| Fast Facts |
location
70 miles southeast of Boston
ecoregion
North Atlantic Coast
project size
9,000 acres
preserves
David H. Smith Fire Trail, Hoft Farm
public lands
Manual F. Correllus State Forest, Joseph A. Sylvia State Beach, Edgartown South Beach
partners
state government, Martha’s Vineyard and Nantucket land banks, Nantucket Conservation Foundation, Nantucket Land Council, Polly Hill Arboretum, Sheriff’s Meadow Foundation, The Trustees of Reservations, Tuckernuck Land Trust, Vineyard Conservation Society, Woods Hole Marine Biological Laboratories
conservancy initiatives
Invasive Species
natural events
migrating warbler and raptor viewing, Gay Head Cliffs, fall and spring | |
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With development rampant on the island and open space at a premium, the south shore’s signature coastal sandplain is rapidly becoming one of the world’s rarest landscapes. |
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Gay Head Beach.
© Hardie Truesdale |
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Martha’s Vineyard offers a glimpse back to a bucolic New England countryside of fields and woodlands dotted with gray-shingled farmhouses, bisected by mossy stone walls and set against the dramatic backdrop of the Atlantic. Abundant harvests from land and sea sustained both early English settlers and the island’s native Wampanoag tribe.
On the island’s south shore are small patches of coastal sandplain, a seaside prairie of green and yellow grasses, wildflowers and low-lying shrubs. Coastal sandplain was once a signature landscape of Martha’s Vineyard and, to a lesser degree, of her cousin to the east, Nantucket. Today only 1 percent of this threatened ecosystem remains, jeopardizing the survival of the short-eared owl, grass-hopper sparrow and other species uniquely adapted to the sandplains. |
Northeastern beach tiger beetle larva.
© Mark Moffett/Minden Pictures |
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In the past, Native Americans ignited wildfires that maintained the coastal sandplain’s openness and allowed its unique mix of treeless vegetation to thrive. But encroaching development and tourism have halted such wildfires, resulting in the spread of oaks and pines among the prairies. | |
Conducting prescribed burns to restore the vanishing coastal sandplain is a challenge on an island where unbroken open space is as rare as the endangered ecosystem. Land is at a premium in both availability and price. It is being developed at twice the rate at which it is being protected. By 2005, the 9,000 unprotected acres remaining on the island may be fully developed.
In the race to preserve as much prime island real estate as possible, The Nature Conservancy in 2001 purchased Herring Creek Farm, a 300-year-old working farm. At 215 acres, Herring Creek represents one of the largest unbroken tracts of land on Martha’s Vineyard. The purchase prevented the development of a 53-lot subdivision and will enable us to burn 62 acres to restore the coastal sandplain. The remaining acreage will be held by the Conservancy or sold to other conservation-minded buyers with legal restrictions limiting development.
Learn more about The Nature Conservancy's work in Massachusetts. |
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| Conservation Profile |
targets
coastal sandplain grassland, northern harrier, short-eared owl, Nantucket shadbush, bushy rockrose
stresses
residential development, road construction, wildfire suppression
strategies
acquire land, secure conservation easements, restore ecosystems through fire management, combat invasive species, strengthen local partner organizations, engage community, promote compatible development
results
more than 2,000 acres protected since 1993; native plant nursery established to aid in restoration of coastal sandplain | | | | |
