Founder plots at The Hickories Farm, Ridgefield, Connecticut. Photo by Sefra Alexandra.
When the state of Connecticut passed “An Act Concerning Pollinator Health” to expand pollinator habitat in the state, it called for the elimination of certain pesticides on plants and seeds and emphasized the use of native, organically-grown flowers. It also created a dilemma for landscapers and land managers: Where to source a large quantity of native wildflowers? Highstead saw an opportunity to help increase the availability of native seed.
Native plant seedlings growing in the Highstead greenhouse.
Most ‘native’ plants sold at local nurseries originate from one of a few large nursery suppliers in the Midwest and the plants are not always well adapted to the Northeast. Locally sourced native seeds and plants are scarce, but conservation lands throughout the region host vibrant native plant populations.
Building infrastructure to support the production of local ecotype plants is a larger task than any one organization can take on alone. The Highstead team set out to partner with various groups to help advance the project. Each partner plays a critical role working within their area of expertise. Highstead scouts for naturally occurring plant populations and works with lands trusts and private landowners to secure permission and collect the seed. The Northeast Organic Farming Association of Connecticut (CT-NOFA) recruits and trains farmers to grow seed crops. Planters’ Choice Nursery is a wholesale grower and propagator that grows the seed on a large scale and sells finished plants to landscapers, Pollinator Pathway groups, and conservation organizations doing landscape restoration projects.
Collecting seeds in a meadow.
Given its history as a native plant arboretum, Highstead staff have the skill and knowledge to identify and confirm genetically diverse populations of native plants and to carefully and ethically harvest seeds. Written permission from the landowner is required to harvest native seed and every collection is documented so its origins can be confirmed. As a conservation organization, the Highstead team adheres to strict seed collecting guidelines that ensure enough seed remains in the wild for habitat regeneration and consumption by wildlife.
Once collected, the seed is cleaned and Highstead staff experiment with growing the seed to document germination and growing protocols for each species. The initial crop of plants and seed is then distributed with growing instructions to non-profits, governmental agencies, farmers, or nurseries committed to growing and maintaining crops of stock plants for future native seed harvesting and plant production purposes. Building a native plant pipeline will help make local ecotype plants and seeds available for pollinator gardens and landscape restoration projects that will expand healthy pollinator habitat in Connecticut and the surrounding region.
Victor DeMasi (l) and Sammy Riccio collect pollinators at Highstead.
Victor DeMasi
During the summer of 2020, Highstead began participating in an intensive pollinator survey in its meadow. The survey at Highstead is part of a larger study in Redding, Connecticut, that aims to document the existing diversity of pollinators in local meadows and document what plant species they are associated with.
“There is a surprisingly small amount of information about pollinators on the local level.”
Geordie Elkins, Highstead Operations Director
The survey is being conducted by noted lepidopterist Victor Demasi and biologist Sammy Riccio, both Redding residents, and Highstead’s Operations Director Geordie Elkins.
The data gathered will serve as both a catalog of existing pollinators — everything from bees to moths and butterflies to hummingbirds and more — and as a baseline for future research. Most pollinator surveys in the area have focused on capturing data over the course of an intensive day or two. The Redding census is a sustained project over the entire summer.
“Despite the growing interest in pollinators and widespread recommendations to plant pollinator gardens,” says Elkins. “There is a surprisingly small amount of information about pollinators on the local level.” The project will increase the understanding of what species exist in the local landscape and what meadow plants they utilize.
At the end of the summer, Riccio will take the lead on classifying the pollinators they identified. The collection will be donated to the Peabody Museum of Natural History at Yale University.
Significant changes in forests often occur over decades, even centuries, and thus subtle changes that are difficult to detect from year to year can accumulate into large changes over time. At Highstead we recognize that systematic and repeated monitoring is the only way to reliably track changes over time.
In a study published in the Journal of the Torrey Botanical Society by Highstead’s senior ecologist, Ed Faison, board chair, David Foster and several other collaborators, document a shift in the abundance of herb and shrub species in Highstead’s forest over an 11 year period (2004-2015). The authors measured the vegetation in 2004, 2009 and 2015 in a grid of square plots distributed systematically across the forest.
Non-native species such as Japanese barberry, multi-flora rose, Japanese stiltgrass, and garlic mustard changed the most dramatically. While the first three species increased in abundance, garlic mustard – a dominant species in 2004 – declined sharply. The decline in garlic mustard occurred without management and exemplifies the inherent unpredictability of nature, which often goes undetected without monitoring. This study provides potential guidance about non-native species on which to focus management efforts and which to leave alone.
