By Beth Sullivan
Sometimes people make
special connections to a certain piece of land. Maybe they live near
by, maybe it is a favorite place to hike, maybe there is a historical
tie to the property. Something draws them to a place, and they choose
to devote time and effort and offer TLC to a favorite preserve.
The trail head |
Our friend RB is one of
those people. His family has ties, very close ones indeed, to the
White Cedar Swamp and Deans Mill Preserves, accessed off Jerry Brown
Rd. in Mystic. RB grew up on these lands as years ago his family
owned a large farm, most of which is north of I-95. The Deans Mill
Preserve is that portion of his childhood farmland that was cut off
from the rest and is south of the interstate.
RB has taken us through
those preserves and lovingly pointed out the historic features,
walls, bar-ways, old roads, areas where trees were harvested and a
lovely fresh spring. The area boasts ledges, bald rock faces
underfoot, and some spectacular peeks over the Deans Mill/Aquarion
Reservoir.
A stone bench waits for winter hikers. |
One of the unique
features of the area, is a rare, White Cedar swamp. Atlantic White
Cedars grow in wet, acidic boggy areas. The plant community is quite
rare this far south in CT. Over the last years RB noticed that the
area was changing. The cedars were dying out; there were no new
seedlings coming along to replace the old ones, and the entire
ecosystem was evolving. Red Maple and Black Birch trees were growing
into the sunny openings. They are rapid growers and quickly invaded
and crowded the Cedars which cannot compete.
The boggy pond is frozen over. |
Preservation and
conservation are interesting concepts. They don’t always mean just
letting nature take her course. Stewardship is where Avalonia makes
decisions about the best way to manage and help preserve special
habitats. Knowing that we would certainly lose the central gem of
this preserve without some action, RB engaged on a personal mission
to save the White Cedar Swamp. Over the last several years he has
begun to cut down many of the smaller sapling Maples and Black Birch.
He has also thinned out many of the larger ones to reopen the area to
the sun that the Cedars need to thrive. Some of the larger trees
have been girdled- a process that cuts around the tree into the bark.
It ultimately will kill the tree but the tree remains standing as a
snag, roost site and habitat for insects and birds.
Mature White Cedars |
RB also transplanted
seedling White Cedars from elsewhere in the preserve, back into the
areas that were lacking, thus giving Mother Nature a jump start on
the restoration of the swamp population.
A White Cedar seedling |
Nature
takes her time. Having a steward like RB gives her a boost and a
gentle nudge in the direction we hope will be the most valuable for
wildlife and overall habitat.
Small cones and scales of green mark a White Cedar in place of needles and large cones of other conifers. |
A recent walk on a
winter’s day gave us lovely looks of the swamp, the rock faces of
ledge and trail which was slick with ice but with moss and lichen
still visible. The stone bench overlooking the pond was covered with
snow. We noted seedling cedars standing up bravely in the cold. With
the opened up canopy and more sunlight, they will certainly grow
quickly and continue the line of White Cedars in the Swamp.
Photographs by Beth
Sullivan.
No comments:
New comments are not allowed.