Category Archives: Habitat Management

Good Firebreaks Make Good Neighbors

Posted on February 20, 2019 by Karen C. Beattie

One of the frequent calls we get at the Foundation’s office during the fall, winter and early spring involves questions about the firebreak management work we are doing on our properties. Why are we cutting down the shrubs? Where will … Continue reading →

Posted in Habitat Management, Restoration, Sandplain Grasslands, Scrub Oak Barrens, Wildfire Risk Reduction | Leave a comment

Pest House Pond Water Quality Management is Underway

Posted on November 8, 2018 by Karen C. Beattie

Pest House Pond is small, brackish wetland approximately ¾ acre in size located along the shoreline of Nantucket Harbor between Monomoy and Shimmo. The pond and surrounding property totaling 3.6 acres was donated to the Foundation in 1973 by the … Continue reading →

Posted in Habitat Management, Invasive Species, Restoration, Water Quality, Wetlands | Leave a comment

Tiny insects may save island’s black oaks

Posted on June 1, 2018 by Kelly A. Omand

Over the last few years, homeowners and land managers have been watching the increasing insect damage to the island’s black oak trees. Last year, the Nantucket Conservation Foundation and the Nantucket Land Council teamed up to fund a student research … Continue reading →

Posted in Forests, Habitat Management, Insects, Research by Collaborators, Trees, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

What’s going on with all the brushcutting in the Tom Nevers Area? Wildfire Risk Reduction and Restoring Habitat for Rare Plants and Animals

Posted on May 3, 2018 by Karen C. Beattie

Take a walk or bike ride along the Milestone Bike Path near the Tom Nevers Road intersection or in the South Pastures area of the island (between the airport and Tom Nevers) and you will notice some dramatic clearing of … Continue reading →

Posted in Habitat Management, Land Use History, Native Plants, Restoration, Sandplain Grasslands, Scrub Oak Barrens | 1 Comment

Meet Our 2017 Seasonal Botany and Ecology Field Assistants!

Posted on June 30, 2017 by Karen C. Beattie

Each summer, the Nantucket Conservation Foundation’s Science and Stewardship Department hires two seasonal Botany and Ecology Field Assistants to help us collect data on a variety of projects throughout the field season. This year, we are very lucky to have … Continue reading →

Posted in Botany, Field Season, Habitat Management, Invasive Species, Native Plants, Restoration, Sandplain Grasslands | Leave a comment

Let the Field Season Begin……

Posted on May 11, 2017 by Karen C. Beattie

Spring is the time of year when there just doesn’t seem to be enough hours in the work day for our Science and Stewardship Department’s full-time staff. There are winter writing projects that need to be wrapped up, early season … Continue reading →

Posted in Field Season, Habitat Management, Invasive Species, Nantucket Biodiversity Initiative, Restoration, Sandplain Grasslands, Shorebirds, Springtime | Leave a comment

Celebrating Local Color: Native Wildflowers at Work!

Posted on June 30, 2016 by Kelly A. Omand

A recent NCF “Mornings for Members” walk at Windswept Bog (free to members of NCF with signup)  highlighted some of our most beautiful native wildflowers. Natives are plants that arrived in a region without human help and in most cases … Continue reading →

Posted in Botany, Habitat Management, Nantucket Biodiversity Initiative, Native Plants, Natural History, Uncategorized | Leave a comment

Garlic Mustard: Friend or Foe in the Battle Against Deer Ticks?

Posted on May 11, 2016 by Kelly A. Omand

Recently I heard a provocative statement to the effect that “garlic mustard is Mother Nature’s way of getting rid of deer ticks.” Naturally I needed to find out more. Could this actually be true? After spending hundreds of hours working with field … Continue reading →

Posted in Habitat Management, Invasive Species, Nantucket Biodiversity Initiative, Ticks | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

MassWildlife Habitat Management Grant Funding Approved!

Posted on January 25, 2016 by Karen C. Beattie

The Nantucket Conservation Foundation recently received the news that we have been awarded a $20,357 grant to undertake a sandplain heathland management project on our Head of the Plains properties in the southwest portion of the island. This funding comes … Continue reading →

Posted in Habitat Management | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Less Shrubs and Moor Views

Posted on February 3, 2015 by Karen C. Beattie

Take a walk in the northwestern portion of our vast Middle Moors property holdings this winter, and you will see that the landscape in this area has been opened up dramatically. This brushcutting management work is being undertaken by Foundation … Continue reading →

Posted in Habitat Management, Prescribed Fire, Restoration, Sandplain Grasslands, Scrub Oak Barrens, Trees, Winter | Tagged , , | 1 Comment