In June 2020, The Conservation Fund purchased more than 15,000 acres of forest in Maine from the Chadbourne family–a major development in conservation finance. Over the next five years, the Fund will manage the property, harvest timber, and work with conservation partners to ensure most of the land will be sold to conservation organizations who will permanently protect and steward the lands. Highstead Senior Conservationist, Spencer Meyer, who specializes in conservation finance, explains how this groundbreaking land deal happened and its implications for the Sebago watershed.
What makes this acquisition interesting from a conservation finance perspective?
This land purchase by The Conservation Fund was financed from the proceeds of an innovative Green Bond. Like regular bonds that companies or governments use, this one raised money from investors to fund much-needed infrastructure projects. Green bonds are used specifically to finance green infrastructure projects that have tangible positive environmental or climate benefits.
How did The Conservation Fund use Green Bonds in Maine?
In 2019, The Conservation Fund (the Fund) offered to investors 10-year green bonds totaling $150 million. Proceeds from the bonds are intended to increase the pace and scale of the Fund’s “Working Forest Fund.” The Working Forest Fund is dedicated to mitigating climate change, strengthening rural economies and protecting natural ecosystems through the permanent conservation of at-risk working forests. In this case, The Conservation Fund used the bond funds to purchase the Chadbourne property. This property will eventually be sold to various conservation organizations, at which point the Fund will repay their investors and then do it all over again on the next piece of important forestland.
Is the land permanently conserved now?
Not yet. The Conservation Fund model works because it can act quickly to take large properties with important conservation attributes off the open market before they can be sold to developers or timber speculators. So, for now, the land is owned and managed by the Conservation Fund. The Fund works with land trusts, local communities and state and federal agencies to come up with a plan to transition the property, often in several components to different long-term conservation owners.
Who will The Conservation Fund sell the property to?
The Conservation fund will prioritize the sale of the land to conservation buyers who are interested in different aspects of part of the land and who intend to protect the land in perpetuity. At the same time, the Fund has an obligation to bondholders to provide a return on the investment, which comes from sustainably harvested forest products and the sale of the property.
What are the next steps for conservation organizations interested in purchasing property for protection?
The Chadbourne property is made up of many individual parcels, each with its own conservation values and community benefits. The Fund and their partners, including Sebago Clean Waters (of which Highstead is a significant partner) are now working together to offload each parcel to the most appropriate long-term owner. These land trusts and conservation NGOs are actively working to fund raise from private donors, state and federal grant programs, and others to purchase the land from The Conservation Fund.
What type of efforts are underway to purchase the land for conservation?
One of these effort involves nearly 3,000 acres in the Sebago Lake watershed. With approximately 3,000 acres of the Chadbourne Tree Farm located within the Sebago Lake watershed, this effort will account for nearly 10% of SCW’s 35,000-acre forestland conservation goal. Over the next l few years, the Conservation Fund will manage the white pine timberland, located primarily in Oxford County, providing time for Western Foothills Land Trust and Sebago Clean Waters to raise the funding needed to permanently conserve these tracts of forest.
How is Sebago Clean Waters going to find the funding for the purchase?
I’ve been working very closely with my partners in the Sebago Clean Waters (SCW) initiative to prepare for an opportunity like this. Sebago Clean Waters is a partnership of nine conservation organizations, including the Portland Water District, working to protect water quality, community well-being, a vibrant economy, and fish and wildlife habitat in the Sebago region through voluntary forestland conservation. We have actively been developing the concept of a water fund to be able to combine investments from various sources, including the Portland business community, to be able to conserve land at scale when opportunities arise like this one afforded by The Conservation Fund.
What is the significance of the Sebago Lake watershed?
The Sebago Lake watershed is the drinking water source for more than 200,000 residents in the City of Portland and surrounding communities (1/5th of all Mainers) and is just one of about 50 drinking water supplies in the country that does not require filtration before final treatment. The growth of the Portland area and new demands for development have begun to put pressure on the forests in the Sebago Lake watershed, putting the watershed at risk for fragmentation and loss of habitat. Sebago Clean Waters is working with private landowners, community and business leaders, and state and federal agencies to conserve this vital green infrastructure resource. Not only are there environmental benefits, but it will also offers local economic, health and recreation benefits for residents and visitors alike.
Is this model likely to be used elsewhere in New England?
