Rediscover Northampton by Laurie Sanders 1999REDISCOVERING NORTHAMPTON
The Natural History of City -Owned Conservation Areas
Laurie L. Sanders
Prepared for:
Northampton Conservation Commission
City Hall, 210 Main Street
Northampton, MA 01060
Revised September 1999
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Acknowledgements and About the Author .......................................................... .............................ii
Methods & Discussion ........................................................... ............................... ............................iii
NORTHAMPTON'S MOST ACCESSIBLE CONSERVATION AREA
A Natural History of the Barrett Street Marsh .................................... ............................... 1
THE NATURAL HISTORY OF THE BROOKWOOD CONSERVATION AREA
AND AN ADJACENT WETLAND COMPLEX ......................................... ............................... 12
BEYOND THE ROADSIDE EDGE:
Explorations of the Burke Section, Fitzgerald Lake Conservation Area ........................ 20
REDISCOVERING ELWELL CONSERVATION AREA
The Natural History of a Familiar Landscape ................................... ............................... 25
THE NATURAL HISTORY OF
THE FITZGERALD LAKE CONSERVATION AREA ............................. ............................... 39
AN ECOLOGICAL ASSESSMENT OF THE INDIAN HILL AQUIFER AREA .................... 59
A CLASSIC SOUTHERN NEW ENGLAND LANDSCAPE
The Natural History of Marian St. Section, Fitzgerald Lake Conservation
Area..................................................................................................... ............................... 66
A FORGOTTEN SPOT:
The Natural History of Mary Brown's Dingle .................................. ............................... 72
SALAMANDERS AND SWAMP WHITE OAKS
Explorations of Pines Edge Section, Fitzgerald Lake Conservation . ............................... 78
NEW LAND FROM FLOODING WATERS
A Natural History of the Rainbow Beach Conservation Area ........ ............................... 86
A NATURAL HISTORY OF THE ROBERTS HILL CONSERVATION AREA .....................98
REDISCOVERING AN OVERLOOKED AREA
A Natural History of the Vistron Section, Mill River Greenway ... ............................... 113
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THE YANKEE HILL SECTION, MILL RIVER GREENWAY
Clement Street to Smith College .................................................. ............................... 116
MARBLE BROOK WATERSHED .......................................................... ............................... 130
MINERAL HILL AND THE ORCHID SWAMP ..................................... ............................... 135
THE SUMMIT SWAMPS AND THE SAWMILL HILLS .......................... ............................142
APPENDIX 1. A preliminary checklist to the reptiles and amphibians of Northampton,
MA.......................................................................... ............................... ............................147
APPENDIX 2. A checklist to the birds of Northampton, MA ................... ............................... 148
APPENDIX 3. A checklist to the mammals of Northampton, MA ........... ............................... 154
BIBLIOGRAPHY ......................................................................................... ............................... 156
Acknowledgements
Support for this project was provided by the William Wharton Trust, a Department of
Environmental Management (DEM) Greenways Grant, the City of Northampton and Smith
College. Special thanks to Wayne Feiden, Dr. C. John Burk and especially Fred Morrison, who
patiently edited and improved several earlier drafts.
Laurie Sanders' passion for natural history grew out of her experiences exploring a large
marsh and mountain behind her childhood home in Cheshire, CT. She first came to
Northampton in 1983 as a student at Smith College, where she received her degree in 1988.
Since then, she has worked as an environmental planner, as an instructor /naturalist in Costa
Rica, and as a botanist for the The Nature Conservancy (Connecticut Chapter) and the US
Forest Service. In 1993 she received her M.S. from The Field Naturalist Program at the
University of Vermont. She currently lives in Northampton.
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Methods and Discussion
In order to understand why our conservation areas and their surroundings look the way they
do, I have relied on what could be called a "whole- systems" approach. This approach
dissects a landscape into its component parts (bedrock geology, surficial geology, plants,
animals, and human influence), and then reassembles it into an integrated whole that reflects
the interrelationships between these separate pieces.
To accomplish this, I visited each conservation area three or more times. On the second or
third visit I prepared large -scale biological community maps as well as detailed vegetation
maps. The divisions between communities were based on several considerations: plant
species composition, plant age, soil properties (moisture, texture, deposition history), light
levels, slope, aspect, land use history, and the geologic history of the specific site.
At each site, the wildlife that use the area permanently, transitionally or seasonally was also
considered. In spite of the abundance, diversity, and importance of invertebrates, few are
included because of the limited duration of this project. Information on vertebrates
(mammals, birds, amphibians, and reptiles) is included either in the text or in appendices 1 -3.
Time constraints prevented the preparation of a complete species list for each site.
Information on surficial geology came from my own familiarity with the area's glacial history
and from the Hampshire County Soil Survey. Additional soil pits were dug at the Pines Edge
and Fitzgerald Lake Conservation Areas. Other sources for bedrock and surficial geology
are cited in the bibliography.
Information on land use history was gleaned from fieldwork (presence of stonewalls, fences,
cut stumps, etc) as well as from maps, archival photographs and the reference section at
Forbes Library. Terry Blunt, Wayne Feiden, Ed Gross, Fred Morrison, Hazel Palmer, Jim
Parsons and Morton Stowe provided additional information about the land use history at
certain conservation areas.
What follows, then, is my ecological evaluation of the City's existing conservation areas and
a preliminary ecological overview of three potential acquisition or expansion sites: Sawmill
Hills, Mineral Hill and the Marble Brook drainage.
