Woman holding binoculars Join today and get outside at one of our 60+ wildlife sanctuaries.
Woman holding binoculars Join today and get outside at one of our 60+ wildlife sanctuaries.
A tall white bird sticks out in a green saltmarsh. A channel of open water cuts through the center of the marsh.
Allens Pond, South Dartmouth

Conservation Projects at Allens Pond

Allens Pond Wildlife Sanctuary is actively involved with a variety of research projects that relate to wildlife monitoring, research, restoration, and conservation.

Salt Marsh Restoration

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Southeast New England Program (SNEP) selected Allens Pond Wildlife Sanctuary in Westport among its 2020 Watershed Grant recipients. SNEP works in partnership with stakeholders including Mass Audubon "to promote resilient ecosystems of clean water, healthy diverse habitats, and sustainable communities in Southeast New England." 

  • Removing specific infrastructure that acts as barriers to salt marsh migration including stone walls at Allens Pond.
  • Removing invasive species and planting native species at the Darthmouth Natural Resources Trust’s Ocean View Farm Reserve (neighboring Allens Pond Wildlife Sanctuary) in effort to help facilitate wildlife and habitat movement landward as a response to sea level rise and act as a wetland buffer (an area with plants that helps protect the wetland and all its climate services). 
  • Implementing salt marsh climate adaptation techniques that will help alleviate flooding stress and promote vegetation growth on the marsh at Allens Pond in partnership with Save the Bay and Bristol County Mosquito Control.

Learn more about this project by exploring our StoryMap

Coastal Waterbird Monitoring

The South East-based Coastal Waterbird Team monitored the efforts of 73 pairs of Piping Plovers at 17 beaches on the South Coast and South Shore. Get more details out coastal waterbird monitoring

South Coast Osprey Project

Westport, Massachusetts, is home to one of the more significant breeding populations of Osprey in North America. Since 2004, Allens Pond Wildlife Sanctuary, with the essential support of volunteers and partner organizations, annually monitors the breeding activity of 80 pairs of Osprey on nearly 100 nesting platforms in Westport and Dartmouth, MA. 

These platforms were installed beginning around 1965 by two local residents, Gil and Jo Fernandez, and willing property owners and Osprey friends.

Find out more about the project and how you can get involved

Monarch Watch Tagging

Throughout the month of September, the South East wildlife sanctuaries hold Monarch tagging events as part of the national Monarch Watch program. These events for the public and for school groups take place at Allens Pond, Daniel Webster, North River, and Attleboro Springs wildlife sanctuaries. 

The Monarchs tagged are on their fall migration to Mexico, where other scientists will report the tags they recover during the monarch’s overwintering period.