From New Jersey to Maine, sand barrens are uncommon ecosystems that occur on dry, sandy soil. Sand barrens ecosystems are home to many rare species of plants and animals and support globally rare plant communities such as sandplain grasslands and dwarf pine plains. The vegetation in sand barrens is typically stunted, gnarled, and fire prone. Pitch Pine, Scrub Oak, grasses, Asters, Goldenrods, oak trees, Black Huckleberry, and Blueberries are some of the more common plants you might encounter in sand barrens habitats. Threats of forest succession and development coupled with the unique and rare plants and animals found in glacial outwash habitat make these habitats a priority for protection.

Rare, early-successional habitats in sand barrens were once sustained through Native American fires and intensive agriculture. Today, encroaching forests and development have reduced the extent and connectivity of these habitats. Increasing tree and tall shrub cover also shades early-successional plants and increases duff, which eventually eliminates species dependent on open mineral soil for germination and reduces the biological diversity of the land.

Now, the only viable way to preserve these rare habitats is through active habitat management. On Martha's Vineyard, where melting ice age glaciers left a vast sandy plain, The Trustees of Reservations is restoring and maintaining these rare habitats at Wasque and Long Point Wildlife Refuge. These sandplain habitats on Martha's Vineyard are home to several ecologically important resources:

• Remnant patches of grasslands and heathlands, that only occur in small patches region-wide, with their associated rare species, specifically sandplain gerardia (Agalinis acuta, G1 ), Nantucket shadbush (Amelanchier nantucketensis, G3), bushy rockrose (Helianthemum dumosum, G3), and northern blazing star (Liatris scariosa var. novae-angliae, G3). Other rare species are at the northernmost fringe of their range and are important to protect to avoid range contraction and to preserve their potential genetic uniqueness.
• Areas of scrub oak-heath shrublands that possess a rich diversity of invertebrate species, specifically moths such as Barrens Metarranthis (Metarranthis apiciaria, G1), Ptichodis bistrigata (G2), and six G3 species.  Many of these species have been extirpated from other or all regional sites.  In addition, the sheer number of rare Lepidoptera (butterflies and moths) on Martha's Vineyard is unrivaled for a site its size.

Management Goals
At Long Point, we have divided our restoration goals into short- and long-term goals.  Our short-term goals will focus on restoring and maintaining as much habitat as possible in the most cost efficient manner.  The short-term goals will ultimately create a suite of habitats—a refuge for wildlife and a dynamic landscape for education, interpretation, and scientific research.  The long-term goals will adopt a more regional approach based on collaborative actions with partner conservation organizations.  They will be based on island-wide historical data, landscape ecology principles on a broad scale, and the best information on rare species natural history and distribution on the island.At Wasque, we are focusing on restoring heathlands and grasslands.  The Trustees of Reservations is using clearing, prescribed burning, and mowing as restoration tools.  Since 1998, restoration activities at Wasque have increased the area of heathlands and grasslands by 20% and the quality of the habitat has increased as invasive trees have been reduced in number.

Sand Barrens Habitat Management:
A Toolbox for Managers
Having the best available information is essential when managing habitats such as sand barrens.  The Trustees of Reservations has created a toolbox that compiles information on sand barrens for someone who manages or is interested in managing sand barrens habitats.  This document describes the plant communities found in sand barrens; summarizes the regional context of sand barrens; analyzes prescribed fire, prescribed grazing, mowing, clearing--the basic tools used to manage these habitats; and takes this framework and applies it to a case study—the sandplains of Martha's Vineyard Island.  The document contains guiding principles in managing.  Of these the core principals are as follows:

• To emphasize the importance of land-use history. 
• To maximize the understanding of how a site fits into the surrounding landscape.
• To achieve a balance between the constraints of cost and the frequency of applying a management tool. 
• To emphasize the need for monitoring rare species and habitat change.
• To fully investigate all risks to rare species when managing. 
• To provide for flexibility in using combinations of tools for habitat management. 
• To emphasize the importance of using this toolbox in a dynamic manner. 
• To emphasize the need for information sharing and continued research.

Download Toolbox for Managers (PDF - 1.8M)Download Cover Letter (PDF - 127K)
Download Bibliography (PDF - 277K)

The toolbox is also available for purchase at the Islands Regional Office at 508/693-7662.

The toolbox will be updated periodically.  Please send us your comments and, if you are working in sand barrens habitats, let us know what you are doing.

Download  Prescribed Burn Brochure
(PDF - 288K)

For more information, contact the Islands Regional Office at 508.693.7662 or email us.

Wood Lily: another plant found in more open areas of barrens habitats.

Long Point Heath-Grass: a grassy shrubland and heathland at Long Point Wildlife Refuge showing the structural diversity of the habitat.
Nantucket Shadbush.

Imperial Moth (Eacles imperialis), a threatened moth in Massachusetts, exists on Martha's Vineyard in New England, elsewhere in NE has been extirpated.

Long Point Fire: a very intense fire in Scrub Oak at Long Point Wildlife Refuge.

Burn Set-up: shows the equipment used for a prescribed burn--shovels, council rakes, flappers, brooms, helmets, a tanker truck, water... photo from Wasque.

Sandplain Blue-Eyed Grass: a rare plant (Special Concern).

Mowing: mowing at Wasque to maintain sandplain grasslands and heathlands.

Gerhard's Underwing Moth (Catocala herodias gerhardi), a threatened moth in Massachusetts.

Sickle-Leaved Golden Aster: this plant has a very localized range along the Atlantic coastal plain.  A Little Copper butterfly is feeding on its nectar.