Annual Report Shows Year of Progress and Consolidation

1993 was a year of quiet growth and consolidation, especially when compared to the major changes which occurred in 1992. Not that there were not significant changes in 1993: John Farnham, long-time board member and former treasurer, died. Ed Self and Bob Berry, two veteran board members whose wisdom and hard work earned everyone's respect, stepped down from the Board of Directors. We added two new part-time staff positions - property manager and a seasonal shorebird biologist - in 1993 and received a grant to hire another part-time person, a land protection specialist in 1994.

The addition of Bill Bridwell as half-time property manager allowed us to devote considerably more time to trail maintenance, removal of exotic invasive species and similar types of property management. Roughly two-thirds of Bill's time is spent on our "big five," the five large sanctuaries which are most accessible to the public.

Piping plovers had a banner year on the Island with a total of 27 nests fledging 48 young, compared to 12 nests and 21 fledglings in 1992 and 11 nests and 10 fledglings in 1991. For the first time Sheriff's Meadow Foundation hired a seasonal employee to protect and monitor piping plover and least tern nests and record productivity. Debra Swanson, the seasonal shorebird biologist, with the assistance of an intern from the Massachusetts Audubon Society, worked with 16 of the Island's piping plover nests which were not under the care of any other conservation group. These 16 nests fledged 40 young, an average of 2.5 per nest. The program also protected several least tern colonies, including one with more than 150 nests near the big bridge on Beach Road which fledged over 120 young.

SMF continued to play an active role in the Martha's Vineyard Sandplain Restoration Project. Major accomplishments of the sandplains group in 1993 included purchasing aerial photos of Martha's Vineyard and working with The Nature Conservancy to produce a map of plant communities on the Vineyard, conducting a highly successful native plant propagation project and obtaining funding to compile and publish the first complete flora of Martha's Vineyard. Work has already begun on the flora and the goal is to have it published by 1995. In 1993 the sandplains group sponsored a plant propagation workshop featuring Bill Brumback of the New England Wildflower Society and a follow-up to the original prescribed burning workshop conducted in 1992.

Property Management

Property management can be divided into two broad categories, ecological management and property maintenance. Ecological management includes prescribed burns, brushcutting, removal of unwanted species and other activities designed primarily to improve the ecological attributes of a property. Property maintenance includes creating and maintaining trails, parking areas and other activities primarily intended to facilitate access or for aesthetic reasons, such as to create or maintain views.