Sustaining Biodiversity in Sandplain Grasslands Conference

On February 5, 2026 NAFSE collaborated with the Sandplain Grassland Network in co-hosting their annual conference. The online event, Sustaining Biodiversity in Sandplain Grasslands, was open to anyone interested in learning how to best manage and protect these globally rare ecosystems of the northeastern Atlantic coastal plain. You can review the recordings below as well as view the agenda, speaker abstracts, and the 2026 Regal Reintroduction Site Guidelines.

Talks from 900 AM to 1245 PM. See agenda below.

Talks from 115 PM to 400 PM. See agenda below.

Conference Agenda

Speaker Abstracts | 2026 Regal Reintroduction Site Guidelines

9:00 a.m. - Welcome & Housekeeping SGN Representative. Karen Lombard, Director of Stewardship and Restoration, The Nature Conservancy, MA. 9:15 a.m. - Options to Boost Resilience Following Shrub Invasion of Grasslands. Jesse Nippert, Professor, Kansas State University, Manhattan, KS. 9:55 a.m. - Black Pine Management to Restore Sandplain Grasslands: Increasing Resilience of a Globally Rare Habitat. Sarah Bois, Director of Research and Conservation, Linda Loring Nature Foundation, Nantucket, MA. 10:10 a.m. - Whoa, Didn’t See That Coming! Unexpected Outcomes from an Inland Pine Barrens Restoration. Neil Gifford, Conservation Director, Albany Pine Bush Preserve Commission, Albany, NY. 10:25 a.m. - Keeping the Sand in the Sandplains: Bare Sand Plays a Key Role in Supporting Biodiversity.  Jake McCumber, Natural Resources and Training Lands Manager, MA Army National Guard, Camp Edwards, MA. 10:40 a.m. - Forest Understory Regeneration Following Southern Pine Beetle Suppression Management on Nantucket Island. Karen Beattie, Vice President of Science and Stewardship, Nantucket Conservation Foundation Nantucket, MA.

10:45 a.m.   DISCUSSION (10 min) & BREAK (10 min)

11:05 a.m. - Distribution, Status, and Flora of Northern Atlantic Coastal Plain Heathland and Grassland. Michael Whittemore Director of Stewardship, Frenchman Bay Conservancy, Hancock, ME.

11:35 a.m. - Which Source to Choose for a Plant’s Name, Regional or Global? Nomenclature and Taxonomy in Sandplain Grasslands and Heathlands. Robert Wernerehl, Vice President, New England Botanical Society Glastonbury, CT.

11:50 a.m. - Current Status and Long-term Trends of Plant Species Richness and Growth Forms in Martha's Vineyard Grasslands. Patrick Farrar, Research Assistant, Woodwell Climate Research Center, Falmouth, MA.

12:05 p.m. - Land Use History of Middle Farms Flats, Fishers Island, N.Y. Jack Schnieder, Land Trust Manage and Jessica NeJame, Land Trust Stewardship Coordinator, Henry Ferguson Museum and Land Trust. Fishers Island, NY.

12:20 p.m. - Protecting Habitat in a Small Inland Sandplain Grassland. Fred Moder, Commissioner Conservation Committee, Town of Needham, Needham, MA.

12:25 p.m. - Soil Chemistry Alterations in Grasslands by Native and Non-Native Invasive Species. Kevin Ormerod, Owner, Bluestem Meadows RI, East Providence, RI.

12:30 p.m. - Miscanthus. Richard Couse, Natural Neighbors Program Director Biodiversity Works, Vineyard Haven, MA.

12:35 p.m. DISCUSSION (10 min) & LUNCH (30 min)

​1:15 p.m. - Just Scraping the Surface: Grassland Management at Fort Indiantown Gap (and Regal Fritillary Butterfly Boot Camp). Virginia Tilden, Department of Military and Veterans Affairs at Fort Indiantown Gap, Annville, PA.

1:30 p.m. - System-based Management Benefits Frosted Elfin in a Fire Managed Pitch Pine Scrub Oak Barren. Alexandria Soldo, Field Ecologist and Entomologist, Albany Pine Bush, Albany, NY.

1:45 p.m. - Fire on the Ground: Utilizing Prescribed Burns in a Suburban Landscape. Heather Coste, Director of Ecological Sustainability, Sisters of St. Joseph, Brentwood, NY.

2:00 p.m. - Examining the Effects of Fire Frequency on Plant Community Structure and Tick Population Dynamics in North Atlantic Coastal Ecosystems. Sam Gilvarg, PHD Candidate. SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry. Syracuse, NY.

2:15 p.m. DISCUSSION (10 min) & BREAK (10 min)

​2:35 p.m. - Grasslands as Key Facets of Cranberry Bog Restorations: Windswept Bog Nantucket, MA. Kelly Omand, Plant Research Ecologist & Botanist, Nantucket Conservation Foundation, Nantucket, MA.

2:50 p.m. - Early Progress in the Creation of Sandplain Grassland within the Mattapoisett Bogs Cranberry Bog Restoration Project. Chris Neill, Senior Scientist, Woodwell Climate Research Center, Falmouth, MA. 

3:05 p.m. - Comparison Point Intercepts Versus Quadrats for Quantifying Grassland-like Vegetation. Francesca LoPresti, Research Assistant, ACES Fellow, Woodwell Climate Research Center, Falmouth, MA.

3:20 p.m. - Living Observatory's Efforts to Create a Community of People Working on Bog Restoration, and a Clearinghouse for Bog Restoration Data. Adrian Wiegman, Learning Coordinator, Living Observatory, Plymouth, MA. 

3:35 p.m. - North Atlantic Fire Science Exchange (NAFSE) - Helping Connect Fire Science to Land Management in the North Atlantic. Polly Weigand, NE Fire Projects Manager, Forest Stewards Guild & North Atlantic Fire Science Exchange, Hampton Bays, NY.

3:45 p.m. DISCUSSION and CLOSING REMARKS 

4:00 p.m. Program Close

If you wish to learn more about the Sandplain Grassland Network please click the button below.

Sandplain Grassland Network Website