Preserving the Island for Everyone

Preserving Nantucket’s character by permanently conserving, maintaining, and
managing natural areas and habitats.

What's Happening

They’re Back! But Did They Even Leave-?

By Karen C. Beattie | March 14, 2023

Although it is only March, our Science and Stewardship Department staff have been busy hiring and gearing up for the arrival of our seasonal ecology staff and the start of...

Coastal Ecology of Nantucket: a Field and Lecture-based Class

By Jen Karberg | January 17, 2023

Presented together by the Linda Loring Nature Foundation and the Nantucket Conservation Foundation EXPERT-LED INTERACTIVE LECTURES AND FIELD LEARNING EXPERIENCES Explore the ecology of Coastal Nantucket with Dr. Sarah Bois...

Whoooo’s on Nantucket?

By Karen C. Beattie | October 28, 2022

Over the next few days, there will be Halloween celebrations happening around the island with lots of spooky decorations that often include wildlife themes. At this time of year, bats...

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It’s Throwback Thursday at the Nantucket Conservation Foundation!

Spring has sprung here on Nantucket, and shorebirds are already starting to set up breeding territories on the Foundation’s beaches. The Coatue Wildlife Refuge is one of the most important sites on Nantucket for waterbirds and beach-nesting birds, including plovers, oystercatchers, terns, egrets, gulls, herons and cormorants. Coatue is also a very popular recreational site, and we strive to manage this property for both wildlife and the enjoyment of visitors. We owe the protection of this beautiful and unique barrier beach to the generosity of the Sawyer, Craig, Abbott, Andrews, Grossman, Doran, Cleary, Sharp, Moore, Lowe, Kozar and Hurley families. After sixteen subsequent transactions starting in 1966, the Foundation has now permanently protected a total of 391 acres between Bass and Coatue Points.
#nantucket #ack #nantucketbeaches #nantucketconservation #shorebirds #nantucketlife

Did you know that Nantucket-banded American Oystercatchers have been spotted in Mexico and even as far as El Salvador, over 3,500 miles away?? As the #shorebirds begin their spring return to Nantucket, we are keeping a sharp eye out for the return of the first banded American Oystercatchers of the season

Read more about their seasonal return and our Oystercatcher banding work through the link in our bio

#wildlifewednesday #nantucketbound #thereandbackagain #conservation
#wildlifewednesday #nantucketbound #thereandbackagain #conservation

Now Hiring! We are looking for a seasonal Cranberry Bog Assistant to help us continue and maintain the 166 year agricultural tradition of growing cranberries at Milestone Cranberry Bog. Nick Larrabee, our Director of Land Management, has stepped up to ensure protection of our 9000 acres across Nantucket, but he needs some additional hands to maintain the condition of this beautiful and historic bog run by his father and grandfather before him. Visit the link in our bio to learn more and get involved!

#nantucket #nantucketisland #ack #acktrails #cranberry #massachusetts #capecod #islandlife #masscranberries

It’s Throwback Thursday at the Nantucket Conservation Foundation!

One of the Foundation’s most popular walking trails is Sanford Farm, Ram Pasture & The Woods, where the Ram Pasture Barn provides the turning point destination for a 3.1 mile round-trip hike. This building is a remnant of the property’s former use as a private hunting preserve from 1953-1971. It was constructed in the 1960’s to house farming equipment used to plant rye, corn and winter wheat on the property to attract birds for hunting. At 46 feet above sea level, the hilltop where it is located is one of the highest points on the property and provides a beautiful view of Hummock Pond extending to the south shore of the island. The Foundation acquired the 634 acre Ram Pasture and The Woods property in 1971 and continues to utilize this structure for storing equipment. Happy spring, everyone – we hope you can celebrate the changing of the season by getting out for a hike on one of our beautiful conservation properties!
#nantucket #ack #walks #landconservation #nantucketisland #nantuckettrails #nantucketmoment #nantucketliving #throwbackthursday #tbt

Another Wildlife Wednesday 🐸. The warm nights has brought out another sound over the last week to fill the evening chorus, the mating calls of Spring Peepers (Pseudacris crucifer). These small, nickel-sized tree frogs let out a high-pitched peep that echoes over the rolling drumlins and Red Maple swamps, from isolated wetlands pockmarked across our glacial landscape. They are always a welcome addition to the early spring and a signal that the vernal pools and shallow ponds of Nantucket will soon be a hotspot of activity again.

We had a blast showing off our artificial oyster reef on Saturday at the @mariamitchellassociation Science Festival! It was great to see so many happy families and kids excited about science. It was also good to see so many of our friends and partner organizations there to share the space with us. Until next year!

#ack #nantucketsciencefestival #nantucket #islandlife #sciencefair #sciencefestival #nantucketisland #acktrails

Preventing Nantucket Pinstripes!

Between the salt spray and the scrub oak scratches, island life can be hard on our vehicles. But now is the time for our land management crew to cut back vegetation on roadways to prevent those nails on a chalkboard moments that can mark the sides of our car.

Using specialized equipment to make careful cuts on vegetation at multiple levels and angles, Nick Larrabee is trimming this road before the scrub oak starts growing for the season. Its an annual battle, but a necessary one! Were just happy to have a great team to help maintain roads, trails, and habitat management across our 9000 acres.

#nantucketlife #nantucketpinstripes #ack #acktrails #nantucketisland #conservation #openspace #tourthemoors #4wd #capecodlife #capecod #scruboak

Its Throwback Thursday at NCF!
You may be seeing our Land Management team out on the trails preparing for the coming spring! When it comes to management of non-native, invasive plant species, “Early Detection and Rapid Response” is a critical strategy adopted by many conservation land managers, including the Nantucket Conservation Foundation. These paired photos of the Foundation’s Folger’s Marsh property show a small stand of invasive Common Reed (Phragmites australis) in 2011 (before it was managed), 2012 (immediately after management) and 2016 (when no remaining Common Reed was detected). This species is one of the most aggressive invaders of wetland ecosystems in the northeast, and could have potentially taken over large sections of Folger’s marsh on both sides of Polpis Road. Follow-up surveys and management undertaken by our Science & Stewardship Department will prevent this from happening.
#nantucket #nantucketisland #conservation #nantucketconservation #tbt

Have you heard the American Woodcocks calling and flying through the evening air? Weve been hearing male woodcocks as far back as December, whistling their wings in flight and making the classic Peent call in search of a mate. Mild winters like this can have a profound effect on the plants and animals that are used to harsher temperatures before the warmth of spring, tricking them into courting or blooming before the rest of the world has woken up. Studying these changes in seasonal cycles and biological events due to climate is known as Phenology.

As the spring and summer quickly approaches, listen more for these funny, sky-dancing, harbingers of warm spring weather!

#ack #nantucket #nantucketisland #timberdoodle #birdsofinstagram #wildlifewednesday #02554 #islandlife #islandtime

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Preserving the Island for Everyone

What's Happening

They’re Back! But Did They Even Leave-?

Coastal Ecology of Nantucket: a Field and Lecture-based Class

Whoooo’s on Nantucket?

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