As a result of my work, I was able to divide the town into 16 major habitat types. Omitting
agricultural land, gravel pits and dumps, and residential- urban - industrial areas, thirteen
"natural" habitats are left:
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1. Recently abandoned agricultural land
2. Glacial outwash plains and deltas (i.e. sandplains /pitch pine habitats)
3. Drumlins
4. Ravines
5. Woodlands on glacial tills (no bedrock exposed)
6. Rocky uplands
1. Floodplain forest
2. Rejuvenated wetlands
3. Beaver ponds
4. Swamps
5. Bogs
6. Vernal pools
7. Streams (intermittent and permanent) and the Mill and Connecticut Rivers
Existing conservation areas or protected land (USDA) include examples of ten of these
habitats. Missing from the list are (1) ravines, (2) bogs and (3) pitch pine forests /sand plains.
1. Ravines are uncommon in Northampton, but one worthy of further study is at Day
Brook behind the Hampshire County Long -term Care Facility. To date, this
ravine has yielded two plants that are not found elsewhere in town (wood sorrel
(Oxalis montana) and spring beauty (Claytonia sp.)). This area also provides rich
habitat for wildlife (bear, deer, winter wren) and other less- than - common plants.
Another ravine -like area that should be examined is the drainage behind the
Veteran's Hospital.
2. Bogs are also not common in our city. So far I have located three "bog- like"
wetlands and one true bog. One of the bog -like areas is in a glacial kettle ( a rare
feature in Northampton) near Marble Brook (see write -up and map for details)
and another is a perched peat pocket on the Fitzgerald property near the
Fitzgerald Lake Conservation Area (see write -up and map for details). What
appears to be a former bog lies near the corner of Chesterfield Road and Spring
Street. According to Jim Parsons, this area used to have cranberries, but about 30
or so years ago a drainage ditch was dug and now this former peatland looks more
like a grown -in field with a ground layer of sphagnum moss.
One of the success stories of my work this summer was the discovery of a true
bog adjacent to the Brookwood Marsh Conservation Area. This bog and its
surrounding wetland complex have a very interesting geologic and land use
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history, and the area is part of a large wildlife corridor that extends from Mount
Tom to the Berkshires. In addition, it contains many species of plants and
animals rare to Northampton and is home to at least one state - listed species. The
protection of this bog should be among the Commission's top priorities.
3. The final habitat type not yet represented in the suite of conservation lands in
Northampton is a pitch pine /sand plain community. This type of habitat begins as
glacial deltas and outwash plains. Typically quite level and very perc -able, they
are often used for housing developments, airports (Westover Air Force Base,
Barnes Airport) and cemeteries (for example, Saint Mary's & Spring Grove).
Others have been mined for their pure sands and gravel ( Willards, Brakey's).
This has happened not just in Northampton, but also throughout the Northeast,
making sand plains one of New England's most threatened habitat types. Today,
pitch pine /sand plain habitats are severely fragmented and are often the
"wastelands" sought out and further degraded by ATV and motorbike devotees.
Sandplains contain fire- adapted plant species, such as pitch pine, scrub oak,
scarlet oak, wild lupine (state - listed), and a variety of grasses. Although few of
its plants are rare, sand plains often contain rare fauna. These include hog -nosed
snakes (two known Northampton sites) and several rare moths in the Geometridae
(inch worms) and Noctuidae (underwing moths). My preliminary survey work
indicates that a patchwork of sandplain habitat exists between Route 66 and
Willard's gravel operation at the west end of Burt's Pit Road. For more detailed
information, I encourage the Commission to contact Andrea Stevens at UMASS
(773- 0497). She is involved in a project that will identify the remaining pitch
pine communities in Hampshire County.
Knowing which habitats are not represented in our city is one way to evaluate potential
acquisitions. Another way is to look for sections of Northampton where no conservation
land yet exists (see attached chart). One area lacking conservation land is in the
southwestern part of the city. This was part of my reasoning for giving a high rating to
Mineral Hill, an area that is ecologically interesting and botanically rich.
A consideration in past acquisitions has been to look for property that joins with existing
acreage (e.g. Mill River corridor and Forest Legacy land around Fitzgerald Lake). This
makes sense and I encourage it, but I also caution you to look closely when a parcel is less
than 15 acres in size. And look even more closely if it is a new separate piece that doesn't
link with anything else. I say this specifically in reference to areas like Indian Hill, Vistron
and Mary Brown's Dingle. Although they have some value, they are also management
burdens and none of them are ecologically significant.
When thinking about linkages and corridors, I'd also like to encourage the Commission to
look closely at the large corridor that runs from Mount Tom through Arcadia Wildlife
Sanctuary, crosses Route 10 and then continues northwest to the Berkshires. A key piece in
this corridor is the Route 10 land between Arcadia and Pine Grove Golf Course. Not only is
it the last remaining forested stretch between Northampton and Easthampton, it is also an
important wildlife link. Evidence for this are the numerous wildlife sightings (including
bear, deer and coyote) that occur along this stretch of highway. Currently zoned for
industrial use, the future development of this parcel will require very careful, ecologically
sensitive planning.
Another management issue is logging on conservation land. From my perspective, it should
cease. Right now the only land in Northampton that will not be cut in the future are 300
acres of forested land owned by Massachusetts Audubon's Arcadia Wildlife Sanctuary. The
town conservation land should adopt the same policy. The argument to log to increase
habitat diversity is a weak one in Northampton where all around our conservation areas the
forests have been and will be cut in the future. There is no shortage of young ( <100 year old)
forest in Northampton. What is missing are stands with 200+ year old trees. Moreover, the
degradation of the forests by logging (skid roads, scarring, aesthetics) isn't worth the small
amount of money the City receives for the sale. New acquisitions, studies and maintenance
should be funded by grants, City open space funds, and the assistance of local grassroots
alliances.