Land Trusts throughout New England, and throughout the country, are increasingly looking for new ways to finance their conservation initiatives. At the same time, so-called impact investors are looking to invest some of their portfolio in projects that can have positive environmental, climate and social impacts. We believe our Sebago Clean Waters approach, including partnering with The Conservation Fund to use the proceeds of their green bonds, is a viable strategy. We hope it will bring in more funding partners to permanently protect land that can improve air and water quality, provide economic opportunity and jobs and contribute to healthier more livable communities. We think there are other conservation partnerships, especially within the Regional Conservation Partnership Network who will benefit from the Sebago Clean Waters model. And at Highstead, like we are doing with Sebago Clean Waters, we will to continue to experiment with our partners on new approaches to pay for conserving the forests and farms on which we all rely in our lives.
Mill Brook as it flows through Rowe’s Meadow in Chadbourne, ME.|Photo (c) EcoPhotography
When The Conservation Fund announced recently the purchase of the iconic 15,408-acre Chadbourne Tree Farms in western Maine, it marked a major development in conservation finance. It also started the clock on an important opportunity for Sebago Clean Waters — a major Highstead partnership — to begin the process to permanently protect about 3,000 acres of the property within the Sebago Watershed.
“Sebago Lake is one of only 50 public surface water supplies in the country that require no filtration before treatment. Conserving these forestlands is critical for the protection of the region’s lakes that provide pure drinking water and recreational opportunities.”
Karen Young, Coordinator at Sebago Clean Waters.
Protecting an historic working forest
While the Fund’s acquisition is intended to protect this iconic and historic working forest landscape from fragmentation and development, it is just the first step in a series of transactions that, if everything goes according to plan, will realize the permanent protection of this environmental and economic resource. Organizations like the Western Foothills Land Trust and their partners in Sebago Clean Waters (SCW) have identified nearly 3,000 acres of the Chadbourne property that they would like to permanently protect and will have to fund raise to purchase the property from the Fund. The SCW will use its innovative Water Fund approach to finance the protection of this forest. Other conservation organizations are working with The Conservation Fund to protect the balance of the acreage.
SCW sees this property as an essential piece of its overall strategy to conserve 35,000 additional acres of the watershed to maintain this pristine source of drinking water for the City of Portland’s 200,000 residents and for the many co-benefits that the forests of the region provide its residents and visitors.
The same vegetation plot dominated by phragmites in 2012 and filled with a diversity of native herbs in 2017.
Highstead initiated a Phragmites australis control plan in 2012 to remove and prevent the reinvasion of the invasive common reed to improve the scenic viewshed and promote a more diverse, native flora around its pond. Four herbicide application treatments were initiated in winter 2013 and repeated in subsequent years. Vegetation monitoring began in the summer of 2012 and was repeated in 2013, 2014, and 2017. Key Results:
98% of Phragmites stems were removed after 4 years
Diversity of woody and herbaceous plants increased over time
Both native and non-native plant species richness increased after removal of Phragmites
The vegetation community and the viewshed of the pond are arguably more attractive today than before
Phragmites Research Answers Key Questions
What is the preferred method for removing the invasive Phragmites reed grass with herbicide? To what extent does herbicide treatment damage non-target vegetation? Do native plants increase in abundance and diversity following the invasive reed removal? Answers to these questions and others are reported in a 2020 article in the New England Botanical Club’s journal, Rhodora by Highstead’s Ed Faison, Geordie Elkins, Kathleen Kitka, and board chair David Foster.
The study, which took place at Highstead’s Pond between 2012 and 2017, reports the effectiveness of three different herbicide application methods (wand applicator, broadcast sprayer, hand wipe with glove) on the removal of Phragmites. The hand wipe technique was the most effective at removal and caused the least damage to other vegetation. Native (and other non-native) vegetation recovered quickly from initial damage from herbicide and became more diverse than before the invasive plant was removed. Still, as with any management project, there were inevitable tradeoffs – in this case the creation of new growing space for other non-native plants.
If you are an ecologically minded person, then you have undoubtedly read or heard that deer have profoundly negative impacts on forest ecosystems.
It is unlikely, however, that you have heard that deer, by consuming tall, thickly growing woody plants, often increase the diversity of the smaller-statured plant community. This latter scenario is a key result from a 2016 study by Highstead’s senior ecologist Ed Faison along with Steve DeStefano (Massachusetts Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit) and other colleagues, published in the journal Ecology and Evolution.
This study documented the effects of 5-6 years of three different levels of browsing by deer and moose on the composition of young forests re-growing after timber harvest. Results also showed that higher intensities of browsing promoted the abundance of plant species adapted to high light environments and reduced the abundance of plant species adapted to shady forests.
Browsing by deer and moose is best understood as a natural and complex ecological interaction that has a variety of ‘positive’ and ‘negative’ impacts on forests, rather than as a process that simply damages forests.
