Coastal grasslands and wide sky on Martha’s Vineyard

The Voice for the Island

Education & Advocacy Menu

The Vineyard Conservation Society is the Island’s most respected voice for environmental advocacy, speaking for the flora and fauna of the Vineyard and the ecosystems they inhabit. A local non-profit membership organization, our mission entails promoting awareness about various environmental issues, building support for workable solutions, and, when necessary, fighting to defend the Island’s resources against exploitation and degradation.

Our broad concept of environmental stewardship encompasses a variety of issues, including clean air and drinking water, climate change, health of coastal estuaries, biodiversity and habitat fragmentation, waste disposal and composting, chemical fertilizers, pesticides, land use planning and regulation, and much more. Through public testimony, community organizing, local political action, and legal advocacy, VCS has established a long track record of “punching above its weight” to defend our Island environment.

Leaf Blower Regulation

In 2025, a group of citizens from across the Island, with support from VCS, successfully passed a local bylaw in five of our island towns regulating gas and electric leaf blowers and phasing out gas-powered leaf blowers by 2028. The bylaw was developed to solve issues associated with constant leaf blower use, including noise and air pollution, and to protect the health of our environment and community.

Want more information on the bylaw, FAQ, and resources for transitioning to electric?

View Full Bylaw & Resources

Take Back the Tap & Single-Use Plastics Reduction

Supporting a waste-free island and access to clean water for all.

Since 2019, we have successfully passed a citizens’ petition in each town to ban the sale of single-use plastic bottles 34 oz that hold (a) non-carbonated, unflavored water, and (b) soft drinks. For the purposes of this by-law, “soft drink” means any beverage containing carbonated water, a sweetener (including fruit juice), and/or flavoring.

As of 2025, VCS has installed 35 water bottle refill stations across the island. These machines get at the root of both sets of motivators to ditch the plastic bottle by providing chilled, filtered water, not just for free, but also more quickly than buying a bottle from the store or vending machine.

To make a complaint, contact your town’s enforcement agent:

Martha's Vineyard Tap Map

Big House Bylaws

The scale of the built environment — the relationship between structures and the natural landscape — is a defining component of Vineyard character. As house sizes on the Island have grown ever larger in recent years, VCS has been working to further a community conversation on this challenging subject and to support measures that would place reasonable limits on scale.

One such measure was adopted by West Tisbury Town Meeting voters in 2022. VCS, through our membership on the “Preserve West Tisbury” committee, helped advocate for passage of what is commonly known as the “Big House Bylaw,” which limits the size of residential buildings relative to the environment. Since passage, VCS has been tracking the effects and, where appropriate, weighing in on the early permit reviews.

We are happy to share that, according to feedback from builders, architects, conservationists, and surveyors, the new measure is already making an important difference, giving the planning board a much-needed tool to keep development from overwhelming the town’s rural character, habitat, and quality of life.

See Testimonies

Statement on Housing

Though the core mission of VCS will always be protecting the Island’s natural environment, we share the concerns of many Vineyarders regarding the high cost of housing and how it impacts our community. The struggle to find stable year-round housing and the stress it causes on individuals and families is all too real. But as we address these problems together as a community, VCS wants to make sure we understand the complexities and the balance needed to create affordable housing while respecting the finite nature of our Island’s resources.

Ideally, new housing will be built in a way that maximizes affordability while minimizing environmental harm. In practice, we know that this will involve tradeoffs and compromises. However, at a minimum, sustainable affordable housing efforts should focus on repurposing existing buildings and locating housing close to services, along with improved regulation to address some of the root causes of our astronomical real estate prices, such as placing limits on Short Term Rentals, fractional ownership schemes, and very large house sizes.

For more on how VCS is thinking about the challenge, please see our policy statement on residential development, including affordable housing.

Policy Statement

Public Testimony Archive

One of the longstanding activities of the organization is to provide input to public reviews of proposed developments and to other government processes on the relevant environmental issues.

VCS regularly submits testimony to Town boards, the Martha’s Vineyard Commission, and other state and federal agencies on issues ranging from housing and land use to habitat protection and community planning. The following summaries highlight key areas of our ongoing advocacy.

Below is a selection of recent testimony submitted by VCS to Town boards, the Martha’s Vineyard Commission, and other state and federal agencies. These examples represent some of the most notable and ongoing issues we continue to address.

Housing & Development

Land Use & Habitat Protection

  • Special Ways DCPC, Martha’s Vineyard Commission
  • Habitat Take Mitigation, Massachusetts Natural Heritage & Endangered Species Program (NHESP)

Infrastructure & Energy

Artificial Turf Sports Fields

VCS has been involved for more than six years in advocacy around a proposal to install one or more artificial turf playing fields at the Regional High School. Joining with colleague groups and concerned citizens, VCS has submitted numerous letters and oral testimony to various boards and committees, including:

Additional Areas