And speaking of protection, I want to encourage the Commission to do all it can to aid the
local and environmental police to curb the overuse and abuse of Rainbow Beach. As the
quality of the Connecticut River improves, the amount of activity on the river is bound to
increase. Unless illegal activities are stopped now, it will be harder and harder to prevent the
construction of seasonal camps, dumping, vandalism and the sewage problems associated
with overuse. These problems are already serious at Rainbow Beach, and similar things have
occurred at Elwell Island.
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Ma 1. Map of Northampton and it's Conservation Areas
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NORTHAMPTON'S MOST ACCESSIBLE CONSERVATION AREA
A Natural History of the Barrett Street Marsh
It's late October and in the fading afternoon light, the colors of the marsh shift from brown
and tan to honey gold. For a few minutes, the last rays of daylight transform the remaining
maple leaves into a fiery orange red. The sun drops below the horizon and the colors dissolve
into muted browns, grays, and blacks.
As I wait at the end of the boardwalk, the first flock of ducks appears. They circle the marsh
once, twice and then quickly drop down to a patch of open water, hidden from view by a
wide band of cattails.
Within 15 minutes, hundreds more arrive. In pairs and large flocks, they track the marsh's
edge. Round and round, mallards, black ducks and wood ducks bank into tighter and tighter
circles. As they plummet, pandemonium breaks out - -there is wild splashing, quacking, and
clucking. Above the fray, I hear a wood duck's haunting autumnal wail.
This "great duck arrival" happens every night from late October to early December, not in
some remote wilderness area, but only a ten- minute walk from downtown Northampton at
the Barrett Street Marsh. Its location near hundreds of homes and four elementary schools
along with wheelchair - accessible boardwalk (1992) makes this 22 -acre wetland
Northampton's most accessible conservation area.
In addition to being a great place to watch incoming ducks, the Barrett Street Marsh is a spot
where traffic sounds can be drowned out by chorusing spring peepers, where yellow warblers
and yellowthroats nest in summer, and where avid birdwatchers sometimes find secretive
sora rails during their annual Christmas bird count.
When Northampton was still a young town, the Barrett Street Marsh was only the extreme
western edge of a much larger wetland. Underlain by the impervious clays of glacial Lake
Hitchcock, the original wetland extended from the east end of what is now Prospect Street
over to North Street. Water from the wetland flowed south through two brooks, one along
State Street and the other near Market Street. Much of this land was ditched and drained,
first for farmland and pasture and eventually for commercial and industrial uses.
Decades after King Street was built along a strip of relatively dry land, a branch of the New
Haven- Northampton Canal was built through this large wetland. Now buried below the
asphalt of Super Stop & Shop, the canal (1830 -1847) ran up through State Street and
continued north toward the Connecticut River. Unfortunately for the canal's investors, the
waterway was always a losing venture, and when the railroad along King Street was
completed in 1847, the canal fell almost immediately into disuse.
BARRETT STREET MARSH 2
In 1867, a new railroad branch that ran from King Street to Williamsburg was added. To
complete this length, fill was brought in along the south side of the existing conservation
area. A century later, the railroad ceased operation and in 1983, the abandoned line was
converted into the Northampton bike path.
Although the exact dates are uncertain, it's clear that the most dramatic changes to the
western edge of the original wetland (the area we call the Barrett Street Marsh) were caused
by the construction of a series of drainage ditches that converted these "unusable
swamplands" into pastureland and hayfields. For many years, these drainage ditches were
maintained by the City, which owned and managed the land as part of the City Poor Farm, or
Alms House. Located on Prospect Street where Congregation B'nai Israel now stands, the
Alms House was in operation from the early 1800's until 1952.
By the 1960's, the poor farm was long gone but the land was still used by area farmers.
Around this time, the maintenance of the drainage ditches stopped and sediment began to
accumulate. The water table rose, and rather quickly the pastures and hayfields began to
revert back to wetland. By the 1970's, stricter wetland regulations assured the ditches'
demise and the rejuvenation of the wetland. Already cows had been gone for more than two
decades and the last of the haying operations was soon to end.
In 1975, two Northampton residents, Willow Zuchowski and Fred Morrison, approached the
Conservation Commission and suggested that this rejuvenated wetland be transferred from
the City to the Conservation Commission. The transfer was completed and in 1976 the
Barrett Street Marsh became the City's second conservation area.
In the 20 years since the area received "conservation area" status, all but a tiny portion of its
former hayfields and pasture have been colonized by cattails (Typha latifolia), meadowsweet
(Spirea latifolia), tussock sedges (Carex stricta) and brushy tangles of silky dogwood
(Cornus amomum) and alder (Alnus rugosa). The remainder, a slightly higher peninsula of
land, is now covered with crab apple (Malus sp.), red cedar (Juniperus virginiana), a mix of
grasses and other plants characteristic of abandoned farm fields. The slope along the former
railroad bed is now forested with red maple (Acer rubrum) as is a tongue of low -lying upland
that runs north -south from Barrett Street.
Although most of the drainage ditches are no longer distinguishable, the largest and deepest
of them is still recognizable for much of its length. Known as King Street Brook, the ditch
runs through the wide belt of cattails from the bike path to Barrett Street. Beyond Barrett
Street, the brook flows past Denise Court and through a series of pipes, which eventually
carry it under King Street, Route 91 and Damon Road. The brook reappears behind the
BARRETT STREET MARSH 3
River Run Apartments and flows through a deep trench into the Connecticut River. This
northward flow is a 1800 switch from its former drainage through downtown Northampton.
