$14,483 From State To Control Invasive Plants At Desert Natural Area

MARLBOROUGH, MA — The state is giving the city $14,483 so it can work to control invasive plants in pitch pine in an oak habitat at Desert Natural Area.

Marlborough is one of 13 Massachusetts communities who are receiving a piece of $317,243 in grants for wildlife habitat improvement projects. These municipal and private conservation efforts will work to improve habitats for native wildlife and increase opportunities for wildlife-dependent recreation, according to an announcement from the Baker-Polito Administration.

“We are proud to provide municipalities, conservation organizations and private landowners the resources necessary to improve habitats for wildlife in need of conservation assistance, while enhancing recreational opportunities for people who enjoy hunting, bird watching and other wildlife-related recreation,” said Governor Charlie Baker in a statement.

In nearby Sudbury, the Sudbury Valley Trustees have been working with conservation land owners to restore expanses of pitch pine in Sudbury's Memorial Forest, which is part of the Desert Natural Area.

"Across the Northeast region of the United States this natural community type has been diminishing due to fire suppression, vegetative succession, invasive species, and land development," writes SVTs on their site."This habitat provides homes for several rare species and other species experiencing population declines. Of note at the Desert Natural Area are whip-poor-wills and wild lupine, which we have observed precipitously declining over the last 20 years."

“Wildlife habitat grants offer resources for improvement efforts usually unavailable to municipalities and private landowners,” said Lieutenant Governor Karyn Polito. “We applaud these landowners for proactively working to make their land more hospitable to a wide range of native plants and wildlife.”

For a second year, the MassWildlife Habitat Management Grant Program gives financial assistance to private and municipal landowners of conserved lands to improve and manage habitat for wildlife deemed in greatest conservation need and for game species. The projects will also expand opportunities for hunting, fishing, trapping, and other outdoor recreation, and complement the ongoing habitat management efforts on state lands.

The following landowners will receive MassWildlife Habitat Management grants:

· Town of Amherst (Amherst) - $18,426 - The Town of Amherst will remove woody vegetation and control invasive species to improve old field habitats.

· Massachusetts Forest Alliance (Ashfield and Hawley) - $47,950 - The Massachusetts Forest Alliance will create young forest habitat.

· Berkshire Natural Resources Council (Dalton and Hinsdale) - $18,000 - The Berkshire Natural Resources Council will work to control invasive plants and improve floodplain forest along the Old Mill Trail.

· The Trustees of Reservations (Ipswich) - $19,500 - The Trustees of Reservations will improve meadow habitat on the Appleton Farms property.

· Town of Lenox (Lenox) - 33,500 - The Town of Lenox will work to combat the hardy kiwi invasive plant infestation.

· Town of Marlborough (Marlborough) - $14,483 - The Town of Marlborough will work to control invasive plants in pitch pine – oak habitat at Desert Natural Area.

· Town of Mashpee (Mashpee) - $11,611 - The Town of Mashpee will convert an old bog into seasonal waterfowl habitat.

· Nantucket Conservation Foundation (Nantucket) - $38,469 - The Nantucket Conservation Foundation will reduce shrub and tree species cover to improve habitat conditions for wildlife dependent on grasslands and heathlands.

· MassAudubon (Otis) - $29,213 - MassAudubon will create new, and expand existing, shrubland habitat on the Cold Brook Wildlife Sanctuary.

· Nature Conservancy (Sheffield) - $23,640 - The Nature Conservancy will improve wetland and grassland habitats through the removal of woody plants on the Schenob Brook Preserve.

· The Trustees of Reservations (Sheffield) - $35,701 - The Trustees of Reservations will restore grassland habitat through woody species removal and invasive species control on the West Grumpelt Parcel of Bartholemew’s Cobble Preserve.

· Brian and Martha Klassanos (Ware) - $26,750 - Private landowners Brian and Martha Klassanos will treat invasive plants, establish grassland habitat, and improve shrublands on their Muddy Brook Valley property.

Photo via Sudbury Valley Trustees