New England Cottontail

A candidate for the federal threatened species list, the New England cottontail has been on the State of Maine’s endangered species list since 2007. The decimation of the New England Cottontail population has largely been blamed on the lack of adequate shrubland habitat. To help mitigate the situation, The Sprague Corporation works with both the National Fish & Wildlife Foundation and the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service to foster and promote habitats for the New England cottontail on Ram Island Farm.

A ten-year management plan was designed and adopted that established three 25-acre habitat units. The plan includes controlling invasive plant species such as bittersweet and honeysuckle, patching cuts to create a regenerating forest habitat, removing overstory, planting native shrubs, and cutting/mowing mature shrub areas to promote denser regrowth. Photo monitoring has been established in selected areas to document changes in the underbrush structure as well as to monitor wildlife activity.

While this plan has yet to be completed through all three habitat units, state environmentalists are optimistic with results to date. In a Portland Press Herald article, Kerry Boland with the Rachel Carson National Wildlife Refuge in Wells stated, “Things are happening on the ground.” Read the full article here.

As a former Sprague Corporation president said, “We like the little critters.”