Fed by runoff from Round Hill, Mary Brown's Dingle, and the Prospect Street area, King
Street Brook carries more than water. Roadsalt, fertilizer from yards, oil, radiator fluid and
other pollutants are also swept along. One consequence of this is that very few aquatic
organisms are able to survive near the beginning of King Street Brook. However, as the
water moves slowly through the marsh, these impurities are dispersed, bound to other
particles, or broken down and converted to harmless or less harmful forms. The marsh is so
effective at pollution abatement that by the time the brook reaches Barrett Street the water is
rich in aquatic organisms. Dragonfly and damselfly nymphs -- insects that require clean water
to survive - -, as well as diving beetles, caddisfly nymphs, daphnia, and snails are just a few of
the common creatures found by scooping a pailful of water.
The Barrett Street Marsh also provides storm water retention. By holding back and slowly
releasing floodwater, the Barrett Street Marsh contributes in a small but important way to
mediating flooding further downstream. Healthy wetlands and undeveloped floodplains can
dramatically reduce the velocity of floodwaters and cost far less than building and
maintaining dikes and dams.
Another valuable function of this wetland is the habitat it provides for wildlife. Although its
small size and urban location exclude large mammals like black bear, deer and coyotes, the
marsh is home to a variety of smaller mammals. Muskrats, gray squirrels, raccoons and
opossums are among the most commonly sighted mammals, and fox tracks are occasionally
seen on the snow - covered ice in winter.
In addition to furry creatures, the marsh is the year -round or seasonal home to at least four -
dozen kinds of birds, five species of amphibians, two types of reptile, and hundreds of insect
species. In April, spring peepers chorus, garter snakes bask on dry hummocks and the first
mourning cloak butterflies are on the wing. By May, the leaves are popping out and for a
few weeks a visitor to the marsh will hear the flute -like trill of dozens of male American
toads. Joining the toads in song are red - winged blackbirds, grackles, robins, yellow - rumped
warblers, common yellowthroats, rose - breasted grosbeaks, swamp sparrows, yellow warblers
and many more.
1 Although sometimes incorrectly called a swamp, the area is a true marsh. Swamps are
wetlands with tall trees. Marshes, however are characterized by shallow, open water with
hummocks of sedges and other waist -high vegetation.
BARRETT STREET MARSH 4
Crucial to the animal diversity seen at the Barrett Street Marsh are the plants, which offer the
animals cover, food, and places to raise and rear their young. Land use history, the degree of
wetness and especially patterns in plant composition define the marsh's five major
communities: 1) cattail colony; (2) meadowsweet /tussock sedge community; (3) wetland
shrub thicket; (4) red maple forest; and (5) abandoned, drier field (Maps 2 and 3).
Of the five broad plant communities that exist at the marsh, the largest is a nearly pure stand
of cattails. Often over six feet in height, the luxuriant growth of the cattails along King Street
Brook may be due, at least in part, to high levels of phosphorus and nitrogen from lawn
fertilizer runoff. This former pastureland is now the best place in the Barrett Street Marsh to
see muskrats, ducks, red - winged blackbirds and American toads.
Bordering the cattails and also within the former pastureland are several acres covered by a
meadowsweet /tussock sedge community. Meadowsweet and its close relative steeplebush
(Spirea tomentosa) have colonized the old hummocks of tussock sedge that developed when
the water table began rising.
This is a very diverse community with dozens of wetland species. In addition to the few
cattails growing along its wetter margins, this community contains beggar's tick (Bidens
cernua; B. vulgata), turtlehead (Chelone glabra), joe -pye weed (Eupatorium maculata), and
swamp candle (Lysimachia terrestris). Other common plants in this area are maddog skullcap
(Scutellaria lateriflora), arrow - leaved tearthumb (Polygonum sagittatum), delicate marsh
ferns (Thelypteris palustris) and in the watery depressions, common arrowhead (Sagittaria
latifolia).
The division between the cattail and meadowsweet /tussock sedge communities may be due
to lower nutrient availability and the height of the watertable. Unlike cattails, the wetland
species that grow in this area cannot survive long periods in standing water.
Higher and drier still are the areas dominated by silky dogwood /arrowwood /alder thickets.
Scattered among these shrubs are young red maples, slippery elm (Ulmus rubra) and
elderberry (Sambucus canadensis). Open and sunny, this community rivals the
meadowsweet /tussock sedge zone for plant diversity. Among its more common species are
BARRETT STREET MARSH
touch -me -not (Impatiens capensis), boneset (Eupatorium perfoliatum), asters (Aster spp.),
arrow- leaved tearthumb (Polygonum arifolium), meadowsweet and several species of sedges
and grasses. Growing up and over all of these plants are the sprawling vines of wild balsam
apple (Echinocystis lobata), with its spiny, lantern -like fruits, and virgin's bower (Clematis
virginiana), with its feathery, curved seeds.
Two red maple forests are found within the conservation area: 1) along the north slope of the
bike path, and (2) along the low -lying peninsula that extends south from Barrett Street. Near
the bike path, the forest is an even -aged stand, roughly 30 years old that has grow up on the
moist fill. In this section, the understory is composed of spotted touch -me -not, cinnamon fern
(Osmunda cinnamomea), sensitive fern (Onoclea sensibilis), interrupted fern (Osmunda
claytoniana), royal fern (Osmunda regalis), New York fern (Thelypteris novaeboracensis),
Canada lily (Lilium canadense) and dewberry (Rubus sp.). Young black cherry (Prunus
serotina) is also found scattered in the understory. Shrubs, however, are rather localized.
Three of the most common are winterberry (Ilex verticillata), chokeberry (Prunus
virginiana), and high -bush blueberry (Vaccinium corymbosum).
A small drainage ditch in this area supports a narrow, but well developed sponge of
sphagnum moss. Sheep laurel (Kalmia angustifolia) and leatherleaf (Cassandra calyculata),
which is not common in Northampton, are both found here.
