NANTUCKET – State officials with MassWildlife have announced the award of over $365,000 in Habitat Management Grants to restore 234 acres of wildlife habitat to support biodiversity and foster climate resilience in the state.
Awarded through the Department of Fish and Game, the grants will provide financial assistance to private and municipal owners of conservation lands, with considerable investment toward projects in the Cape and Islands.
The Town of Falmouth received $70,000 to remove invasive vines, woody shrubs, trees, and other plant species in town parcels while connecting them to upland forest habitats in Coonamessett Reservation.
The grants will also support efforts to protect native pitch pine habitats in Nantucket and Martha’s Vineyard from threats posed by invasive southern pine beetles, which have spread north in recent years.
The Nantucket Conservation Reservation will receive $75,000 to protect pitch pine habitat in Ram Pasture by removing and safely disposing of pitch pines infected by southern pine beetles.
The Nantucket Island Lank Bank will also receive $74,700 to restore pine barrens at Garner Farm by thinning areas susceptible to southern pine beetle outbreaks and promoting heathland/sandplain—grassland understory to benefit rare native moths and butterflies.
In Tisbury, the Sheriff’s Meadow Foundation received $75,000 to manage pitch pine and oak forest at Phillips Preserve to combat the spread of the invasive species.
“I am thrilled to see this $220,000 boost for organizations on the Cape and Islands that are protecting and restoring our precious natural resources,” said Dylan Fernandes, State Representative for Barnstable, Dukes, and Nantucket counties.
“These projects are not just for wildlife – they’re an investment in the future of our communities and the well-being of everyone who cherishes our natural spaces.”
To learn more about the MassWildlife Habitat Management Program, click here.
About Matthew Tomlinson
