STEWARDSHIP: YOUNG FORESTS
Bobcats thrive in areas with a mixture of both mature forests and young forests. Brushy young forests and meadow openings supply habitat for small mammal prey.
The American Woodcock, a species of greatest concern in NYS live at Dutchess Gables, where young forest habitat provides the nesting cover for ideal successful breeding.
The New England Cottontail is the Northeast’s only native rabbit species East of the Hudson River. According to NYS DEC, its range has shrunk by an estimated 86% since 1960. It can only be found in fragmented areas in NYS around the Hudson Valley with young forest habitat.
Highlighting young forest stewardship at two Winnakee preserves
Dutchess Gables located in the Town Stanford is a stunning 207-acre landscape that includes forested land with habitats for rare wetland animals and several high priority Species of Greatest Conservation Need in NYS, including golden-winged warbler and American woodcock. The property is a prime example of a local forest that has matured over the 40-odd years since its abandonment as an old pasture but today lacks the needed diversity in ages and composition of trees, that provide the necessary habitat for declining wildlife species. Many of these species, especially birds, rely upon grasslands, shrublands, and young forest lands (under 30 years-old) to breed successfully. Our ongoing work at Dutchess Gables is providing opportunities to help reverse the decline of these birds and other critically important species.
Winnakee conducts wildlife monitoring on this property for mammals, birds, snakes, amphibians and other reptiles so that we can enhance habitat for present species.
Through our volunteer Second Saturdays Stewardship network, we also focus on invasive species removal; in particular, we remove barberry, buckthorn, and autumn olive that readily invade young forests.
Over the winter, Winnakee’s Land Conservation Manager, Laura O’Brien, “lays the groundwork” for spring snake monitoring.
Stewardship along the forest edge of this open meadow includes maintaining shrubs and young trees, which provide openings of sufficient size and quality for the foraging and breeding of species in need of young forests to successfully reproduce.
Volunteer at Dutchess Gables helping to remove invasive multiflora rose in a young forest area.
Director of Land Stewardship, Jen Adams, conducting turtle monitoring.
Winnakee’s newest donated property in Clermont, NY, has been impacted by heavy browsing of white-tailed deer populations and non-native invasive species, both of which can impact forest health. Prior to donating the property to Winnakee Land Trust, the landowners were awarded a Regenerate NY Forestry Cost Share Grant from the New York Department of Environmental Conservation, which funded activities to improve forest regeneration including the construction of fenced deer exclosure areas that they installed. This fencing will allow a young forest understory to recover without overbrowsing of deer.
Winnakee Land Trust’s land management work on the property is dedicated to additional deer impact mitigation, invasive species removal, and native tree planting to support current young forest present on the property and encourage more in areas of abandoned farmland.
Wildlife monitoring on the existing young forest at the Clermont Preserve has found a variety of mammals such as bobcat, fisher and mink.
Volunteers help remove dense patches of buckthorn, a highly invasive shrub, to help encourage tree regeneration in certain areas of the Clermont Preserve.
Winnakee CEO Bob Davis and donating landowner Jeff Scales discussing the young forest at the Clermont Preserve.