Two hundred feet west of the boardwalk, near a second drainage channel, the red maple
forest is older and taller. In much of this area, the ground has a gentle slope and the soils are
not as well drained as those below the even -aged stand. These changes are reflected in the
composition of the understory, which, in addition to touch -me -not and cinnamon fern,
includes poison ivy (Toxicodendron radicans), Virginia creeper (Parthenocissus
quinquefotia), jack -in- the- pulpit (Arisaema triphyllum) and common arrowwood (Viburnum
recognitum).
The 50 to 100 foot wide peninsula of red maple that begins at Barrett Street and extends
south is similar to the red maple slope along the bike path in both age and species
composition.
The final community type is found on a spit of land southeast of the Coachlite Apartments
and not far from the end of the new boardwalk. Slightly higher and drier, this area supports a
BARRETT STREET MARSH h
flora characteristic of abandoned fields. Crab apples (Malus sp.), red cedar (Juniperus
virginiana), white pine (Pinus strobus), hawthorn (Craetegus spp.), and large clones of
panicled dogwood (Corpus racemosa) are among the most common woody plants. Grasses
and sedges dominate the herb layer, but wildflowers like oxeye daisy (Leucanthemum
vulgare), daisy fleabane (Erigeron annuus) and cow vetch (Vicia cracca) are also abundant.
There aren't many cities in Massachusetts than can boast about having a rich natural area so
accessible to their centers. The Barrett Street Marsh is a rejuvenated and rejuvenating
wetland that provides educational, aesthetic and functional benefits to the residents of
Northampton.
BARRETT STREET MARSH 7
Map 2. Major Communities at the Barrett Street Marsh
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Map 3. Detailed Vegetation Map of the Barrett St. Marsh Conservation Area
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BARRETT STREET MARSH CONSERVATION AREA
Legend for the Detailed Vegetation Map
1. A small open pocket of sedges and joe -pye weed ringed by red maple and silky dogwood.
2. Wet ground with standing water and rice cut grass, joe -pye weed, cattail, beggar's tick,
and candlestick rush.
3. Slightly higher ground covered with red maple, silky dogwood, panicled dogwood, crab
apples, arrowwood, goldenrod and some of the non - native shrub, common buckthorn.
4. Cattails (Typha latifolia)
5. Part of a former hayfield now dominated by tussock sedge, meadowsweet and grasses.
6. Red maple and silky dogwood
7. A thin strip of silky dogwood, meadowsweet, silver maple, and arrowwood. Upland
border is black locust.
8. Overgrown, upland pasture with crab apple, red cedar, red maples and a mix of grasses,
goldenrods, and asters.
9. Low- growing silky dogwood thicket
10. Open marsh with tussock sedge, marsh fern, beggar's ticks and willow herb
11. Brushy thicket characterized by alder, arrowwood, red maple and meadowsweet.
12. Open, recently deposited sediments dominated by touch -me -not, boneset, meadowsweet,
aster, joe -pye weed, tussock sedge and arrow- leaved tearthumb.
13. Older, open red maple forest with an understory of poison ivy, Virginia creeper, touch-
me-not and occasional patches of honeysuckle, crab apple, and common buckthorn.
Jack -in- the - pulpit is frequent.
14. Drainage channel
BARRETT STREET MARSH 10
15. Japanese knotweed (Reynoutria japonica)
16. Arrowwood (Viburnum recognitum)
17. Slope from bike path dominated by even -aged red maple forest (approx. 30 years) with
cinnamon, interrupted, royal and sensitive fern common in the understory. Skunk
cabbage occasional; touch -me -not frequent. Along the drainage channel are sphagnum
moss, leatherleaf and sheep laurel.
18. Meadowsweet and cattail
19. Sensitive fern and burreed.
20. A large, open area with hummocks of vegetation surrounded by standing water. The
most common plants include meadowsweet, cattail, beggar's tick, turtlehead and tussock
sedge.
21. Swamp rose, meadowsweet, joe -pye weed and common winterberry. An old tree fort is
nearby in an old red maple.
22. Meadowsweet and cattail
23. A thin zone with dense stands of silky dogwood, common winterberry, and arrowwood.
24. Alder with an understory of sensitive fern, touch -me -not and sedges.
25. Bulrush (Scirpus)
26. Red maple with an understory of Canada mayflower, touch -me -not, cinnamon fern, royal
fern, dewberry, some chokeberry and high -bush blueberry.
27. Open marsh with mix of ground nut, cattail, touch -me -not, turtlehead and meadowsweet.
28. Alder thickets with touch -me -not below.
29. Alder, silky dogwood, multiflora rose, grape and staghorn sumac above and touch -me
not, goldenrod, jumpseed, joe -pye -weed and aster below.
30. A berm with a mix of gray birch, alder, blackberry with abundant sedges, grasses, touch -
me -not and goldenrod in open areas.
BARRETT STREET MARSH 1 1
31. Black willow with Morrow's honeysuckle, multiflora rose, and panicled dogwood below.
32. Cattail, sweet flag and touch -me -not
33. Red maple upland
12
THE NATURAL HISTORY OF THE BROOKWOOD CONSERVATION AREA
AND AN ADJACENT WETLAND COMPLEX
A hundred feet from the parking area is a small beaver pond, surrounded with waist -high
meadowsweet (Spirea latifolia), clusters of royal fern (Osmunda regalis), jumbles of sedges
(Carex spp.), and several, short - statured red maples (Acer rubrum). Perched on top of one of
these red maples, a male song sparrow, head back, chest puffed, opens his beak and sings a
long, melodic string of notes. After a momentary pause, he sings again, and then again.
