Nestled between Slough Cove Road and South Beach sits Katama’s Bamford Preserve, a 60-acre parcel of land owned by The Nature Conservancy. On a warm sunny Thursday, a team consisting of members from various conservation organizations and public volunteers were led by conservancy stewardship manager Mike Whittemore, in planting 1,000 rare New England blazingstar plants at the sandplain grassland preserve.
The New England blazingstar (Liatris novae-angliae), once prevalent in the region, has been deemed a species of special concern due to its rarity and decreasing numbers; and in turn, has prompted massive conservation efforts in restoring its population for the benefit of local ecosystem health.
Despite the occasional appearance of uniformity, coastal grasslands — specifically in Katama — are surprisingly diverse. Rich with a wide variety of rare species, wildflowers, and insects — vital pollinators — protecting and increasing the biodiversity of the area is of utmost importance.
Once used for agriculture, Bamford Preserve had previously been slated to become a housing development before being officially protected and purchased by The Nature Conservancy in 2007.
In collaboration with the Marine Biological Laboratory, The Nature Conservancy initiated the process of converting the agricultural field to a once-again thriving grassland. The process, said Whittemore, is a long one.
Through a permit issued from Massachusetts Division of Fisheries and Wildlife, The Nature Conservancy has been able to take action to mitigate decreasing habitat and expand the area’s viability.
Using seedlings cultivated by the Polly Hill Arboretum’s Martha’s Vineyard Wildtype program, The Nature Conservancy was able to secure 1,000 deep rooted plugs for planting the preserve. The Wildtype program grows native plants from seed harvested on Island. “We’re doing it the right way,” said Whittemore.
The plants “are not hard to grow,” said Polly Hill Arboretum Executive Director Tim Boland. The seed is stored dry, after exposing it to cold. Boland explained the seed germinates, eventually forming an underground structure which helps it after a controlled burn. With Boland’s cultivation, Vineyard conservation groups have access to local plants, which aid in habitat restoration.
On the ways in which differing conservation organizations have collaborated in the process, Boland says, “it’s been great.”
“The synergy of conservation groups,” he said, “is very powerful… It’s hard to do some of this stuff on your own, if you can imagine.” Boland noted that the goal is to continue similar work with other rare or uncommon plants.
Whittemore emphasized the importance of improving grassland biodiversity, as the area harbors an array of rare and uncommon species in the region, such as grasshopper sparrows, short-haired owls, upland sandpipers, northern harrier, rare moths and insects.
Among represented organizations such as BiodiversityWorks, Martha’s Vineyard Land Bank, Woodwell Climate Research Center, volunteers grabbed trowels and dibbles, and after brief instruction from Whittemore, began planting one by one.
To further benefit the newly planted area, The Nature Conservancy will conduct controlled burns, to help get rid of nonnative and invasive species, allowing the fire-adapted blazingstar to “ignite” and thrive. Not only is the New England blazingstar capable of withstanding extreme heat, Whittemore explained, the plant stands firm against the exposure to saltwater and the freezing winter weather.
The Nature Conservancy owns about 1,000 acres on the Vineyard in addition to around 560 acres in conservation easement. The protection of pristine coastal and inland habitats is at the forefront of the organization’s overall mission..
The preserve is “one of the last remaining strongholds of sandplain grasslands,” Whittemore said emphatically, “we have to protect what we have.”