January 2026 Advisory Committee Meeting Minutes

Minutes from the January 2026 meeting of the Natural Heritage and Endangered Species Advisory Committee

Location: Virtually via a Zoom webinar

Date: January 8, 2026

Chair Mello opened the January meeting at 1:32 p.m.  

Attendees

MEMBERS:
Present: Wayne Petersen, Matt Sisk, Dave Small, Kevin Powers, Mark Mello, Bill Brumback
Absent: N/A

ASSOCIATE MEMBERS:
Present: Russ Hopping, Andy Finton
Absent: N/A

AGENCY STAFF:
Present: Jesse Leddick

OTHERS:
Present: Meg Sheehan and Janet Sinclair (Community Land and Water Coalition), Rob Hart 
Other Agency Staff: Jason Zimmer, Nicole Keleher, Alex Entrup, Caren Caljouw, Emily Myron
DFW Board Members: Kyla Hastie, Malcolm Haith

Acceptance of the Minutes of the November Meeting

Dave Small motioned that the November minutes be accepted, Kevin Powers seconded, and members voted unanimously to approve. 

Committee Chair Mark Mello's comments

1. Max Strahan's letter on whale protection was sent to Committee members. Mark Mello does not intend to grant Mr. Strahan’s request.
2. Upcoming conferences of interest:
   1. Sandplain Grassland Network Conference – February 5. Learn more about this conference. 
   2. North Atlantic Fire Science Exchange – series of webinars
3. DFW sponsoring a Southern Pine Beetle and Barrens Management Walk on January 17th at Mashpee Pine Barrens WMA – registration is required. Learn more about this walk. 

Board Member Matt Sisk's comments

1. MassWildlife Board changes: Steven Sears has resigned as Board Chair, leaving a vacancy. Emma Ellsworth, former Secretary, was elected Chair. Ernie Foster was elected Vice Chair. Malcom Haith was elected as Secretary. 
2. New Board Members: Kyla Hastie replaces John Organ on the Board. She has more than 28 years of federal and nonprofit fish and wildlife conservation experience. Malcolm Haith replaces Bob Duran on the Board. He brings a lifetime of outdoor experience to this position and is an avid hunting dog trainer.
   1. Kyla Hastie and Malcolm Haith were present and briefly introduced themselves to the Advisory Committee.
3. Eve Schluter has been appointed Acting Director of MassWildlife. A nationwide search for a new Director is being led by a Board sub-committee (Emma Ellsworth, Ernie Foster, and Kyla Hastie) in consultation with DFG Commissioner O’Shea. 
4. Board enacted an emergency regulation to help address deer overpopulation on the islands. In Zones 13 and 14 (Martha’s Vineyard and Nantucket) the hunting season for primitive firearms and archery has been extended by 2 additional weeks in February and September. Public hearings will be scheduled in early 2026 to determine if these changes will be made permanent.
5. Deer overpopulation also generated a spirited discussion about expanding the deer season to other areas of the state and on allowing hunting on Sunday (including changes to the current setbacks).
6. Matt mentioned that DFW will be holding listening sessions to consider potential changes to expand hunting opportunities in Massachusetts, including allowance of Sunday hunting. Read the associated press release.

NHESP & Assistant Director Jesse Leddick's Report

1. Personnel Update: Hiring freeze is preventing filling vacancies, but NHESP is still able to hire contract positions. These positions include a contract for analyzing rare shore bird data and a short term (four month) botanical technician contractor to help with GIS mapping. In addition, the EEA internship program helps direct interns to various programs. A Harvard educated intern has been helping Karro Frost with botanical GIS mapping but will be departing in January. NHESP is bringing on another volunteer to assist Karro in January and will continue to pursue intern/volunteer help until they are able to backfill the State Botanist position. 
2. Update on Projects and activities – The Trump administration has proposed changes to the U.S. Endangered Species Act (ESA) including:
   1. changes to protections provided to Threatened species
      1. changes to listing and Critical Habitat designations (Section 4)
      2. reduction in the Interagency Cooperation rule
      3. changes to the habitat Exclusion rule (Section 7)
3. Discussion on whether NHESAC should comment on these rule changes as a committee. (It was voted that a draft letter would be written by Matt Sisk for the Advisory Committee to review, but it was later discovered that the comment period on the proposed rules had closed in late December.)
4. Jesse intends to schedule a presentation by the Land and Habitat Restoration Section at a future Committee meeting – likely at the next meeting in April – to provide more information on rationale and benefits of their barrens restoration work. 
5. Jesse introduced Meg Sheehan of the Community Land and Water Coalition (CLWC) and said that she (and Janet Sinclair) had 10 minutes for their presentation. Ms. Sheehan had sent slides to accompany her presentation, and these were received by all Committee members before the meeting. Ms. Sheehan’s slides were not shown as part of her presentation – consistent with guidance provided to Ms. Sheehan prior to the meeting – but the Committee could follow her presentation using the slides previously received. Jesse also uploaded the slides to the Zoom meeting chat so that anyone listening in could view the slides as well. 