Within a few minutes, the songs of nearly a dozen birds are heard - -the raspy calls of red -
winged blackbirds, high - pitched squeaks of rose- breasted grosbeaks, rich, full notes of
Northern orioles, and the witchedy- witches of common yellowthroats. Welcome to the
Brookwood Conservation Area.
Located between Crestview Drive, Ellington Road, and Florence Road, this 15 -acre, L-
shaped parcel can be divided into four broad communities: (1) abandoned, wet pasture, (2)
the powerline swath, (3) a red maple swamp /beaver pond, and (4) a small section of heavily
disturbed swamp forest (Map 4 and 5).
On the north edge of the conservation area, the former pasture land is level and underlain by
glacially deposited, sandy -stony soils. Since it was abandoned 20 years ago, a dense stand of
red maple poles has shot up. Their density dramatically reduces the amount of light that
reaches the forest floor where few herbaceous plants are able to survive.
At the southern end of this block of former pasture, just beyond one of the two stonewalls
that cross the property, the land use history is obviously different. Much more open and
sunny, this smaller block was clearly maintained as a grassy spot years after it was
abandoned as pasture. Because of this, the vegetation is characterized by light - loving
species, such as panicled dogwood (Corpus racemosa), honeysuckle (Lonicera morrowii),
gray birch (Betula populifolia), quaking aspen (Populus tremuloides), and a wide mix of
grasses and wildflowers. Near the powerline, a slightly wetter section contains a stand of
speckled alder (Alnus rugosa), easily recognized by its warty bark, dark green leaves and
fruits, which resemble miniature pinecones.
Paralleling the western edge of the former pasture and serving as the back property line for
the homes on this side of Ellington Drive is a 50+ foot wide powerline right -of -way. For
most of its length, the right -of -way is relatively dry and brushy, with two exceptions.
Midway along the powerline is a small, rocky stream channel that, before the Ellington Drive
BROOKWOOD CONSER VA TION AREA 13
homes were built, drained the large wetland complex to the south and west. The other wet
spot lies at the south end of the conservation area. Here, the powerline runs through an open,
marshier section, where in addition to tussock sedge (Carex stricta) and shadbush
(Amelanchier canadensis) are the purple - blossomed stems of purple loosestrife (Lythrum
salicaria). Although attractive, this non - native plant readily outcompetes native plants,
which are of greater value to wildlife. At this time, the invasion is moderate, however
unattended it may spread to the larger wetland where it could have very negative
consequences. A two -day, loosestrife- pulling party by concerned neighbors could eliminate
this potential threat.
Bordering the powerline and within the conservation area is the edge of a thirty acre wetland.
Although just a sliver of the much larger wetland, this section, which includes both red
maple swamp and two small abandoned beaver ponds, is the most diverse within the
conservation area. For instance, on one of the beaver dams, one finds a lush tangle of false
loosestrife (Decodon verticillata), chokeberry (Aronia melanocarpa), willows (Salix rigida,
S. sericea) and a mix of two -dozen grasses, sedges, and wildflowers. In this same area live
Northern watersnakes, snapping turtles, painted turtles, muskrats and several amphibian
species.
Because some of the houses on Ellington Drive are built on fill, they are the vulnerable to
rising water levels caused by the beaver dams. In order to reduce basement flooding in these
homes, the City of Northampton installed a pipe to help stabilize the water Level in 1992, and
when the beavers were still present, an abutting property owner periodically removed new
sections of the beaver dams.
Moving west from the beaver pond -red maple swamp area, one reaches the final plant
community within the conservation area. Here, past bulldozing and filling have dramatically
altered the land. Twenty -five years ago, in order to create more buildable land, the developer
of Ellington Drive and Crestview Road dumped boulders and fill into this wetland margin.
These rocks and bulldozed berms, as well as the tangle of pin cherry (Prunus pensylvanica),
aspen (Populus tremuloides), and blackberry (Rubus alleghaniensis) are evidence of these
past abuses. At some time in the future, the Conservation Commission may want to restore
this degraded area, possibly by securing funding through U.S. Fish & Wildlife's Partners for
Wildlife Program. Berms, rocks and alien plants could be removed and native wetland plants
could be encouraged. At the same time an observation platform overlooking the wetland
could be built in this section.
BROOKWOOD CONSER VA TION AREA 14
The diversity of plant and animal life at the Brookwood Conservation Area is largely due to
the presence of large wetland complex that it joins. Encompassing nearly 30 acres, this
wetland contains an extensive red maple swamp, marshy borders, a shallow pond, and most
significantly, Northampton's only known bog. Bogs are specialized environments that
develop where the flow of groundwater is restricted and where the water level remains at or
just below the vegetated surface for most of the year.
Covering one third of the wetland, the bog includes both open water and thick, floating mats
of sphagnum moss. Surviving the rigors of these waterlogged, nutrient poor, highly acidic
conditions is an unusual plant community, with cranberry (Vaccinium oxycoccus), rhodora
( Rhodora canadense), cotton grass (Eriophorum virginicum), insectivorous sundews
(Drosera rotundifolia) and hundreds of orchids known as rose pogonia ( Pogonia
ophioglossoides).
In addition to these interesting plants, a spotted turtle (Clemmys guttata), a species "of
special concern" in Massachusetts, was found in the red maple swamp in May, 1993. A
subsequent visit in June turned up hundreds of empty spotted salamander (Ambystoma
maculata) egg masses in the bog's open waters. Because bogs are such specialized habitats,
it is very likely that further studies in this area will reveal other state - listed species.
