The Massachusetts Audubon Society, commonly known as Mass Audubon, founded in 1896 by Harriet Hemenway and Minna B. Hall and headquartered in Lincoln, Massachusetts, is a nonprofit organization dedicated to "protecting the nature of Massachusetts". Mass Audubon is independent of the National Audubon Society (NAS), and was founded earlier than the NAS. Mass Audubon protects more than 40,000 acres of land throughout Massachusetts, saving birds and other wildlife, and making nature accessible to all with its wildlife sanctuaries and 20 nature centers.
History The Massachusetts Audubon Society was born out of Harriet Hemenway's desire to stop the commercial slaughter of birds for women's ornamental hats. Hemenway and her cousin, Minna Hall, soon enlisted 900 women and formed a partnership with many from Boston's scientific community to form their organization. They named the organization the Massachusetts Audubon Society in honor of the bird painter John James Audubon. In 1905, a national committee of Audubon societies was developed. This committee was vital in passing the Migratory Bird Conservation Act in 1913 and the Migratory Bird Treaty Act of 1918 with Great Britain. The passage of these measures effectively eliminated the commercial plume trade.
Mass Audubon's first wildlife sanctuary, Moose Hill Wildlife Sanctuary in Sharon, Massachusetts, dates back to 1916 when the board accepts an offer of Sharon resident George Field to use his property as a bird sanctuary. Mass Audubon purchased the parcel in 1922.
Wildlife sanctuaries
Mass Audubon's statewide network of more than 100 wildlife sanctuaries welcomes visitors of all ages and is a home for more than 150 endangered and threatened native species. Some of the sanctuaries, as noted below, have staffed nature centers or museums.
For information about properties without a Wikipedia page, visit the Mass Audubon website's list of wildlife sanctuaries and select the property.
Name Town County Location Acreage Open topublic Description Photos Allens Pond Wildlife Sanctuary Westport Bristol Yes With nature center Arcadia Wildlife Sanctuary Easthampton Hampshire Yes With nature center Ashumet Holly Wildlife Sanctuary East Falmouth Barnstable Yes Attleboro Springs Wildlife Sanctuary Attleboro Bristol Yes Barnstable Great Marsh Wildlife Sanctuary Barnstable Barnstable Yes Blue Hills Trailside Museum Milton Norfolk Yes small museum, outdoor exhibit area and event facility within the Blue Hills Reservation Boston Nature Center Mattapan Suffolk Yes With nature center and event facility Brewster's Woods Wildlife Sanctuary Concord Middlesex Yes Broad Hill Wildlife Sanctuary Holliston Middlesex Yes Broad Meadow Brook Conservation Center and Wildlife Sanctuary Worcester Worcester Yes With nature center and event facility Broadmoor Wildlife Sanctuary Natick Middlesex Yes With nature center and event facility Burncoat Pond Wildlife Sanctuary Spencer Worcester Yes Canoe Meadows Wildlife Sanctuary Pittsfield Berkshire Yes Cedar Pond Wildlife Sanctuary Wenham Essex Yes Chelsea Creek Sanctuary Chelsea Suffolk No Proposed Cheshire Pond Wildlife Sanctuary Ashburnham Worcester No Cold Brook Wildlife Sanctuary Sandisfield Berkshire No "Planning is now underway for the removal of buildings in disrepair at the home site, the creation of trails for passive recreation, and a parking area nearby." Conway Hills Wildlife Sanctuary Conway Franklin Yes Cook’s Canyon Wildlife Sanctuary Barre Worcester Yes Daniel Webster Wildlife Sanctuary Marshfield Plymouth Yes Drumlin Farm Wildlife Sanctuary Lincoln Middlesex Yes With farm exhibit buildings, nature center, and event facility Eagle Lake Wildlife Sanctuary Holden Worcester Yes Eastern Point Wildlife Sanctuary Gloucester Essex Yes Endicott Wildlife Sanctuary Wenham Essex Yes Felix Neck Wildlife Sanctuary Edgartown Dukes Yes With nature center Flat Rock Wildlife Sanctuary Fitchburg Worcester Yes Graves Farm Wildlife Sanctuary Williamsburg Hampshire Yes Great Neck Wildlife Sanctuary Wareham Plymouth Yes Habitat Education Center and Wildlife Sanctuary Belmont Middlesex Yes With nature center and event facility High Ledges Wildlife Sanctuary Shelburne Franklin Yes Ipswich River Wildlife