Habitat management resources

The following links provide valuable information for those who want to manage their lands for wildlife and for public enjoyment.

Resources

• Massachusetts State Wildlife Action Plan
  This Plan presents the 620 Species of Greatest Conservation Need in the Commonwealth, the 35 types of habitat that support these species, and the actions necessary to conserve them.
• Habitat Restoration Resource Center
  Find tools to restore and manage Massachusetts habitats for biodiversity and climate resilience.
• BioMap
  Biomap is an online tool that guides the strategic protection and stewardship of lands and waters that are most important for biodiversity conservation in Massachusetts.
• Eastern Ruffed Grouse Conservation Plan: 2025-2034
• Forestry Conservation Management Practices for Rare Species
  Find specific, science-based guidelines for conservation of rare species during forest harvesting.
• Grassland Birds in Massachusetts: An Action Plan for Conservation
   
• Mowing Advisory Guidelines for Turtle Habitat: Pastures, Successional Fields, and Hayfields
   
• Massachusetts Division of Fisheries and Wildlife Best Management Practices for Controlling Invasive Plants
   
• Managing Grasslands, Shrublands, and Young Forest Habitats for Wildlife: A Guide for the Northeast
  This guide contains chapters on using management tools like prescribed fire and herbicides along with habitat management case studies.
   
• Habitat Stewardship Brochure Series
  The series titles include: Vernal Pools, Peatlands, Shrublands, Floodplain Forests, Grasslands, Appalachian Oak-Pine Forests, Lowland Spruce-Fir Forests, Marsh and Shrub Wetlands, Hemlock-Hardwood-Pine Forest, Shorelines, Northern Hardwood-Conifer Forests, and Headwater Streams.
   
• New England Cottontail Best Management Practices
   
• American Woodcock: Habitat Best Management Practices for the Northeast
• Wildlife in Your Young Forest

Other grant/assistance programs

Additional habitat management grants and technical assistance programs are available from other state and federal agencies. MassWildlife can assist in identifying which of these can be utilized for various management activities, making contact with the applicable staff, and coordinating with them to develop projects.

State programs

• DCR's Forest Stewardship Program
  This educational non-regulatory program is designed to help private and public landowners protect the inherent ecosystem values of their forest. Recognizing the public benefits of good stewardship on private forestlands, the program supports and encourages private forest landowners' efforts to manage, enjoy, and care for their land using a long-term approach.
• Department of Conservation and Recreation
• Division of Ecological Restoration
• Division of Conservation Services

Federal programs

• U.S. Department of Agriculture–Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) Financial Assistance Programs
  NRCS offers financial and technical assistance to help agricultural producers make and maintain habitat improvements on their land.
• U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Partners for Fish and Wildlife Program
  The Partners for Fish and Wildlife Program provides technical and financial assistance to landowners, managers, tribes, corporations, schools, and nonprofits interested in improving wildlife habitats on their land. We have biologists located in several field offices throughout the Northeast Region. Projects are voluntary and customized to meet landowners' needs.
• U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Coastal Program
  The Coastal Program is one of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's most effective resources for restoring and protecting fish and wildlife habitat on public and privately-owned lands. The Program provides technical and financial assistance to partners interested in coastal community conservation. In the Northeast, we have biologists at the following four offices; Gulf of Maine, Southern New England, Delaware Bay, and Chesapeake Bay.

• U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service National Fish Passage Program
  The Fish Passage Program works with local communities on a voluntary basis to restore rivers and conserve our nation’s aquatic resources by removing or bypassing barriers. Our projects benefit both fish and people.