Project Description: The goal of this project is to evaluate the current conditions of faunal communities (specifically breeding landbird, amphibian, reptile, and fish communities) at the newly acquired Barrett’s Farm Unit of Minute Man National Historical Park. Reference criteria will be the same as those used in the parkwide Natural Resource Condition Assessment conducted in 2009, prior to acquisition of the Barrett’s Farm Unit (NPS 2009). As in the 2009 Natural Resource Condition Assessment, reference criteria will be used to rank the condition of individual faunal communities as “good,” “caution,” or “significant concern.” The project will result in a final report suitable for the NPS Natural Resource Report series as well as a public-facing communication product. The published research, excepting locations of rare species if detected, will be free and publicly available.
Project objectives include (a) documenting amphibian, reptile, bird, and fish occurrences using data from iNaturalist, eBird, Massachusetts Division of Fisheries and Wildlife, and other existing data sources; (b) surveying amphibians using anuran calling surveys, egg mass counts, time-constrained searches, coverboards, turtle trap surveys, and minnow trap surveys, mirroring the methodology used to assess wetlands in other portions of park; (c) concurrently surveying reptiles using time-constrained searches, coverboards, and turtle trap surveys; and (d) assessing the condition of amphibians, reptiles, birds, and fish on the Barrett’s Farm Unit.
Lead Principal Investigator: Dr. Robert Stevenson, University of Massachusetts Boston
Partner Institution: University of Massachusetts Boston
Federal Agency: National Park Service
Federal Agency Technical Contact: Tammy Cook
Project Type: Research
Project Discipline: Natural Resources
Project Sub-Discipline(s): Biological (Ecology, Fish, Wildlife, Vegetation, T&E)
Start Year: 2022
End Year: 2024
Initial Funding Amount: $30,000.00
Federal Grant Number: P23AC00064
Location: Minute Man National Historical Park–WASO/WRD/NRCA
Products Associated with this Project:
- Montagna, T., N. McDonnell, D. Woodhams, L. De León, and R. Stevenson. 2024. Natural resource assessment of the Barrett’s Farm Unit: Minute Man National Historical Park. Science Report NPS/SR—2024/216. National Park Service, Fort Collins, Colorado. https://doi.org/10.36967/2305887 (Technical Report (Published))
- National Park Service (NPS). 2024. Amphibians, Reptiles, and Birds at Barrett’s Farm. Available at: https://www.nps.gov/articles/000/nrca_mima_2024_barrett.htm (accessed 15 Jan 2025) (Internet Media (all types))