Cape Pogue resident Donald Greenstein has been finding lone star ticks on his property for years, but never in their current numbers. Island biologist and tick expert Richard Johnson surveyed the property and said he found 30 lone star ticks with 1,000 feet.

In just over half a year, the Vineyard Center for Clinical Research has completed its first trial and has begun working on three others that are aimed at improving the diagnosis of Lyme disease. The center operates out of the Vineyard Medical Care building in Vineyard Haven.

Funding will end this year for the Tick-Borne Illness Reduction Initiative, an Islandwide program that began about four years ago with a grant from the Martha’s Vineyard Hospital. But Island health agents plan to continue the efforts, which include school programs and a series of educational videos.

Anecdotal reports suggest it was an average or slightly above-average season for tick-borne illnesses on the Vineyard. By far the most prevalent illness is Lyme disease. A new venture intends to focus on clinical research into tick-borne illnesses.

By all accounts this has not been an unusually bad year for tick-borne illnesses on the Island. The dry cool summer may have helped — not just in keeping the tick population down, but in keeping hikers and gardeners more fully covered when venturing outdoors.

Tick season reaches its peak in the month of August, and a group of researchers from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst and the Environmental Protection Agency took advantage of the warm weather to work on their latest effort in the quest to understand tick-borne diseases.