Welcome All Friends of Myles Standish State Forest!

Friends of Myles Standish State Forest (FMSSF) is a non-profit 501(c)(3) volunteer group founded in 2007 to promote and conserve the natural, cultural and historic resources of Myles Standish State Forest. We are dedicated to restoring and maintaining the forest and its trails for sustainable recreation, to educating ourselves and others about the forest, and to promoting a healthy habitat for native plants and wildlife. We encourage all visitors to enjoy the forest in a manner consistent with protecting this rare and endangered pine barrens ecosystem.

Updated 5/15/2012

Quick link to past newsletters

March 13, 2012

December 12, 2011

October 2, 2011

September 7. 2011

August 25, 2011

August 5, 2011

July, 7, 2011

May 19, 2011

April 11, 2011

March 3, 2011

February 8, 2011

January 11, 2011

Friends of Myles Standish State Forest in the news

Myles Standish State Forest conservation strategies detailed during forest hike, By Frank Mand, Old Colony Memorial, December 9, 2011

Put down the smart phone and try bird watching for fun, exercise, by Jennifer Lade, South Coast Today, May 29, 2011

A little green for some big plans, By Frank Mand, Wicked Local Plymouth, March 5, 2011- FMSSF receives a Partnership Grant from DCR to construct a greenhouse in MSSF.

FRIENDS OF MYLES STANDISH STATE FOREST: Forest full of Friends
By Frank Mand, Wicked Local Plymouth, May 12, 2011. FMSSF celebrates four years of outdoor activism

Walk This Way: Bringing back the bluebirds, By Frank Mand, Wicked Local, April 25, 2011

Hoo's there? Having a hoot of a time in the State Forest, By Frank Mand, Wicked Local, Nov 18, 2010

Forest fishing derby, Carver Reporter, Oct 7, 2010

Little known area of Myles Standish State Forest catches attention of the state, By Frank Mand, September 18, 2010

Riding motorized recreational vehicles in MSSF is not allowed. Please report all off-road vehicle violations and any other problems by calling the numbers below:

Emergency 911

Non-emergency:
Call the Myles Standish State Forest Headquarters first
(508) 866-2526

Environmental Police
(800) 632-8075

Park Watch—24/7—1-(866) PK-WATCH

Carver Police (508) 866-2000

Plymouth Police (508) 830-4218

New Off-Highway Vehicle (OHV) Law Now in Effect
Governor Patrick signed the new Off-Highway Vehicle Law. We now need a coordinated enforcement effort that includes a strong citizen component and interagency cooperation!

View the Massachusetts Environmental Police Off-Highway, Recreation Vehicle and Snowmobile Brochure Update

See an OHV in MSSF? Call MSSF Headquarters first        (508) 866-2526

Then call the Environmental Police (800) 632-8075

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The FMSSF invasive plant brochures specific to the southeastern Massachusetts pine barrens:

Invasive Plants—Why they must go (4MB pdf).

Friends of Myles Standish State Forest Brochure 2011 (4MB pdf)

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The FMSSF Membership drive is continuing through May. If you haven't joined or renewed your membership, please do so during the month of May. Your membership donations allow us continue to help preserve the Forest and make recreation more sustainable.

Please download the 2012 Membership Letter and Form  and mail it to:

Friends of Myles Standish State Forest
P.O. Box 1199
Plymouth, MA 02362

Or simply join online by clicking on the PayPal button at the bottom of this page. Thank you.

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Park Serve Day

Thank you to the 75 volunteers who took part in the Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR) Park Serve Day at Myles Standish State Forest!

Rose Mellino paints blazes along the Bentley Loop. Photo by C.J. Dun Watson.

Volunteers enjoy lunch after a hard morning of work. Photo by C.J. Dunn Watson.

Equestrian Chair Thom Gifford doing work at the Equestrain Camp. Photo by John Bescherer.

Volunteers worked with DCR staff, Recreational Facility Supervisor John C. Roberts, Forest and Park Supervisor John Dubois, making Park Serve Day 2012 the largest turnout of participants in the Myles Standish State Forest ever! Over 30 equestrians from the Southeast Chapter of Bay State Trail Riders Association (BSTRA ) joined with FMSSF members and others to do the following work:

• Brushed back and replaced the old plastic markers on 3.8 miles of the Bentley Loop Trail using a new "blaze/paint" system
• Installed volunteer-made wood sign posts at strategic locations along the Bentley Loop
• Site prep of 40 campsites at the Charge Pond campground equestrian area
• Trail work on 3 trail entrances to different areas of park
• Began work for a link from the equestrian camping area to the equestrian trail
• Installed posts at the Charge Pond campground for new trail signs at trail heads
• Trash collection along roadways and trails
• Garden clean-up at the park headquarters

If you check the National Value of Volunteer Time you'll see that for Massachusetts the volunteer value is $26.84 per hour. For three hours, that's over $6,000 worth of work in one day! Thanks again everyone.