Why is there a bog here at all? A good guess is that the conditions needed to initiate a bog
occurred here during the tenure of glacial Lake Hitchcock. At that time (15,600- 12,400 years
ago), this area was within a well - protected cove on an island just off the western shore of the
lake (Fig. 1). Calm water conditions enabled fine clay particles to settle out from the lake's
milky waters. The draining of Lake Hitchcock left this area high, but not dry, because the
clays now formed an impervious lining, which trapped water inside this basin - shaped
depression. With an impermeable bottom, restricted waterflow and little nutrient input, the
conditions were set for the development of a bog. It's quite possible that our present day bog
began to form as long as 12,400 years ago when the lake drained. Analyzing the pollen
grains in the peat profile could test this idea.
Although the geologic origin of the bog is speculative, the land use history of this site is
better known. This large wetland is the famous "Burt's Pit ", named after Gaius Burt who
mined peat here in the early 1800's. After Burt, other people continued off and on to mine
the bog's peat and underlying mucky soils, selling these resources to farmers as a soil
conditioner. Later farmers tried in vain to convert the northeast corner of this "muck hole"
into usable pasture. A 1965 aerial photograph shows a series of east -west running drainage
BROOKWOOD CONSER VA TION AREA 15
channels. Now largely hidden by red maples, meadowsweet, and a diverse mix of wetland
species, these channels are easily found when crossing the wetland because suddenly you're
thigh deep in soft muck. Other evidence that this area was once marginal pasture are the
remains of old fence posts and barbwire that run along the drainage ditches.
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Figure 1. The Burt's Pit wetland area as it appeared 15,600- 12,400 years ago
when the area was a protected cove on Sanders Island in glacial Lake Hitchcock.
BROOKWOOD CONSER VA TION AREA 16
Considering this wetland's (1) role in Northampton's history, (2) ecological importance, (3)
large size, (4) connection to the Brookwood Conservation Area and (5) position within the
Mount Tom - Berkshire corridor, its protection should be one of Northampton's highest
priorities.
BROOKWOOD CONSER VA TION AREA 17
Map 4. Major Communities
1
19
Map 5. Detailed Vegetation Map
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BROOKWOOD MARSH CONSERVATION AREA
Legend of the Detailed Vegetation Map
1. Goldenrod
2. Alder and willow with an understory of goldenrod, spotted touch -me -not, water
horehound, and grape
3. Big- toothed aspen, pin cherry and staghorn sumac
4. Old logging road, now with grasses and blackberry tangles
5. Old road that was originally graded to connect Ellington Drive and Crestview Avenue;
yard wastes
6. Black locust, staghorn sumac, pin cherry, trembling aspen and grapes form the canopy.
Goldenrod, blackberry, Virginia creeper, touch -me -not, and lady fern grow in the
understory. Bulldozing operations has drastically altered the landscape here; numerous
berms and boulders, as well as the plant species present, attest to this fact.
7. Open grass area
8. Big- toothed aspen area.
9. Strip of red maple and water willow (Decodon verticillata) alongside open water near
partial beaver dam.
10. Open water with duckweed and wolffia. Arrowhead and waterwillow frequent.
11. Partial beaver dam adjacent to open, wet meadow area. This meadow area is full of rice
cut grass, boneset, willow, chokeberry, beggar's ticks, and many other sedge and grass
species. A rich pocket.
12. Peninsula of upland dominated by gray birch and red maple.
13. Low - statured (5' -15') red maple - meadowsweet- alder - winterberry swamp. Hummocks
with sphagnum, marsh fern, and abundant with sedges.
14. Taller (20) red maple swamp. Winterberry, royal fern, and beggar's ticks abundant.
BROOKWOOD CONSER VA TION AREA 20
15. Marshy section of powerline right -of -way. Purple loosestrife, tussock sedge, swamp
candles, marsh fern and diverse sedge community.
16. Red maple (30 -40') swamp forest. Sensitive fern and dewberry abundant. Very open
and easy to walk through.
17. Alder thicket.
18. Staghorn sumac, young poplar, common milkweed, multiflora rose, and grass tangle.
19. Upland, brushy section of powerline right -of -way. Includes dense patches of non - native
honeysuckle.
20. Open, former field now with islands of red maple, gray birch, and winterberry. Canopy
averages 20' in height. Along paths are numerous grasses, goldenrod, and various
wildflowers that are common in disturbed settings.
21. Dense red maple (3 -4" in diameter) poles, with occasional gray birch and white pine.
Understory plants absent.
22. Willows, young oak and understory of non - native honeysuckle.
23. Quaking aspen, bracken fern and alder. Rocky remnants of former stream bed.
24. White pine with red maple, gray birch, and quaking aspen along the margins. Canada
mayflower is the dominant herb in the understory.
25. Quaking aspen above, New York fern and cinnamon fern below.
26. Low swale vegetated with quaking aspen, red maple, slippery elm. Yard wastes present.
20
BEYOND THE ROADSIDE EDGE:
Explorations of the Burke Section, Fitzgerald Lake Conservation Area
As you near the main entrance to Fitzgerald Lake Conservation Area on North Farms Road,
it's easy to overlook another of the City's important conservation areas. Just north of Spring
Grove Cemetery, between two house lots, is a small bridge that crosses a hidden brook.
Donated by Dorothy Burke in 1984 and 1989, this five -acre wetland complex is an important
wildlife link between Fitzgerald Lake and several hundred acres of the Veteran's Hospital
property. It also has high potential for use as an outdoor classroom by JFK Middle School
students and in the future could act as a link for middle school classes travelling between the
school and the Fitzgerald Lake Conservation Area.
