Coskata-Coatue: A Refuge on the Edge moderated by Jennifer Karberg

The Coskata-Coatue Wildlife Refuge provides the barrier beach protection that forms Nantucket Harbor, habitat for rare and endangered species, recreation for fishing and birdwatching and a truly wild place on Nantucket Island. In this documentary, the Nantucket Conservation Foundation and the Trustees explore the changing landscape of the Refuge already experiencing climate change impacts. A Q&A session will follow this short film with representatives from the Nantucket Conservation Foundation and the Trustees of Reservations to talk about continuing work and the state of the Refuge this winter.

This program is part of the Nantucket Historical Association's Spring Lecture Series at the Nantucket Whaling Museum.

Jen Karberg is a native midwesterner transplanted out to the East Coast. She studied plants at the University of Michigan for her undergrad degree then spent some time working at the Chicago Botanic Garden researching rare plants before heading way up to the Upper Peninsula of Michigan for her graduate degrees. She spent 6 years in the far north studying the ecology of the carnivorous pitcher plant and teaching Wetland Ecology at Michigan Tech University before finishing her Ph.D. in 2008. She then moved out to the Grey Lady in August 2008 to work for NCF as their Research Program Supervisor, helping to organize, plan and oversee the wide variety of research projects we are conducting. Her research interests include wetland ecology, tidal marsh restoration, fire ecology and fire as a management tool, and rare species inventories. Jen is also the chair for the Nantucket Biodiversity Initiative’s Research Grants Program, a founding member of the Sandplain Grassland Network and a board member for the Nantucket Shellfish Association.