Enjoy Frank Mand's article Park Serve Day provides positive, productive fun
Seventy-five volunteers spruce up Myles Standish State Forest, Wicked Local Plymouth, April 26, 2012

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PURCHASE A FRIENDS OF MYLES STANDISH STATE FOREST "REDISCOVER NATURE" T-SHIRT AND HELP SUPPORT THE FOREST

The FMSSF Pine Barrens Community Initiative Spotted Knapweed Eradication Project

Spotted knapweed (Centaurea maculosa Lam.) is a highly invasive weed which emits substances in the soil that hamper and disrupt growth of neighboring plants. This plant is known to produce nearly 30,000 seeds per square meter that can lay dormant and germinate years later when a disturbance, such as an off-road vehicle track, cuts open the soil. Not only do these weeds eliminate native flora, but also exacerbate erosion due to poor soil binding by their weak roots.

Thanks to Jim Baecker, DCR Regional Planner and FMSSF Board Member Irina Kadis, the MA Division of Fisheries & Wildlife Natural Heritage and Endangered Species Program (NHESP) recently approved a spotted knapweed Management Plan for MSSF allowing volunteers to help control this aggressive invasive plant. Volunteers will be trained to identify and cut flower stalks during the plant's flowering season, which, done over a few seasons, should kill the plants. The infestation is already large in some areas, spreading further along the roadways.Your help is essential. Please join the fight by contacting plants@friendsmssf.com

Photo courtesy of salicicola.com

More about the Pine Barrens Community Initiative

Department of Conservation and Recreation Spotted Knapweed Management Plan Myles Standish State Forest

Pine Barrens Community Initiative Update—Foster Homes Sought For Native Plants
Native Plant Kits are now available at no charge for planting in home gardens. Each plant kit contains a variety of plants, specially selected to grow in your yard. Foster growers must be willing to provide a brief report on how well the plants are doing at the end of the growing season (this can be a quick email), and promise to collect and return seeds for further propagation to the Friends of Myles Standish State Forest.

If you’d like to add lovely native plants to your home environment and help restore the natural flora of the endangered pine barrens [region], please contact us at please contact us at friends@friendsmssf.com.

Pine Barrens Community Initiative Home Page

John Young checking out a potential Vernal Pool. Photo by Evelyn Strawn

Join Melissa in monitoring bird nesting boxes in MSSF!

Order a locally made, custom blue bird nesting box for your own yard and help support native birds. Order Form

The Native Bird Support Group

The Native Bird Support Group held its first meeting on March 24, 2010. The group was very successful in its first year, helping 8 bluebirds, 75 tree swallows, and 7 house wrens successfully fledge! 2012 promises to be an even better year, with nesting birds actually moving in as quickly as their houses went in the ground!

If you'd like to help native birds, join the Native Bird Support Group by contacting birds@friendsmssf.com

The 3rd Annual FMSSF Photo Contest

Congratulations to the winners of the FMSSF 2011Photo Contest! View the Winning Photographs for 2011

Many thanks to the two professional photographers, Shawn P. Carey and Eduardo del Solar, who volunteered their time to judge the 2011 FMSSF Photography Contest.

Shawn P. Carey
Migration Productions

Eduardo del Solar
Eduardo del Solar Nature Photography

Recreational Scene
First Place
Paula Sevigne, Fearing Pond

View the 2010 winning photographs

View all of the 2011 Photo Entries

Friends of Myles Standish State Forest 5th Annual Take Me Fishin'!

Next Fishing Event, September 29, 2012

FMSSF Volunteers, Partners and sponsors making fishing happen!

View Images from the 2011 Fishing and Nature Appreciation Event

View 56 Photos from the 2010 Fishing Derby/Nature Event

Forest fishing derby, Carver Reporter, Oct 07, 2010

View past fishing events

Please thank the sponsors of Take Me Fishin'! by considering them first! FMSSF SPONSORS

Why is Myles Standish State Forest closed to dirt bikes and ATV's?

Because MSSF is a nature Reserve! MSSF contains the second largest remaining tract of pine barrens in the world. Several species of plants and animals that are only found here. Once it's gone, it's gone forever. Please ride only where riding is legal.

List of legal OHV riding areas: http://www.mass.gov/dcr/recreate/orv.htm