Community Land & Water Coalition Comments (Meg Sheehan/Janet Sinclair)

Meg Sheehan’s organization’s goal is, “To protect, preserve and steward the land and water resources of Southeastern Massachusetts.” Her presentation included 3 topics:

1. Public Lands: Forest Management
   1. They are concerned about the management of Myles Standish State Forest and other adjacent state lands. She said that 2,700 acres have been logged, burned, and clearcut. She indicated that the public and the Wampanoag tribes are upset about the industrial-scale logging and burning, and that CLWC has asked the State to put a pause on this until the effects of these actions on over 270 species are determined. NHESP is cited as justifying the destruction which she said includes loss of habitat for bats and loss of shade for other species. 
2. Priority Habitat Loss: #521
   1. The slides demonstrated “sand mining” on approximately 40 acres at 71 Hedges Pond Road in Plymouth. They say that these acres were obliterated, and that they are in priority habitat. One of her slides showed a “No Take” letter issued by NHESP.
3. “Cranberry Agriculture”
   1. The slides showed a 47-acre sand and gravel mine at 104 Tremont Street in Carver MA that had Conditional Take Permit NHESP 23-8375 issued by NHESP. 

Janet Sinclair then tried to speak, but due to technical difficulties, could not be heard. She donated her time back to Meg Sheehan. In closing, Ms. Sheehan requested:

1. State and F&W Board put a pause on additional logging at Myles Standish State Forest and other adjacent state lands.
2. More engagement with CLWC and the Wampanoag tribes.
3. A meeting with NHESP and the F&W Board to discuss these issues. They feel that there has been a lack of engagement and a lack of transparency on these issues. 

Kevin Powers said that he is also perplexed with the number of activities in Plymouth and would be interested in understanding what the Agency provides as justification for logging and sand mining.

At this point, Janet Sinclair was able to get onto the call and had two comments:

1. Looking at western Massachusetts, specifically Montague Plains Pine Barrens Restoration. Their (Save Massachusetts Forests) experts don’t agree with the reasons for the restoration.
2. She is frustrated and feels that species protection is being overturned by the Agency. She feels that there is a lack of collaboration with the public. A walk in the area isn’t good enough. There’s a lack of community input. 

Jesse Leddick, Assistant Director of MA NHESP, responded:

