The Natural Resources Program at Camp Edwards on the Massachusetts Military Reservation ensures that the Massachusetts Army National Guard can provide its soldiers with the best training possible while at the same time protecting the valuable natural resources found at the base. Through one of the most extensive land management programs in Massachusetts, the needs of training are balanced with the needs of the environment by monitoring, maintaining and improving the resources found in the environmentally-significant training area.
As an avenue to address habitat and population declines in the New England 
Cottontail, the Massachusetts National Guard is taking part in the New England Cottontail (NEC) Initiative, developed as part of ongoing, proactive measures being taken to support the conservation, restoration, and maintenance of the cottontail habitat across the New England region and at Camp Edwards. Its ultimate goal is to pre-empt federal listing by demonstrating large-scale restoration efforts including creating and maintaining approximately 450 acres of habitat at Camp Edwards.
The NEC Initiative is a region-wide, multi-state, multi-agency partnership. State Wildlife Grant funding secured by the Massachusetts Division of Fisheries and Wildlife, in addition to grants from the US Fish and Wildlife Service, are funding habitat conservation on Camp Edwards through prescribed fire. Prescribed fire is a controlled application of fire that is being used to restore and maintain habitat for the rabbit--New England Cottontails prefer the shrubby habitat that prescribed fire promotes.
To date, the Initiative has cleared over three miles of fire breaks within the Impact Area on Camp Edwards as part of the New England Cottontail work funded by the State Wildlife Grant. The program has also completed the prescribed burn plan for the 200 acre Northeast Range Area and has already burned approximately 45 acres of that unit.
In addition to this effort, the Camp Edwards Natural Resource Office is conducting a five-year study on New England Cottontails living on the training site. The study will help determine the rabbits' home range size and habitat requirements. Data collected suggest the candidate species is thriving within areas that have seen fire disturbance in the past, as in the Impact Area.
The military base is an important part of New England cottontails Initiative efforts, which include restoration of pitch pine/scrub oak barrens and young forest habitat through prescribed burning, as well as trapping and tracking New England cottontails as part of a research study conducted by the Army National Guard. Camp Edwards, at 15,000 acres, is the largest piece of undeveloped land on upper Cape Cod and is the primary military training facility for National Guard and Reserve soldiers throughout New England. Made up of a variety of unique habitats and state-listed species, it's also home to the Upper Cape Water Supply Reserve.
Residents interested in learning more about the Massachusetts Military Reservation and the military commands and environmental programs housed here, may further explore our web site. The web site contains links to MMR-related sites. Residents may also call the Center's main number, 508-968-5143, and be put in contact with the appropriate MMR organization.
