Fresh Pond Reservation Drainage and Habitat Improvements Project

Project Goal: Provide Healthy and Diverse Plant Communities

Invasive species have become a great concern at Fresh Pond Reservation and throughout Massachusetts.  These non-native species, brought from all over the world, move into an area and outcompete native species.  Native species allow for natural ecosystem functioning, which gives us cleaner air and water, stable hillsides and banks, and more diverse habitat for native animal species.   Non-native species break down natural environmental functions and can be less resilient to adverse conditions and changes in weather.

In this area of the Reservation, there are two major species of concern that have taken over much of the understory; buckthorn and bittersweet.  These and other invasive species will be removed from the understory, while we make sure to protect the native species of ferns, shrubs and trees that inhabit the woodland.  The removal of invasives and planting of native species will improve wildlife habitat and allow the forest to function more naturally.