1. MA Natural Heritage staff are listening to this call, so they can hear the comments.
2. He won’t discuss the Pine Barrens restoration today but, instead, has invited our Land and Habitat Conservation team to address these issues at the Committee’s next meeting in April.
3. However, he wanted to address several specific questions / projects brought up by Ms. Sheehan:
   1. Ms. Sheehan referenced a public document request in the slides and indicated that NHESP’s response confirmed that it had no documents or information to support its barrens restoration work. Jesse confirmed that this request was in reference to a single DCR project that has not yet come to NHESP for review under MESA, that this records request and our response to it was being taken out of context to inaccurately suggest that NHESP/DFW doesn’t have any scientific basis for its barrens restoration work, and that NHESP/DFW relies on sound science to inform and guide all of its barrens restoration work.
   2. Ms. Sheehan referenced Project #521 in Plymouth: It is important to keep in mind that, under MESA, Natural Heritage review is limited to the species for which a proposed project is mapped, and that the outcome of our review depends on the nexus of the species, the current habitat, and the project. In this case the site is mapped for a single Special Concern species – the Eastern Whip-poor-will. When priority habitat is mapped, it is based on the most current aerial images, which may not always give a clear sense to current, on-the-ground habitat conditions. Habitat in the image at that time was intact closed canopy forest, which does not provide suitable breeding habitat for the whip-poor-will (which uses dry, open woodlands like those created and maintained by our barrens restoration work for breeding), and thus, did not constitute a take. 
   3. Cranberry Agriculture in Carver: Again, MESA review rests on the three factors mentioned previously. In this case, the project is at the edge of priority habitat for a freshwater turtle which lives in ponds and only leaves its water habitat seasonally to nest in sandy areas. The project involves the creation of cranberry bogs in upland forest, well away from where the species occurs. Although the project was large, only a small area – less than two acres of mapped habitat in an upland forest – was to be impacted by the project. This is a relatively small area and didn’t appear to provide any suitable nesting habitat for this listed species. Natural Heritage’s concern was not with the loss of upland forest habitat where they don’t live, but rather, the sandy soils opened by the construction that would draw the turtles in to the site to lay eggs and therefore potentially come into harm’s way. Therefore, the project was conditioned to require implementation of a turtle protection plan (with turtle barriers to exclude the turtles from construction areas). 
   4. The insinuation that Natural Heritage is not objectively reviewing projects is not true. Not all projects rise to the level of “take” and some can be conditioned to avoid a “take.” Ms. Sheehan has previously been provided with information on these and a variety of other relevant projects, including projects that have resulted in a “take” and required further permitting and mitigation to proceed. 

Comments on the Presentation and the Response:

1. Mark Mello reminded our audience that the Committee’s role is advisory to MA Natural Heritage and its Director regarding recommendations of species to be added, deleted, or change of status. We do not review projects, or make comments on projects, and we are not voting yes or no on any projects.
2. Kevin Powers thanked Jesse for his cogent and logical response. He also said that Project #521, a gross taking of sand, has a powerline through the middle of it. One bulldozer operator died while grading the sand. He noted that the Agency’s explanations are coherent with MESA and the information provided but suggested that people are looking for a way to stop this development. 

Member’s Comments:

• Kevin Powers: Update on North Atlantic Right Whales
  • North Atlantic Right Whales calve from mid-November to mid-April.
  • The current total population estimate is 384 and includes 70 reproductive females.
  • Two-thirds of the total population uses the Outer Cape and Cape Cod Bay in any year.
  • Five individuals were spotted on December 12-13, 2025, in the Outer Cape and sightings should increase until May.
  • From 2014-2023: 108 NA Right Whales were born, compared with 216 births from 2004-2013. Birthrates have decreased by ~50% in last two decades. 
  • So far this year there are 9 known births (~10-15 calves are now born each year). The population needs 20 births per year to stay stable and 50 per year to grow.
  • Management includes seasonal fishing (fixed gear) closures in Cape Cod Bay (Jan – May) and dynamic management areas (shipping lanes) where ships can travel no more than 10 knots because of recent whale sightings.
  • A single NA Right Whale was observed in Donegal Bay in Ireland in mid-July 2024 and resighted near Boston in late 2025, showing their capability to travel across the Atlantic (former range).
  • Mark Mello asked how many whales a female can produce in her lifetime. Kevin did not know the exact number, but females now calf every 7-10 years indicating population stress, as they historically calved every 3-4 years. 
• Wayne Petersen: None
• Bill Brumback: None
• Dave Small: Winter birds and bat monitoring in 2026 
  • Monitoring of hoary bats on the Vineyard is occurring. He commends DCR on its bat monitoring efforts.

Associate Member’s Comments:

• Andy Finton: None
• Russ Hopping: None

Set next meeting date and time

The Committee members confirmed the next meeting date as Thursday, April 9, 2026, at 1:30 p.m. via a Zoom webinar.

Adjourn

Mark Mello asked for a motion to adjourn. Matt Sisk motioned to adjourn. Dave Small seconded the motion. The vote in favor was unanimous, and the meeting adjourned at 3:17 p.m.

Drafted and submitted by Bill Brumback.