Nature Reserve

Sawyer's Island sits in the marshes of Plum Island Sound, one of the most pristine marsh systems in the United States. Much of the land surrounding the island is protected by Greenbelt or U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. If you're adventurous you can drop a canoe or kayak into Mud Creek, and paddle out into Plum Island Sound. We recommend the months of October or November, when the insects have departed, and when you can float among the scoters, Long-tailed Ducks, goldeneyes, mergansers, and possibly harbor seals.

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The Julia Bird Reservation is a good illustration of the effects of different kinds of forest and open field management upon the landscape. The forest in the front area is organically rich bottom-land that supports mature swamp white oak, red oak and red maple, including some trees with a diameter of nearly four feet.

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The Parker River is approximately 23 miles in length and its watershed covers approximately 82 square miles in Essex County, Massachusetts. Towns and cities located partially or wholly in the watershed include Boxford, Georgetown, Groveland, Ipswich, Newbury, Newburyport, North Andover, Rowley, and West Newbury. Major tributaries include the Little River, which starts in Newburyport and flows through Newbury, and the Mill River, which flows through Rowley and joins the Parker River near Governor Dummer Academy.

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This 45-acre reservation contains spectacular vistas, watershed land, and an exceptional combination of natural communities including grassland habitat, mixed forest and wetlands. It is also part of a much larger conservation corridor that hosts a variety of wildlife and retains many of our region's best scenic and recreational qualities.

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This property, located along the edge of the historic Common Pasture, supports a diversity of habitat, including open fields, upland forest and extensive freshwater marshlands.

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This property is part of the larger Manchester-Essex Woods. The property protects the headwaters of the Essex River, which is a mere trickle at this location, and is part of a wildlife corridor that runs south from the salt marshes of Essex into the Manchester-Essex Woods.

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The Tompson Street reservation features exposed bedrock, vernal pools, woodland and swamp. There are traces of many trails that used to be wagon paths for early settlers to access their woodlots, but have since been overgrown with scrub growth due to numerous fires. Allowed activities: horseback riding, mountain biking, hiking, nature study, picnicking, snowshoeing.

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Mixed terrain of marshland and rocky woodland offer great opportunities for hiking, birding & nature study, cross country skiing, snowshoeing, fishing & canoeing.

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The Carter Reservation is a great place to study glacial geology of New England. As part of the terminal moraine that comprises all of Cape Ann, this land is among the final resting places for rocky debris left behind by melting glaciers over 10,000 years ago.

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Enjoy hiking, birding, nature study, cross country skiing, snowshoeing, fishing, canoeing, and exploring on varying terrain including wooded upland, rocky shoreline, and tidal mudflats.

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