CHATHAM – Monomoy National Wildlife Refuge Manager Libby Herland said she received thousands of responses from Chatham residents, on letters and petitions, on the draft conservation plan the refuge is finalizing.
But while all of the comments will be addressed in the final draft of the plan, she said there are no plans to change aspects of the plan merely because of the comments.
Decisions on the management of the refuge are made in line with the property’s mission, which includes the protection of habitats critical to migratory shorebirds, spawning horseshoe crabs, and any other life that may reside on the refuge.
Herland provided a description and a history of the refuge. It was established in 1944 to provide habitat for migratory birds. Sand stretches for eight miles off the elbow of Cape Cod, forming the barrier islands of North and South Monomoy. In addition to the two islands, a 40-acre unit on Morris Island is also part of the refuge. This is where the headquarters and visitor center are located. The total size of the refuge is 7,604 acres with varied habitats of oceans, salt and freshwater marshes, dunes, and freshwater ponds of which 3,244 acres are designated Wilderness. The refuge provides important resting, nesting and feeding habitat for migratory birds, including the federally protected piping plover and roseate tern. More than ten species of seabirds, shorebirds, and waterbirds nest on the islands. The refuge also supports the second largest nesting colony of common terns on the Atlantic seaboard with over 8,000 nesting pairs.
Listen below as Libby Herland and Kate Iaquinto, a wildlife biologist on Monomoy, discuss the refuge and the new conservation plan.