Sanctuary Topsfield Essex Yes With nature center Joppa Flats Education Center Newburyport Essex Yes With nature center Kettle Island Wildlife Sanctuary Manchester-by-the Sea Essex No Landing on the island is prohibited Lake Wampanoag Wildlife Sanctuary Gardner Worcester Yes Laughing Brook Wildlife Sanctuary Hampden Hampden Yes Lime Kiln Farm Wildlife Sanctuary Sheffield Berkshire Yes Lincoln Woods Wildlife Sanctuary Leominster Worcester Yes Long Pasture Wildlife Sanctuary Barnstable Barnstable Yes With nature center and event facility Lost Farm Wildlife Sanctuary Nantucket Nantucket Yes Lynes Woods Wildlife Sanctuary Westhampton Hampshire Yes Magazine Beach Park Nature Center Cambridge Middlesex Yes Nature center within the Charles River Reservation Marblehead Neck Wildlife Sanctuary Marblehead Essex Yes Moose Hill Wildlife Sanctuary Sharon Norfolk Yes With nature center and event facility Museum of American Bird Art Education Center & Wildlife Sanctuary Canton Norfolk Yes Gallery closed as of July 2023 Nahant Thicket Wildlife Sanctuary Nahant Essex Yes Nashoba Brook Wildlife Sanctuary Westford Middlesex Yes North Hill Marsh Wildlife Sanctuary Duxbury Plymouth Yes North River Wildlife Sanctuary Marshfield Plymouth Yes With nature center Norwood Mills Wildlife Sanctuary Rockport Essex Yes Oak Knoll Wildlife Sanctuary Attleboro Bristol Yes With nature center Old Baldy Wildlife Sanctuary Otis Berkshire Yes Palmer Brook Wildlife Sanctuary Becket Berkshire No Under development Pawtucket Farm Wildlife Sanctuary Lowell Middlesex Yes Opened in 2024 Pierpont Meadow Wildlife Sanctuary Dudley Worcester Yes Pleasant Valley Wildlife Sanctuary Lenox Berkshire Yes With nature center Poor Farm Hill Wildlife Sanctuary New Salem Franklin Yes Richardson Brook Wildlife Sanctuary Tolland Hampden Yes Road's End Wildlife Sanctuary Worthington Hampshire Yes Rocky Hill Wildlife Sanctuary Groton Middlesex Yes Rough Meadows Wildlife Sanctuary Rowley Essex Yes Rutland Brook Wildlife Sanctuary Petersham Worcester Yes Sampsons Island Wildlife Sanctuary Barnstable Barnstable Yes Much of the island is closed to visitors in spring and summer to protect nesting birds. Sesachacha Heathlands Wildlife Sanctuary Nantucket Nantucket Yes Skunknett River Wildlife Sanctuary Barnstable Barnstable Yes Stony Brook Wildlife Sanctuary Norfolk Norfolk Yes With nature center Straitsmouth Island Wildlife Sanctuary Rockport Essex Yes Open May 15 to August 30, accessible only by kayak. Tidmarsh Wildlife Sanctuary Plymouth Plymouth Yes Tracy Brook Wildlife Sanctuary Richmond Berkshire No No trails; observe heron rookery from road pull-off. Wachusett Meadow Wildlife Sanctuary Princeton Worcester Yes With nature center and event facility Waseeka Wildlife Sanctuary Hopkinton Middlesex Yes Wellfleet Bay Wildlife Sanctuary Wellfleet Barnstable Yes With nature center West Mountain Wildlife Sanctuary Plainfield Hampshire Yes
Camp Wildwood Camp Wildwood, established in 1950, is the Society's only overnight summer camp, and it is accredited by the American Camp Association. The 159 acre camp is located in Rindge, New Hampshire, on Hubbard Pond, bordering 1,494-acre Annett State Forest. The property includes a central shower house, arts and crafts center, 135-seat dining hall, health center, office, camp store, seven cabin sites, an archery range, high and low ropes challenge course, playing field, and several trails and areas of forest and wetland for exploration.
During the summers, Camp Wildwood hosts campers ranging from ages 7 to 17. The programs at the camp include a day camp, a three-day session for campers 7 to 8 years old, one- and two-week sessions for campers ages 9 to 16, one- and two-week off-site Treks for campers ages 14–17, and a several-week long Leadership program (called LIT/LIA, meaning Leaders in Training and Leaders in Action) for campers ages 16 and 17. The camp also hosts several three-day long "Family Camp" sessions throughout the summer for all ages.
Camp Wildwood was previously located on Lake Wampanoag in Gardner, Massachusetts. It moved to its current location in 2003. The current site was previously a boy scout camp, Camp Quinapoxet.
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