Walking on the wilder side

By Beth Sullivan

Every steward with a land trust knows the importance of monitoring the boundaries of a preserve. It is important to view all aspects of the land, not just the trails. One of the main reasons for doing so is to make sure there are no encroachments onto the property. We are tasked with ensuring that the conservation of the land is carried out as we may have promised a donor, and in accord with our mission. As an accredited land trust, we are now obligated to review the boundaries, for every property, at least once a year. That is a lot of miles.

Historically, many properties were designated by stone walls. Those walls remained as demarcations through multiple sales and owners and are often listed in the deed. These walls are sometimes marked with drill holes to designate survey markings. As stewards we are always grateful for stone walls and drill holes. So much easier than trying to follow an irregular line through unmarked dense brush.

Sometimes we walk with maps and deeds and compass. More often now we walk with GPS or a smart phone with an app that allows us to visualize a map of the boundaries and our position as we move along them.

Finding a boundary line marker in dense thicket is almost impossible.

Historic stone walls, corners and drill holes are recorded in deeds and are easy to follow.

Wet lands rule

Many of our properties protect significant wetlands. There are headwaters of brooks, ponds, streams, and swamps. Many of our deeds refer to boundaries that “meander generally along the brook center “. That gets a little tricky. We try and post our boundaries as close as possible to the actual line, and in the case of such a meandering line, we use a tree that is inside the preserve and hopefully visible from the other side of the brook, Interestingly, over decades, brooks often carve out new paths, especially after floods making the line even more difficult to pin down.

We try to do as much as we can when the leaves are off the trees as it certainly improves visibility, but the briars, brambles, and multiflora rose thorns persist anyway. Beating through bushes to get to a boundary can actually be painful. At this time of year, the ground is beginning to harden with the cold, but even still it is tricky to walk through wetland areas. The ground is uneven, and a false step can land you through ice and into puddles.

The saddest part is finding encroachments. They are much more visible at this time of year. It might be a simple as someone dumping their Christmas tree on preserved land. No matter how organic it is, it is still illegal. Many places take trees to recycle into chips-a much better use.

Dumping leaves and yard debris is also not allowed. The worst is garbage: plastic, glass, and metal trash that somehow people seem to think is appropriate to dump over walls. What are they thinking? Just because the land appears unused, it doesn’t mean it can be abused. If people know we, as stewards, will be walking off the trails and closer to the boundaries, hopefully they will refrain. Often times it is the volunteer stewards who must return to remove the mess.

One false step will leave you with a wet foot.

Sometimes the boundary line is in the center line of a meandering brook.

Always watching

As we wander the outer edges of a preserve, we also need to look for illegal hunting stands and motorized recreational vehicle trails that may come from surrounding properties. It surely must be tempting to make use of large tracts of open space for such uses; however, these activities are not approved and most frequently are in direct conflict with our mission to preserve and protect the land and the wildlife within it.

This sounds like a lot of negatives, but it really isn’t always the case. The majority of our neighbors are very happy to have Avalonia as a neighbor. They understand our mission and recognize the increased value of their own property when protected open space is in their area. Many of our neighbors help us by being eyes and ears when we can’t be on site.

Walking off the trails and along the boundaries can be very enlightening. It can also be challenging and at times truly difficult. But we all enjoy doing it: getting to see parts of the land that others may not and sometimes finding surprises along the way.

If you are a neighbor of an Avalonia preserve, you may see us walking the boundaries. Please forgive us if we stray over the line. It might just be easier walking! Come out and say hello. You might be able to help us too.

If you are interested in joining our stewardship team, especially for a preserve near you, please contact us here. We would be happy to take you for a walk on the wilder side too.

If we hadn't walked off the trail, we might never have discovered this beautiful patch of Princess Pine.

Sometimes we just have to view the boundaries from afar.

Photographs by Beth Sullivan.

