Ecological Extension Service (EES)

What is the EES?
Skills & Services
Current and Recently Completed Projects
Principal Staff
Contact Information

What is the EES?
The Ecological Extension Service is a program through which Mass Audubon shares with conservation partners the considerable expertise we've developed in managing our own 34,000-acre sanctuary system. Through EES we are able to assist land trusts, towns, agencies, watershed associations, and private landowners with conservation prioritization, ecological inventory, mapping, trail design, management planning, restoration, research, and interpretation of open space. We have worked with a variety of open space owners and partnerships on landscapes from 5 to 5,000 acres.

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Skills & Services

EES staff skills include: Natural resource inventory and research Habitat conservation and restoration Land protection prioritization Ecological management planning Trail design and interpretation GIS mapping and analysis Land steward training Conservation restriction monitoring

EES services are available to: Land trusts Conservation commissions Government agencies Educational Institutions Other land managers

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Current and Recently Completed Projects

Brister's Hill
With the Walden Woods Project, planning for the restoration, management, and interpretation of this former sand mine site in Concord, Mass., which was also the location of Henry David Thoreau’s initial observations on forest succession. Previous work includes inventory of the area, historical photo and map research, and recommendations for the restoration of the nearby former town landfill to a native grassland.

Shrubland Bird Research
Cooperative research with the US Forest Service and Northeast Utilities into landscape- and site-level characteristics influencing the distribution and reproductive success of early successional shrubland birds nesting in powerline rights-of-way. Also includes inventory of butterflies along powerlines.

MassWildlife Forest Inventory
Assisting state wildlife agency with field inventory of Wildlife Management Areas and GIS management to support application for Forest Stewardship Council certification.

Wilmington Town Forest
Completing comprehensive inventory and recreation plan for 200-acre forest in Wilmington, Mass. Cooperating with forester and landscape architect on visitor access and plan for long-term habitat management.

Rocky Hill Master Plan
Inventory and management planning for a 400-acre parcel in Groton, Mass.

Daniels Farm
Inventory and management plan for 200-acre historic farm in Blackstone, Mass.

Towners Pond Conservation Area
Inventory, mapping, and trails improvement plan for the Melrose Conservation Commission on a 20-acre forested parcel in a densely settled area.

Nashua River Watershed
Using GIS, field work, and expert input, we worked with the Nashua River Watershed Association to designate areas of the watershed which should be the focus of wildlife habitat protection. Follow-up work included inventories of five of these large areas.

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Principal Staff

Jeffrey Collins – Director, Ecological Extension Service
Jeff is a landscape ecologist focusing on landscape-scale patterns and processes and using them to inform management of conservation lands. He has broad experience as a field naturalist with inventory of plants, animals, and natural communities; inventories of trails and other recreational facilities; restoration planning and management; and research design and implementation. Much of Jeff’s work has focused on inventory and planning for control of invasive species including intensive inventories on large properties.  He completed a comprehensive invasives management plan for the Assabet River National Wildlife Refuge and has coordinated formation of a Cooperative Invasive Species Management Area in the Sudbury-Assabet-Concord watershed.  He has designed palmtop GIS (ArcPad) data collection tools for field survey of invasive plants and trail systems.  He holds a M.S. in Botany from the University of Vermont Field Naturalist Program.

James DeNormandie – Conservation Planner
James applies his extensive background with landscape analysis and modeling to projects that assist with identifying conservation priorities.  As project manager for the 2009 update of Mass Audubon’s Losing Ground report, he drew on a wide range of datasets and experts to create a quantitative snapshot of land use change over 30 years.  James is now working with the Massachusetts Natural Heritage & Endangered Species Program on an update of the BioMap, a statewide blueprint for habitat protection.  Previously, James worked in a multi-year collaboration with the MassWildlife Forestry Program, managing collection and analysis of field data for the agency’s sustainable forestry certification.  He holds a M.S. in Wildlife Ecology from Utah State University.

Liz Newlands – Ecological Extension Service Naturalist
Liz is a field ecologist specializing in ecological inventory, environmental monitoring and adaptive management planning. Liz has extensive knowledge of the diverse nature of Massachusetts and her field work has taken her from the Berkshire hills to the outer reaches of Cape Cod. The field season lasts year-round for Liz, and she conducts winter tracking surveys, vernal pool studies, breeding bird surveys, botanical inventories and natural community surveys as the seasons turn. Liz previously served as an ecologist for MA Natural Heritage & Endangered Species Program Living Waters project. She then joined the staff at EES as a member of the MassWildlife Forest Biomonitoring Project team where she conducted comprehensive biological inventories of upland forests on state wildlife management areas. More recently, Liz has conducted wetland delineations, invasive plant species inventories, and avian point-count surveys at various conservation lands, airports and wildlife management areas across the state. Liz is currently conducting her second survey of rare marsh birds for the MA Natural Heritage & Endangered Species Program. She holds a M.S. in Environmental Studies from Bard College, and is a former member of the Conservation Commission and Community Preservation Committee in Holliston, where she makes her home.

Bill Giezentanner – Conservation Planner
Bill Giezentanner is an environmental planner, landscape designer and resource management specialist. His twenty-five years of planning and design experience include projects involving outdoor recreation, tourism, conservation, historic preservation, interpretation of natural resources, public education, and non-profit facility development. After 15 years as Chief Planner for the Mass Audubon, with responsibility for the planning, design and construction of nature trails and other facilities, Bill currently works in a consulting capacity with the Ecological Extension Service.

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Contact Information

For more information or to discuss a project, contact us at (781) 259-2159 or e-mail us. We will be happy to review your needs and develop an appropriate proposal.

All income for these services, above direct expenses, assist Mass Audubon in its conservation, education, and research programs.

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