Eight municipalities and conservation organizations were recently awarded grants for projects to improve habitat for rare or declining populations of wildlife in Massachusetts. The grants are provided through MassWildlife’s Habitat Management Grant Program (MHMGP) and will fund projects on a total of 276 acres.

The Habitat Management Grant Program provides financial assistance to private and municipal landowners of conserved lands to improve and manage habitat for wildlife deemed in greatest conservation need and for certain game species. The projects are also designed to complement ongoing habitat management efforts on state lands and promote opportunities for hunting, fishing, wildlife viewing, and other outdoor recreation.

The following 8 projects were awarded MassWildlife Habitat Management Grants during the 2021-2022 grant cycle:

• Dunstable – Zoo New England, in conjunction with the Town of Dunstable, has been awarded $11,289 to conduct scrub-shrub habitat improvement work to benefit rare species at the Pierce Town Forest.
• Falmouth – The Town of Falmouth will receive $20,587 to improve sandplain grasslands at Coonamessett Reservation.
• Fitchburg – Mass Audubon has been awarded $50,000 to improve pitch pine forest at the Flat Rock Reservation.
• Groton – The Town of Groton will receive $29,050 to create and improve open field and shrub habitat at Priest Hill.
• Lenox – The Town of Lenox, in conjunction with the Berkshire Natural Resources Council, has been awarded $26,810 to control the hardy kiwi vine at Kennedy Park and adjacent properties.
• Nantucket – The Nantucket Conservation Foundation has been awarded $13,024 to manage sandplain barrens and heathlands on the Middle Moors property.
• Sheffield – The Sheffield Land Trust will receive $16,040 to conduct brush hogging and invasive species control at Ashley Falls Woods. 
• South Lee – South Lee Associates, in conjunction with the Berkshire Natural Resources Council, will receive $17,400 to control invasive species and improve floodplain forest habitats on multiple Housatonic River properties.