Ecosystem Restoration
Invasive Species Management
This site was once dominated by Japanese Black Pine, a non-native invasive tree that crowds out grassland plant species, is a fire hazard, and is a host plant for damaging insects such as the Southern Pine Beetle. By removing these trees, we have opened up the canopy and allowed the native Sandplain Grassland to re-flourish.
Site Restoration
Along the pond edge also once stood two decrepit, decaying buildings. To increase the resiliency of our property, we removed these buildings, stabilized the site, and planted thousands of native grass plugs and shrubs.
Proactively planning for the future
As part of our restoration planting, we decided to actively prepare for sea level rise and increased tidal flow into the North Head of Long Pond. We purposefully chose to plant salt-tolerant species along the pond edge and not rebuild any structures on this area of the property. These choices will allow us to adapt to changing habitats as we see more salt water begin to flow into the surrounding wetlands.