Natural Resources

• Land Management
• Fishing and Game
• Patrol
• Education
• Shellfishery Management
• Labor Components of NRD

Land Management 

• Maintenance, and repair of all herring runs; 
• Maintenance of all roads and trails in 5,000+ acres of Town conservation lands, and Sandy Neck Barrier Beach; 
• Maintenance of erosion control projects at Sandy Neck upper lot for recreational purposes; 
• Design and implementation of monitoring and report writing for endangered species at Sandy Neck Barrier Beach; 
• Development and implementation of conservation management plans for Sandy Neck Barrier Beach; 
• Overseeing all contracted maintenance on Town conservation properties; 
• Enforcement of all regulations at the town shooting range and maintenance of the shooting range.

Fish and Game 

• Monitoring fishing activities in season, overseeing hunting programs Town-wide and assisting the State with “Hunter Safety Programs”; 
• Pheasant stocking and monitoring of all hunting areas, including Sandy Neck; 
• Selling of state hunting, fishing and sporting licenses to the general public; 
• Responding to sick, injured and nuisance wild animal calls. 

Patrol 

• Assisting Federal, State and Town agencies as needed during Town-wide emergencies; 
• Patrolling conservation lands, town landings, Sandy Neck Barrier Beach and waterways regarding shellfishing enforcement, resource violations, compliance with various rules and regulations, boating safety violations and fish and game compliance; 
• Assisting Animal Control officer with calls/patrols as needed; 
• Monitoring herring runs for regulation compliance. 

Education 

• Providing interpretive programs to the public related to natural resource issues; 
• Overseeing oversand vehicle regulations at Sandy Neck; 
• Coordinating volunteers and school groups with resource related projects; 
• Maintaining educational links with local school systems. 

Shellfishery Management 

• Managing and performing shellfish propagation projects for select species of economically and recreationally important shellfish. 
• Assisting the Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries with constant water quality monitoring of local classified areas and instituting management protocols for the areas. Water quality testing and shellfishery management by the state are mandated by the Federal Food and Drug Administration’s National Shellfish Sanitation Program for areas used for the public consumption of shellfish. Assessing coastal zone projects and performing surveys and reports for such projects. Performing shellfish surveys for resource management purposes. 
• Formulating, integrating, disseminating and maintaining shellfishery management information for the general public.
• Interacting with federal, state and local authorities, agencies and groups regarding shellfish management, regulatory, enforcement, educational and private shellfish aquaculture issues. 
• Report, grant and contract writing as well as comprehensive review studies including GIS/GPS mapping. 

The Labor Components of the NRD consists of: 

• one full time shellfish biologist, 
• one full time senior natural resource officer 
• four full time natural resource officers, 
• one shellfish technician, (nine months) 
• one or two seasonal shellfish assistants depending on funding, 
• high school student interns, 
• inmate assistance from the Barnstable County Correctional Institution in the format of a “work release” program, 
• various educational interns and public volunteers.