A splashy art installation that features a giant reflective hot air balloon planned for July by the Trustees of Reservations is seeing pushback from neighbors in West Tisbury and town officials in Edgartown.

Dubbed New Horizon, the fundraiser that will include $250 ticketed rides in the balloon, was announced early this month by the Trustees as part of its Art and the Landscape initiative. The installation is planned to take place over two weeks in July at various properties in Massachusetts, including Katama Farm in Edgartown and Long Point Wildlife Refuge in West Tisbury.

The Edgartown conservation commission, which leases Katama Farm to the Trustees, has denied the project.

West Tisbury selectmen are due to take up a request from the Trustees for an events permit and beer and wine license at their meeting on Wednesday this week.

Riparian owners around the Tisbury Great Pond are already objecting, raising questions about whether the project runs counter to the conservation mission of the Trustees, a Massachusetts private land trust that dates to the late 1800s.

Chris Ward, director of business operations for the Vineyard Trustees, said the installation is part of an existing statewide project. Other immersive art has included a maze of mirrored columns at a Trustees property in Hingham and a wall and tunnel installation at a property in Ipswich. He said the goal of the program is to draw more and diverse audiences to Trustee properties.

“We really do see the power of art as a way to inspire and attract new audiences and create new opportunities. This is about creating a new way for the public to interact with nature,” Mr. Ward said of the balloon installation, which was created by artist Doug Aitken. “We think it will really engage people and create a conversation around art in the landscape, our place in nature, the future of nature with climate change.”

Vineyard appearances were scheduled to take place over the weekend of July 12, with an appearance at Katama Farm on Saturday, July 13, for the Trustees’ annual Meals in the Meadow fundraising event.

Edgartown conservation agent Jane Varkonda said while the town has always approved the fundraiser, the conservation commission voted earlier this month not to give permission for the balloon. The town owns Katama Farm and leases the property to the Trustees for educational and agricultural purposes. Ms. Varkonda said some concerns included possible illumination of the balloon and traffic from people hoping to see the balloon.

“It’s not a use [the commission members] want to see at the farm,” she said. “If it’s going to be at Long Point, let it be at Long Point.”

Mr. Ward said Trustees plan to approach the town again to approvals from the Federal Aviation Administration and to assure the commission that the balloon would not be illuminated or leave the ground during the fundraiser.

“We recognize that it may not change their decision, but we’d like to try,” he said.

Meanwhile, the balloon is scheduled to appear at Long Point Wildlife Refuge on Friday, July 12 and Sunday, July 14. In the mornings, visitors would be able view the balloon and ride in it for $250. In the evenings, the balloon would be on display while the Trustees host two talks on climate change followed by live music synced to a light display. Admission to the evening events is set at $25 for members and $40 for nonmembers.

Late last week riparian owners around the Great Pond began to register concerns.

“Long Point is supposed to be a preserved conservation area and this fundraising event goes against everything that conservation represents,” an email that went around to all the landowners said in part.

In a letter to the Trustees, Kib Bramhall, a year-round resident of West Tisbury whose association with the conservancy dates back for more than half a century, added his own strong opposition to the initiative.

“When Long Point was opened to the public in the late 1970s, I was asked by TTOR to form and head a local committee to help manage the refuge. The first rule we adopted was no radios, no boomboxes. We didn’t want the noise of the outside world intruding on the peace, quiet and sanctity of this nature reserve,” Mr. Bramhall wrote.

“Contrast this to the current plan of the Trustees to bring a giant mirrored hot air balloon to Long Point on July 12 and 14, creating a carnival-like scene of free and ticketed events followed by evening performances when the balloon will transform into a light sculpture serving as a backdrop to live music.”

On Monday Sam Hart, the new Islands director for the Trustees, said the event is more program than fundraiser.

“This is not a high-end fundraiser for sure,” he said. “There is an element of fundraising in all nonprofit work that you do, but this is a program. This is part of a series that the Trustees are engaged in now and it’s brought thousands of new visitors to the properties.”

He continued:

“The thrust here is about community engagement. It’s about bringing people to the properties creating a new generation of conservationists.”

Mr. Hart said the plan calls for using existing parking lots, and he said there will not be a band, but a single cellist at the Long Point events. He said organizers are working with the Waldron’s Bottom Road association and the town.

He said ecologists from the Division of Fisheries and Wildlife and the Massachusetts Natural Heritage Endangered Species Program had been consulted and had not raised concerns.

Mr. Ward said use of the property will not be more intensive than on a typical beach day — aside from the presence of the balloon.

He noted that osprey nests will be about 2,000 feet from the balloon. He said no piping plovers have nested in the area since 2016, but if they do arrive this year, their safety would take priority, even if that means canceling the installation.

“We appreciate the concerns expressed by those community members,” he said. “As a conservation and preservation nonprofit, our goal is to balance preservation with public access.”