soil along the estuary where they lay their eggs and nest. 

After the eggs hatch in mid-August to late-September, they dig into the leaf litter where they remain until the following spring. Come November, when the water is too cold and winter has arrived, the mature turtles burrow into the marshes and remain until the following spring, when it all begins again.

This sandy soil is crucial for the healthy lives of terrapins. The Wampanoag so named the area Nockum, which translates to “sandy bluff.” As the only significant Diamondback Terrapin nesting site in the state, the Land Trust is aware of how critical this property is.

The Trust conducts research activities that include capturing and marking nesting females, monitoring nest success, and relocating selected nests to a predator-guarded hatching area. At the request of the Barrington Town Council, the management committee is responsible for the property’s maintenance and protection with help from the department of public works.

Because of his important role in the Trust’s work at Nockum Hill, in 2001 the Trust officially named the property the Doug Rayner Wildlife Refuge. Today the public can enjoy a variety of light hiking trails as well as views of Hundred Acre Cove. Thirty-three acres of the property is used as farmland. The Barrington Police Department also uses a small portion as a pistol range (although never during nesting and hatching seasons!). Access to the Wildlife Refuge is off George Street. Parking is allowed on the side of the road before the white fence.

The Barrington Land Conservation Trust’s work to maintain the natural beauty of our town is exemplified at Nockum Hill. Without their exhaustive studies on the affects that housing developments have on our delicate wetlands, Hundred Acre Cove would look significantly different. With the Trust’s commitment to nature, Barrington residents are able to enjoy the tranquility of this cherished landscape.