What are Barrens?

Barrens are a habitat that occurs in harsh landscapes such as sandy areas and dry ridge tops. Poor soil quality makes it difficult for plants to grow, but these environments counter the desolate imagery the name “barren” provokes.

Many plant and wildlife species have adapted to—and thrive in—these harsh environments such as oak, pitch pine, blueberry, specialized shrubs, grasses, herbs, and diverse wildlife. Approximately 42 percent of species listed under the Massachusetts Endangered Species Act (MESA) and others in need of conservation according to the State Wildlife Action Plan (SWAP) rely on Barrens.

For thousands of years, these habitats were created and maintained by both human and natural disturbances. Fires and land burning increased food abundance, leading to the creation of Barrens. However, due to fire suppression, development, and other factors, these unique habitats are disappearing.

The Trustees and Barrens Habitat

The Trustees maintains roughly one thousand acres of Barrens habitat across eight Trustees properties. Restoration and management activities are unique to each location which range from Long Point Wildlife Refuge on Martha’s Vineyard to Weir Hill Reservation in North Andover.

Canopy thinning, mowing, prescribed fire, and herbicide to control invasive or dominant plants are the primary techniques used to replicate disturbances so Barrens-affiliated species can thrive.

• Canopy Thinning restores plants that were shaded out by canopy trees.
• Mechanical Mowing resets conditions and prevents the habitat from becoming forest (frequently used where lower shrubs are required).
• Prescribed Fire prevents the habitat from becoming forest and burns off organic material to maintain bare ground and dry, nutrient-poor soils.
• Herbicide controls invasive or overabundant native species that impact habitat quality.

Mowing and fire are used on Trustees properties on a rotational basis, with a portion of habitat treated each year. Staff monitor vegetation and track wildlife to ensure the landscape maintains ongoing value and provides refuge for certain species. Most notable are plants like the federally listed sandplain gerardia, varieties of moths and butterflies like Barrens Buckmoth, birds like whip-poor-wills, and reptiles like the eastern racer and box turtle.

Weir Hill

Weir Hill is a Barrens property that continuously surprises with its biodiversity. In 2006, The Trustees began restoring the property’s Barrens habitat following an extensive assessment of fire and land-use history, physical resources, and vegetation and wildlife. This assessment revealed 80 acres of Barrens with high value for restoration, of which 60 acres have already been restored.

Additional surveys at the property have documented more than 50 species of birds, 47 butterfly species, 237 moths, and over 113 different plants, in addition to reptiles, amphibians, and native pollinators.

Barrens restoration efforts have improved habitat for 14 different species in some of the greatest need of conservation as outlined by SWAP. Most notably is the frosted elfin, a candidate butterfly for federal listing under the Endangered Species Act. The butterfly’s sole host plant is wild indigo, which grows abundantly in the Barrens at Weir Hill.

As management continues, new species have also been discovered. 2024 marked the first year The Trustees had breeding chestnut-sided-warblers, which rely on the Barrens habitat. Also, a “new” plant species was discovered—fern-leaved false foxglove—that thrives in fire-prone open oak woodland.

In 2023, The Trustees expanded restoration efforts and conducted a rare plant and pollinator augmentation project where the canopy was previously thinned. Staff prepped a 1-acre section of the Barrens and planted seeds from a variety of on-site Barrens plants including wild indigo, orange milkweed, mountain mint, bush clovers, goldenrod, and little bluestem. Seeds from a state listed plant—purple needlegrass—were also collected from a population adjacent to the site and introduced to the area another rare plant called New England blazing star.

Seeds and plugs were planted in the fall of 2023, and by the next year over 500 purple needlegrass plants were established and produced seed, making this species much more resilient in the landscape. Similar success was found with many of the other wildflowers.

While not all land is suitable for restoration, managing Barrens habitat is critical to maintaining these unique natural areas, rare species, and overall biodiversity in Massachusetts.