By Blaine Rothauser

Though only a stone’s throw from the GSWA Conservation Area, the new site is quite different, with stands of more mature hardwood and less wetland. The area, however, is laced with pockets of bottomland as indicated by the presence of species like skunk cabbage and lizard’s tail. There are no trails on the property, but progress on foot is easy, because of a relative lack of invasive undergrowth.

Silver Brook, at the far end of the property, teems with signs of life. Raccoon, turtle, great blue heron and deer tracks mark the mud here, while iridescent damselflies and Appalachian-eyed brown butterflies dance their nuptial flight along the banks. This land appears to drain quicker than the Conservation Area after heavy rains, allowing for more beech and swamp oak to dominate the canopy, while elm, maple, and pin oak are less common. The understory species here, as in the Conservation Area, have been ravaged by deer.

The brook, vernal ponds (temporary ponds caused largely by snowmelt and spring rains) and ditches here bode well as amphibian habitat. We’ll be surveying the vernal ponds next spring for the presence of the endangered blue-spotted salamander. To date, wood frogs, spring peepers and gray tree frogs have been heard. All of these frogs breed in vernal ponds, where they are often overlooked by predators. I’ve also seen green frogs, southern leopard frogs and American toads here, further suggesting the importance of the existing wetlands.

The mixed bag of habitats lends itself well for the turtles that we know exist throughout the general area. Two representatives, the spotted turtle and the wood turtle, whose numbers are declining, will certainly benefit from the secure status the land now has. Snapping and box turtles, common in the Conservation Area, should also be encountered here.

Walking the site in early summer, I found underneath virtually every beech and oak tree the emergence of a flowering plant whose major claim to fame is its lack of chlorophyll. Botanically speaking this plant is a saprophage, and finds its nutrients from the root systems of its host tree. Looking like a pipe turned on end, the plant is called Indian pipe.