Hoffman Preserve: Off the beaten path

By Beth Sullivan

The Hoffman Preserve in Stonington is one of Avalonia’s most beloved preserves. At almost 200 acres, it is nearly the largest, surpassed only by the Pine Swamp complex in Ledyard. Many decades ago, an earlier owner planted portions of the property with various species of conifers and evergreens to remind him of his favored forest areas in the north. There are areas of lofty Pines, Spruce, Hemlock and some Larch, each “plantation’ area with a unique feel. There are uplands and lowlands, vernal wetlands, and a small pond that holds water most all year long. Many of the special features are easily visible from one of the several trails.

Stewards walk the line

As stewards we will walk the trails any number of times during the year as part of general reviews and to do basic maintenance, but we don’t usually go too far off the trails unless there is a specific need to do so. However once a year we need to walk the boundaries, all the outer edges of a preserve, way off the trail, no matter what the conditions. We chose these last nice days to get out and explore all the corners of Hoffman Preserve, find the boundaries, and explore places I had never seen.

As we posted signs, we were grateful for stone walls marking the boundaries.

The frontage along Route 201 is highlighted by beautifully made stone walls, a true New England photo opportunity. The look is enhanced by the deep dark greens of the Hemlock ‘plantation’ that runs along behind them. Even in winter there is welcome green.

From there the boundary turns westward and goes upland into the deciduous woods. There are Oaks and many Beech trees, including one massive specimen that can be seen from the yellow trail. As we continued on our boundary walk we silently thanked the old landowners and farmers who built the stone walls we followed and were grateful that when the land was divided the divisions occurred along these walls.

This huge Beech has probably seen many decades of walkers through this woodland.

Along the south border we ran into the Bennet Yard, an old cemetery that is included within the boundaries of the Hoffman Preserve. The old headstones tell their stories, and the Yard can be reached on the blue trail. From there the boundary walls get harder to follow, and they are no longer straight. At this point we had to cut into the preserve a bit to get around a thicket and found ourselves in an amazing tumble of glacial till. There were rocks all dropped and scattered, all sizes and piled, and deep holes to catch a foot or provide a home for any number of small creatures. Some look like they were carefully balanced by some great hand. Near the bottom of the slope where we were able to pick up another stone wall, we discovered a lovely, healthy young Hemlock grove. It would be a perfect place for a small owl to perch ( note to self: get back there during the winter to take a look).

The Bennet Yard is a family cemetery with several generations honored within the walls.

In places large rocks are balanced as if they had been carefully placed by a very large hand.

Streams flow to the Mystic River

As land continued to drop, we noticed small seeps and springs from the uplands beginning to converge and flow downward to the western boundary. It is easy to understand the concept of a watershed when you follow the water trail. Find a place where the water seems to collect or emerge from the ground. After all the rain, there were small creeks running from several upland areas. They stream down hill, join and gather momentum. In several areas they pass under the wall and go off the property until they meet the larger Whitford Brook. We followed that western wall and could hear and glimpse this swift running waterway, a major source of the Mystic River.

In several areas the Hemlocks have died. They may be removed to make room for new healthy growth. 

Following the boundary walls and going off the trails, allowed us to experience parts of this lovely preserve not frequently noticed. We took down old Mashantucket Land Trust signs and replaced them with Avalonia Land Conservancy signs. We checked to make sure there were no encroachments along the property lines. We discovered one geocache. We discovered a new hemlock grove and a place where the pileated woodpecker did some major work on several big dead trees. We assessed where the habitats were healthy and areas where some management might be required to help restore the forest. We watched the progress of water from ground source to where it begins a march to the ocean.

Pileated Woodpeckers leave their mark as they seek insects in decaying snags.

In 1995 Mashantucket Land Trust was renamed Avalonia Land Conservancy. Some of the old signs still remain.

We didn’t get it all done in one day. But we look forward to the next leg.

 Photographs by Beth Sullivan.