Nature Conservancy @ Mashomack: Sept – Summer Hours | Full Moon Walk | Point Paddle ….

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September at Mashomack

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

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Extended Summer Hours Continue through September!

The Visitor Center Exhibits are open
Wednesday – Sunday, 10 AM – 3 PMVisitor Center Restrooms open daily 8 AM – 7 PMPlease note, Mashomack Preserve will be closed for hunting November 2nd and 3rd.

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A common tern landing on the pier at sunset. © Rebecca Kusa / TNC

Conservation Connections

A Great (Gull) Experience

by Rebecca Kusa, Outreach and Volunteer Coordinator

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As the summer heat makes its last stand against the inevitable chill of fall, I’m transported back to the beginning of the season and my time spent on Great Gull Island, a tern colony home to almost 40,000 birds. On the first full day of summer and longest day of the year, I woke before sunrise to begin my trip. Three boats later, I found myself on Great Gull Island, owned by the Museum of Natural History and in Long Island Sound tucked between Plum Island to the west and Fishers Island to the East. The sounds, sights and smells that greeted me almost overwhelmed the senses and transported me into another time, seemingly leaving the rest of the world behind. As part of the TNC NY Oceans and Fisheries work, I spent the next eight days assisting with the monitoring of nesting actives of the endangered Roseate and Common terns. Rising with the sun each morning, my days were spent in and out of observation blinds, watching as parents fed their chicks (provisioning) and conducting daily counts of the terns in various study sites (productivity). When I wasn’t in the blind, it was all hands on-deck to take care of the field station–cook meals, enter data, refill the freshwater jugs, keep the solar panels free of tern droppings, and much more. I was one of five amazing women on the island that week and we worked, studied, and laughed together. I left feeling grateful for the opportunity to step foot into a world that had left humans behind–one where the terns went about their lives, nature urging them to raise their young and ensure the survival of the next generation. Research has been ongoing here since 1969 and the work being done on the island is vital to the conservation of these species. I feel privileged to be part of it.

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1) Looking out over roseate tern boxes. 2) Newly hatched common tern chick next to unhatched egg. 3) Dock at sunset. © Rebecca Kusa/TNC

Join us for a program!

Even though the days are getting shorter, our program offerings continue to grow! 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!

Last Full Moon of Summer Walk
Date: Sunday September 15, 7-8:30 PM
Come celebrate the last full moon of Summer! We’ll head out for a 1.5-mile hike along our Red Trail, taking in forest, marsh and freshwater kettle views. All are welcome.

Prescribed Burning at Mashomack – Public Information Session
Date: Saturday, September 21^st, 10 – 11 AM & October 1^st, 5:30 – 6:30 PM
The Nature Conservancy is planning on returning 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 followed by an open Q&A at our Visitor Center.

Coastal Cleanup
Date: Sunday, September 22^nd, 10 – 11:30 AM
Join us for a day of volunteering as we work to clean up our coastline! Together, we can help keep our environment free of litter and protect marine life. All are welcome.

Outreach Table at Shelter Island Historical Society’s “Oysters ‘R’ Here” Event
Date: Saturday, September 28^th, 4 – 7 PM
Come find us at the Shelter Island Historical Society’s “Oysters ‘R’ Here!” event. We’ll be working with Kate Rossi-Snook from Cornell Cooperative Extension to talk about all things oysters and the important role they play in our local marine ecosystem.

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.

A Look ahead…
Save the Dates!

Nature Halloween Trail – Saturday, October 26^th
Holiday Open House – Saturday, December 14^th

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September Book in the Woods
Finding Wild by Megan Wagner Lloyd
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Where can you find the wild? It can be in the city, or out in the country.

Come explore and find out what wild is on this self-guided, half-mile walk.

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© TNC

Protecting the Bird’s Head Seascape in Indonesia

In July 2024, the governments of the United States and Indonesia—alongside The Nature Conservancy (TNC) and partner NGOs—signed a US$35 million debt-for-nature swap agreement under the U.S. Tropical Forest and Coral Reef Conservation Act, signed into law in 1998.

The new agreement marks the first time that the TFCCA has been used to protect marine habitat and coral reefs in Indonesia. It will significantly bolster the current protection and conservation of coral reef ecosystems in the Bird Head’s Seascape and the Lesser Sunda-Banda Sea—both areas of focus for TNC’s main partner in Indonesia, Yayasan Konservasi Alam Nusantara (YKAN).