A Brief History of Land Use and Conservation on Fishers Island

Illustrated talk, presented and hosted at the Museum August 10, 2025 by HLFM director Pierce Rafferty

Pierce surveys the history of land use on Fishers Island since first European settlement before turning his focus to land conservation efforts on our island from the mid-1960s to date. This talk encompasses both the origins and evolution of the Museum’s Land Trust and its trail network, and the FI Conservancy’s project to convert the former Fort Wright Parade Ground into a meadow – a model for restoration and successful invasive species management in an eastern grassland.

WOODLAND TRAILS, Fishers Island – New York. Circa 1966.
This early East End trail network was created by Matty Matthiessen and friends.

Queen Anne’s Lace on the Parade Grounds, August 2, 2018.
Photograph by Jane T. Ahrens