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Sustaining Sandplain Grasslands as Regional Biodiversity Hotspots: The Sandplain Grassland Network Conference
The Sandplain Grassland Network held a virtual meeting, Sustaining Sandplain Grasslands as Regional Biodiversity Hotspots, on Monday November 15. The meeting featured more than a dozen short lightning talks on grassland and associated shrubland and heathland management and conservation. It also featured discussion of major conservation concerns including managing for more disturbance, adapting management to future climate, and sourcing seed for grassland restoration projects. More than 80 people from five states participated. Conference Meeting Agenda Conference Meeting Chat
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Expanded Disk Harrowing and Native Seed Addition Management for Sandplain Grassland Restoration
The Nantucket Conservation Foundation (NCF) is expanding habitat management work within its Middle Moors properties on Nantucket Island, MA to incorporate disk harrowing and native seed addition as a sandplain grassland restoration technique. NCF is a private, non-profit land trust formed in 1963 that currently protects 9,010 acres (or approximately 1/3 of the Nantucket Island land area) through direct ownership. For many years, residents and visitors have enjoyed the wide-open vistas across a portion of NCF’s Middle Moors property known as The Serengeti, thanks to grassland restoration work initiated here in 1998. The next steps for management in this…
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Sandplain Grassland Restoration through Japanese Black Pine Management on Nantucket
The Linda Loring Nature Foundation, located on Nantucket Island, has been working since 2018 on habitat restoration by removing non-native invasive species, particularly Japanese black pine (Pinus thunbergii). The Linda Loring Nature Foundation (LLNF) is a conservation land trust of approximately 275 acres. The existing vegetation consists of a mix of sandplain grasslands, sandplain heathlands, coastal shrublands, and extensive wetland habitats. These habitats, particularly the sandplain grasslands, have been shaped over time by a unique glacial history, maritime climate, and periodic disturbances such as fire and salt spray. The LLNF is also host to a number of rare plant…
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Opportunity to Expand Sandplain Grassland Habitat in and around Former Cranberry Bogs
Sandplain Grassland Network (SGN) is exploring the potential to incorporate restoration of sandplain grasslands into future cranberry bog restoration projects being planned by the Massachusetts Division of Ecological Restoration (DER) and various landowners. From Left to Right: Bob Wernerehl, Karen Beattie, Eric Ford, and Alex Hackman. Photo Credit: Chris Neill On Monday, November 23, SGN committee members met with associates from DER to tour three sites and discuss ways to improve habitat. The group included Chris Neill (Woodwell Climate Research Center), Bob Wernerehl (MassWildlife), Kelly Omand (Nantucket Conservation Foundation), Karen Beattie (Nantucket Conservation Foundation), and…
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TNC & The Town of Edgartown Partner to Manage Sandplain Grasslands in Katama Plains
TNC & The Town of Edgartown Partner to Manage Sandplain Grasslands in Katama Plains This winter, The Nature Conservancy partnered with The Town of Edgartown to manage for sandplain grassland habitat in Katama Plains on Martha’s Vineyard with support from the MassWildlife Habitat Management Grant Program. The $27,400 grant went toward funding forestry work to remove trees, brush cut, chip and remove materials from town-owned land (6 acres), Katama Airfield (190 acres), a hedgerow on the western edge of Bamford Preserve (1 acre), and an old tree line in the center of Bamford Preserve (10 trees). There is a great need…
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Commonwealth’s Division of Fisheries and Wildlife Habitat Management Grants Key to Restoring Sandplain Grassland in MA
In recent years the Division of Fisheries and Wildlife Habitat Management Grant Program has funded several conservation groups working to restore globally rare sandplain grasslands on Nantucket and Martha’s Vineyard. The program contributed $155,000 for restoration actions in 2019 and 2020 to four organizations part of the Sandplain Grassland Network: Linda Loring Foundation, Nantucket Conservation Foundation, The Nature Conservancy, and The Trustees. These grants provided critical funds to improve globally rare habitat for rare plant, invertebrate and animal species through reducing the height and density of woody shrub cover, reducing habitat fragmentation and controlling invasive plants. This work also provides…
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Regional Sandplain Grassland Managers Meet on Long Island
By Chris Neill — Sandplain grassland managers from New York and New England met September 25 and 26 on Long Island share knowledge, expertise, and experiences about coastal grasslands to help advance conservation and adaptive management. Sandplain grasslands of the Northeast are one of the region’s most ecologically and culturally iconic, rare, and unique ecosystems. But pressures such as climate change, urbanization, regrowth of woody vegetation, invasive species, and sea level rise all create challenges for maintaining grasslands and their biodiversity. The group met at the Wertheim National Wildlife Refuge Visitors Center in Shirley, NY. Polly Weigand, Stewardship Manager…
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Sandplain Grassland Managers Plan Meeting and Field Trips on Long Island
By Polly Weigand – The Sandplain Grassland Network will host a meeting and field trips on Long Island on September 24 and 25. The meeting will bring together sandplain grassland managers from New York and New England and will feature visits to featured Long Island Grasslands. (more…)
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Resampling at Bamford Preserve on Martha’s Vineyard
By Chris Neill — Restoring native species-rich coastal sandplain grasslands onto agricultural grasslands dominated by non-native cool season grasses could expand and connect existing sandplain grasslands. (more…)
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Sandplain Grasslands at the Cape Cod Natural History Conference
Chris Neill gave a talk on the Sandplain Grassland Network’s findings at the Cape Cod Natural History Conference on March 9 at Cape Cod Community College. Chris’ talk was entitled, Managing Northeastern US Coastal Sandplain Grasslands in a Brave New World. It covered ways managers can maintain high-diversity grasslands in the face of climate change and expanding non-native and invasive species. https://www.massaudubon.org/content/download/19959/280099/file/CCNHC-Schedule-2019.pdf Author Blair…
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