Nature Conservancy at Mashomack: Oct Events, Incl. Fall Truck Tour / Point Paddle / Halloween Trail ….

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October at Mashomack

Trails are open 7 days a week,
from dawn to dusk

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Fall Hours Have Returned

The Visitor Center Exhibits are open
Thursday – Saturday, 10 AM – 3 PM

Visitor Center Restrooms open daily 8 AM – 6 PM

Please note, Mashomack Preserve will be closed for hunting November 2nd and 3rd.

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Former Mashomack Preserve Director Mike Laspia walks through a field being treated with prescribed fire at Mashomack in April 1988 © Rameshwar Das, as documented in “Where They Go By Water” by Muriel Porter Weaver.

Things are Heating Up at Mashomack

Prescribed Fire is Coming Back to Mashomack – by Cody-Marie Miller, Conservation and Stewardship Manager

Historically, fire played an important role in shaping the forest at Mashomack. Evidence of historical fire occurrence was found by Dr. Marc Abrams, professor of forest ecology and physiology at Penn State University, during his forest health study conducted at Mashomack in the early 2000s. Dr. Abrams noted that the exclusion of fire was one of the contributing factors negatively impacting Mashomack’s forest health and lack of oak regeneration. The proper implementation of prescribed fire is not only great for the health of oak forests – suppressing invasive species, prompting biodiversity and promoting oak regeneration – it also has important benefits for people, reducing tick habitat and abundance as well as abating wildfire risk by reducing forest fuel buildup.

Prescribed fire, sometimes called controlled burning, is a land management tool in which fire is intentionally applied to vegetation. Prescribed fires are conducted under desired conditions to meet specific objectives. Well in advance of implementing a prescribed fire, land managers compose a detailed prescribed burn plan that clearly defines suitable weather and fuel conditions, safety measures, desired fire behavior and the fire effects needed to meet predetermined objectives.

When conditions are met, The Nature Conservancy will conduct prescribed burns this fall (October- November) and in 2025 (February- April). Questions? Please reach out to Cody at cody-marie.miller@tnc.org.

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Saying Goodbye to our Seasonal Team Members

As fall settles in, we’d like to reflect on our busy 2024 summer. To help maintain Mashomack’s trails, deliver programming, and everything in between, we had two early-career conservationists join our team. The friendly faces of Cavan McCabe and Liz Cummings could be seen on the mowers, in the salt marsh, on the water in kayaks and more. We thank them for all of their work and wish them well on their next adventures!

1) Liz working with local partners in our marsh. 2) Cavan holding a Northern pufferfish during our Environmental Explorers program. © Rebecca Kusa/TNC

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Join us for a program!

The weather may be cooler, but programs are still heating up! See below for a sample of upcoming programs and stay up-to-date with new ones at nature.org/events.

Advanced registration is required for all programs. Call 631-749-4219 or email MashomackPreserve@tnc.org to reserve your spot today!

Prescribed Burning at Mashomack – Public Information Session
Date: Tuesday October 1^st, 5:30 – 6:30 PM
The Nature Conservancy will return prescribed fire to the Mashomack landscape after a decade long hiatus. Join Mashomack conservation staff to hear about how we plan to utilize prescribed fire over the next year. A formal presentation will start off the session follow by an open Q&A at our Visitor Center.

Where They Go By Boat – Mashomack Point Paddle
Date: Monday, October 14^th, 10 – 11:30 AM
Follow in the path of the Manhansets, the original people of Mashomack, as we paddle through the far southeast reaches of the preserve. Explore the protected tidal marsh and productive shores of Northwest Harbor.

Fall Foliage Truck Tour
Date: Saturday, October 26^th, 10 AM – 12:00 PM
Join our Mashomack staff and take a ride through our forests as we take in the colors of fall at the preserve. This mid-autumn truck tour will allow us to explore Mashomack’s tapestry of woodlands, ponds, and fields in the height of their autumn colors.

Nature’s Halloween Trail
Date: Saturday, October 26^th, 5:30 – 7:00 PM (last entry at 6:30 PM)
One of our most anticipated events at Mashomack! Come walk in the woods at night along the self-guided Halloween trail. Meet some nature themed interesting and entertaining costumed characters and have some not-too-scary fun. Light refreshments.

Fall Colors Painting Workshop
Date: Saturday, November 16^th, 10 AM – 12 PM
Join species guest, local artist, Barbara Thomas! Come paint the beautiful fall flora. Leaves, berries, seed pods and more. Nature artist Barbara Thomas will lead to find and observe painting subjects, and guide painters in how to create effects, mix colors, render forms to bring your botanical studies to life.

Save the Dates!
Quogue Animal Show – Saturday, November 30^th
Holiday Open House – Saturday, December 14^th

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October Book in the Woods
A Very BIG Fall by Emmy KastnerWhat do leaves think about the changes in autumn? Oak, Birch and Maple find out in this amusing tale of leaves holding on and letting go as fall arrives!

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Biodiversity 101

What you need to know about the variety of life on Earth and how to protect it.

What is biodiversity?
Biodiversity, or biological diversity, is the variety of life on Earth. It’s a rich and wonderful fabric woven by millions of species, their interactions with each other, the communities they form, and the ecosystems they support.

You’re connected through a web of life to organisms like spiny lobsters, veiled lady mushrooms, mango trees, fennec foxes, dragon mantises, poison ivy, staghorn coral and glow-in-the-dark plankton.

Learn More Here

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