Museum explains the goals, safeguards, and science behind controlled burns and the new pilot program.
On August 11, the Henry L. Ferguson Museum hosted a community presentation on its controlled burn program and plans to expand it to several additional Land Trust properties this fall.
The Museum’s Land Trust protects approximately 375 acres, or 14 percent of Fishers Island, and uses a range of techniques—including mowing, cutting, hand-pulling and controlled burning—to manage invasive plants, maintain important habitats and care for the land over the long term.
Controlled burning itself is not new to Fishers Island. The Museum and Fishers Island Fire Department have employed controlled burns on the grasslands at Middle Farms for decades. The FI Conservancy oversees controlled burns at the Parade Ground burns, and both the Fishers Island Club and Hay Harbor Club periodically use controlled burns as well.
This presentation asks a broader question: can carefully managed controlled burns like the one at Middle Farms also be used to benefit other grasslands, shrublands and wooded areas on the island?
Key Takeaways
- Why burn? The primary goals are to control invasive plants, reduce dense understory growth, slow the woody encroachment that gradually turns natural grasslands like Middle Farms into woodland, reduce potential wildfire fuels and improve native coastal habitats. Tick population reduction is also a popular benefit of controlled burns.
- Where? The pilot includes Tabor Field, the Skeet Range, Middle Farms, Chocomount Cove and a small pitch-pine area along the Treasure Pond Trail in the Ferguson Wildlife Sanctuary. The sites were selected to test fire in several different habitat types.
- Who is doing the work? The program is being coordinated by HLFM Land Trust Stewardship Coordinator Jessica NeJame and HLFM Land Trust Manager Jack Schneider, working with Controlled Burn Planner and Risk Specialist Bob Panko, Fishers Island Fire Chief Chris Aiello, and Bill Edwards of the professional burn team from Star Tree Prescribed Fire.
- How are the burns controlled? Each site has its own burn plan specifying acceptable weather, wind and fuel conditions. Crews use prepared fire breaks, water and equipment positioned in advance, constant radio communication and techniques such as backing fire, which allows a low-intensity fire to move slowly against the wind while creating already-burned ground that cannot carry additional fire.
- When? The current weather-dependent burn window is October 15 through November 15, with the goal of completing the work over a single weekend when conditions are right.
Questions From the Community
Much of the evening was devoted to questions, particularly about safety.
Asked what prevents a controlled burn from getting away, Edwards explained that the team only burns under appropriate fire-weather conditions, briefs the entire crew before ignition, maintains radio contact throughout the operation and positions more water, hose and equipment than it expects to need. The Fishers Island Fire Department will also provide personnel and equipment, including structure protection where needed.
Edwards said Star Tree follows national wildland-fire qualification standards, has two nationally certified burn bosses on staff, and fields a crew with decades of wildland-fire experience.
Another important question was whether the burns would need to be repeated. The answer: possibly—and that is exactly what the pilot program is intended to determine. One burn will not eliminate every invasive plant, and some follow-up treatment will still be necessary. The Museum wants to know whether burning creates enough ecological improvement, and enough better access for continued management, to justify repeating it.
To help answer that question, ecologists from the New York Natural Heritage Program will survey the sites before the burns and return during the following growing season to measure the results against unburned comparison areas.
The Museum’s controlled burn pilot program is supported by $52,000 in grant funding. If it proves successful, future burns could be supported through additional grants, fundraising or by reallocating some of the money currently spent on other land-management work.
The Museum also clarified that this project is separate from controlled burns conducted elsewhere on the island. The Fishers Island Conservancy manages the Parade Grounds burns, while the Big Club and Hay Harbor Club Golf Club conduct their own burns.
As the controlled burn window approaches, the Museum will provide updates through FishersIsland.net, Museum communications and its website, and will contact abutting property owners once a date is confirmed.
For those interested in learning more about the thinking behind the program, the people conducting the controlled burns, and the community discussion that followed, watch the full August 11, 2026 presentation HERE.
The Henry L. Ferguson Museum is committed to preserving Fishers Island’s natural heritage through the stewardship of its Land Trust properties, careful conservation planning, and ongoing scientific study. Just as important is keeping the community informed and involved—sharing what we learn, explaining how and why the land is managed, and creating opportunities for Fishers Islanders to ask questions and take part in the long-term care of the places we all share.
