Federal,
state wildlife agencies release New England cottontails on island refuge
As part of an ongoing conservation
effort to restore the rare New England cottontail rabbit to New England and
eastern New York, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, along with partners,
released 13 wild-caught New England cottontails Tuesday, May 7, on Nomans Land Island National Wildlife Refuge, an island
off Martha’s Vineyard.
Formerly used by the U.S. Navy to
practice bombing, the island refuge is anticipated to host a thriving,
sustainable population of rare rabbits and serve as a source of rabbits to
boost mainland New England cottontail populations. The project is part of a larger
range-wide New England cottontail conservation and restoration effort.
In late winter, MassWildlife
biologists and technicians trapped 13 wild rabbits on the mainland. The rabbits
were cared for by Bristol County Agricultural High School students in Dighton,
Massachusetts. Roger Williams Park Zoo in Providence provided veterinary
services and the University of Rhode Island conducted genetic work.
The rabbits were fitted Monday with tracking collars to assist biologists in monitoring rabbit movement and survival. Habitat evaluation studies suggest that Nomans Land Island’s self-sustaining coastal shrublands can support 600 cottontails or more. A similar effort in 2012 established a population of New England cottontails on Patience Island in Rhode Island’s Narragansett Bay.
The rabbits were fitted Monday with tracking collars to assist biologists in monitoring rabbit movement and survival. Habitat evaluation studies suggest that Nomans Land Island’s self-sustaining coastal shrublands can support 600 cottontails or more. A similar effort in 2012 established a population of New England cottontails on Patience Island in Rhode Island’s Narragansett Bay.
“A New England cottontail colony on
Nomans Land Island will be like insurance for our only native rabbit,” said
Eileen McGourty, the lead Fish and Wildlife Service biologist on the project.
“The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is pleased to continue efforts under the
cottontail conservation initiative and is grateful for the partnership that has
made this project possible.”
“Partnering with the Service and
others on the rabbit capture and release project is just one of several
conservation actions MassWildlife is taking to restore New England
cottontails,” said David Scarpitti, MassWildlife upland game biologist.
“However, without the right type of habitat, there are no rabbits.
Actively managing land through conducting prescribed fires, clearing or thinning trees address the rabbits’ fundamental habitat needs. These activities have and continue to be a major priority for MassWildlife and other NEC partners on state, federal and private lands in and near areas where these rabbits are located.”
Actively managing land through conducting prescribed fires, clearing or thinning trees address the rabbits’ fundamental habitat needs. These activities have and continue to be a major priority for MassWildlife and other NEC partners on state, federal and private lands in and near areas where these rabbits are located.”
New England cottontails,
Massachusetts’s only native rabbit, are uncommon. The eastern cottontail, its
look-alike relative, is a common and non-native rabbit that most people see in
their yards and communities.
Unlike eastern cottontails, New England cottontail rabbits seek protection in very dense thickets, sapling-like forests, shrubby, overgrown brambles and pine-oak and heathland habitats. Over several decades, these habitats matured into older and taller woods or were cleared for development.
Subsequently, New England cottontail populations dwindled as ground-level food and shelter for rabbits became scarce. Today, the New England cottontail is found only in southern Maine, southern New Hampshire, and parts of Massachusetts, Connecticut, Rhode Island, and New York east of the Hudson River — less than a fifth of its historic range.
Unlike eastern cottontails, New England cottontail rabbits seek protection in very dense thickets, sapling-like forests, shrubby, overgrown brambles and pine-oak and heathland habitats. Over several decades, these habitats matured into older and taller woods or were cleared for development.
Subsequently, New England cottontail populations dwindled as ground-level food and shelter for rabbits became scarce. Today, the New England cottontail is found only in southern Maine, southern New Hampshire, and parts of Massachusetts, Connecticut, Rhode Island, and New York east of the Hudson River — less than a fifth of its historic range.
“The Wildlife Genetics and Ecology
Laboratory at the University of Rhode Island is pleased to assist in the New
England cottontail conservation effort,” said laboratory director T.J. McGreevy
Jr., assistant research professor at URI.
“We look forward to continuing to use our genetic expertise to support the Nomans Land Island project, in hopes that a self-sustaining breeding colony will develop and help mainland populations.”
“We look forward to continuing to use our genetic expertise to support the Nomans Land Island project, in hopes that a self-sustaining breeding colony will develop and help mainland populations.”
“We are proud to be part of this
amazing partnership and excited to see this collaboration grow,” said Lou
Perrotti, Roger Williams Park Zoo director of conservation programs. “This is a
fantastic example of partners in action for species conservation while
inspiring the next generation.”
The initiative to save the New
England cottontail, the only cottontail rabbit native to New England and
eastern New York, has been lauded as a model for collaborative public-private
conservation.
When cottontail populations declined, the states, the USDA-Natural Resources Conservation Service, private landowners, university researchers, the Fish and Wildlife Service and other partners recognized the urgency and the opportunity to conserve this species.
The initiative developed and launched conservation efforts to reverse those declines. In 2015, the Fish and Wildlife Service determined the New England cottontail did not require federal protection under the Endangered Species Act, but called for continued conservation efforts.
When cottontail populations declined, the states, the USDA-Natural Resources Conservation Service, private landowners, university researchers, the Fish and Wildlife Service and other partners recognized the urgency and the opportunity to conserve this species.
The initiative developed and launched conservation efforts to reverse those declines. In 2015, the Fish and Wildlife Service determined the New England cottontail did not require federal protection under the Endangered Species Act, but called for continued conservation efforts.
Nomans Land Island is part of the
Eastern Massachusetts National Wildlife Refuge Complex, headquartered in
Sudbury. The refuge is part of a national network of lands and waters that are
administered for the conservation, management, and, where appropriate,
restoration of fish, wildlife, and plant resources and their habitats within
the United States for the benefit of present and future generations of
Americans. There are 566 national wildlife refuges across the country,
protecting more than 150 million acres of land for wildlife conservation.