The Wasque Reservation on Chappaquiddick will be closed to the public for selective tree thinning starting Feb. 28, according to a statement from The Trustees of Reservations.
The thinning of Wasque’s mature pitch pine forests on 28 acres is part of Wasque’s southern pine beetle management plan, an effort to prevent invasive beetle infestations.
“Without this work, we run a greater risk of an infestation,” said Darci Schofield, Islands Director for The Trustees. “Wasque’s pitch pine forests are currently very dense, creating ideal conditions for the southern pine beetle to spread and kill many mature trees.”
The reservation closure is expected to last at least 30 days, according to the statement.
While there are no active infestations at Wasque, the southern pine beetle has decimated pockets of pitch and white pines on the Island in recent years. The Manuel F. Correllus state forest’s west side has been infected, and trees have been especially ravaged in West Chop.
The Trustees expects to mulch tree crowns and smaller limbs, leaving larger logs to decompose naturally on the ground.
The project is funded by a $75,000 grant from MassWildlife Habitat Management Grant Program.
This article appears in February 27, 2026.
Won’t cutting such a large percentage of these trees leave the remaining ones more exposed to harsh wind, weather and salt? I suspect the remaining trees won’t last long, especially after what’s happened along the oceanside trail… It seems to me this is only serving to expand the grass plain, rather than retain the pine forest habitat which naturally already exists in that specific arrival area of Wasque… Perhaps the Trustees are more financially motivated by increasing the marketability of a tourists ‘arrival’ into Wasque with this move…? Hm…