The brushy perimeter along North Farms Road gives no hint, no suggestion about how
biologically interesting this conservation area is. From the road, a short, steep bank leads
down to the sandy- bottomed stream and its wet floodplain. Fifteen feet from the road, the
tangle of multiflora rose and other light - loving species starts to drop out and is replaced by
clusters of speckled alder (Alnus rugosa), silky dogwood (Corpus amomum), and witherod
(Viburnum lentago). Although difficult to get "through ", it's fairly easy to navigate around
these shrub islands. Thriving in the shrubless areas are the bright green fronds of sensitive
fern (Onoclea sensibilis), large leaved skunk cabbage (Symplocarpus foetidus), and hundreds
of touch -me -not (Impatiens capensis) (Map 6).
The stream continues along the north edge of the conservation area with a large wetland
extending to the south. Moving upstream another fifty feet, the character of this wetland
changes. Beyond a slightly higher and drier "island" vegetated with white pine (Pinus
strobus), and occasional elm (Ulmus rubra) and hemlock (Tsuga canadensis), the ground
becomes wetter and a classic swamp occurs. Tall red maples dominate the canopy and on the
sphagnum and moss - covered hummocks of vegetation (mostly upturned old tree roots and
old sedge hummocks), winterberry (Ilex verticillata), blueberries (Vaccinium corymbosum),
azaleas (Rhododendron roseum), and chokeberries (Aronia melanocarpa; A. arbutifolia)
abound. Broad patches of cinnamon fern (Osmunda cinnamomea), rough - leaved goldenrod
(Solidago patula) and silky dogwood grow in open patches and green ash (Fraxinus
pensylvanica) and yellow birch (Betula lutea) become more common. This area also
contains small populations of two plants that are rare in Northampton: alternate - leaved
buckthorn (Rhamnus alnifolia), a shrub seldom found in the Pioneer Valley and larch (Larix
laricina). At present, the Burke Section is the only known Northampton location for this
native buckthorn, which typically grows in cold bogs and swamps further to the north or at
higher elevations. It is also only the second known, naturally occuring site in Northampton
for larch, which also prefers cold peaty soils.
FITZGERALD LAKE - B URKE SECTION 22
From here, heading east, the vegetation pattern changes again to include an open swamp
forest that is dominated by young red maple (Acer rubrum), lots of poison sumac
(Toxicodendron vernix) and an herb understory of sedges and marsh horsetail (Equisetum
sylvaticum), an ancient species with feathery, spiralled branches. The presence of barbed
wire on some of the nearby trees and the current species composition suggests that this area
was used as a pasture in the past.
At the southern edge of the Burke Section, forested land rises abruptly and then gradually
ascends to the open fields of the Spring Grove CemeteryZ • Of particular interest on these
uplands is a huge tulip tree measuring approximately 15 feet in circumference. Located on a
property corner, this tree was not cut in the past because it was used as a "witness tree" in
property surveys.
Not far from the tulip is an area that has been and continues to be used by the Department of
Public Works as a place to dump extra sand, leaves and other fill. Unfortunately, this debris
is spilling into the wetland and has created the additional problem of encouraging the
aggressive spread of an unwelcome non - native plant called Japanese knotweed (Reynoutria
japonica).
The name of the nearby cemetery is a clue as to why the Burke Section is so wet and may
also help explain why alternate - leaved buckthorn, larch and at least two other "northern"
species (Canada yew (Taxus canadensis) and blue -bead lily (Clintonia borealis)) grow here.
At the base of the sandy slope below the cemetery, numerous cold, clear springs bubble up.
The year -round cold temperatures of these springs may prevent soil conditions from warming
even during the summer, and thereby essentially similate a climate more typical of higher
elevations and latitudes.
The sands that form the hillside and cemetery are part of an ancient delta that formed when
the Mill River flowed into glacial Lake Hitchcock, 15,600- 12,400 years ago. At the toe of
the slope, these sands overlie an impervious clay layer (also deposited during the tenure of
Lake Hitchcock) and ground water, unable to percolate further, surfaces.
z Spring Grove Cemetery is the only Northampton site for wild lupine (Lupinus perennis),
currently "watch listed" in Massachusetts. Years ago, when the Cemetery was burned
annually, wild lupine was much more widespread. Given this observation, the DPW should
consider a controlled spring burn as part of its maintenance plan. The cemetery also contains
the City's only known population of blunt leaved milkweed (Asclepias amplexifolius).
These springs flow into the main feeder brook for Fitzgerald Lake. This brook begins in
FITZGERALD LAKE - BURKE SECTION 23
Haydenville then flows south behind the Veteran's Hospital before veering east and crossing
the Burke Section.
The protection of this watershed, with its extensive forest, should be a priority not only for
the City of Northampton, but also the Town of Hatfield, whose aquifer is recharged by these
waters.
24
Map 6. Plant Communities
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25
THE BURKE SECTION, FITZGERALD LAKE CONSERVATION AREA
Legend of the Plant Communities
1. Yellow birch, hop hornbeam, alder and an extensive stand of cinnamon fern dominate this
stretch along the stream that arises from the springs at Spring Grove Cemetery.
2. An open, sunnier section of the swamp with red maple and abundant cinnamon fern.
3. A mix of red maple, yellow birch, green ash, and occasional hemlock grow in this section
of the swamp. Poison sumac, chokeberry, pinxter flower and blueberry are abundant. Also
present are a dozen individuals of alder - leaved buckthorn, the only known locality for
Northampton, and three larch, only the second known site in town where this species
naturally occurs. Skunk cabbage is frequent.
4. Yard waste from Spring Grove Cemetery and a dense stand of Japanese knotweed.
5. An open, sedge -marsh horsetail understory grows below a thin canopy of red maple and
scattered poison sumac. Very seepy ground with numerous springs.
6. Tongue of dense red maple.
7. Dense stand of sensitive ferns below red maple. Upland woods form border.
8. Dense thicket with lots of poison sumac, elm, ironwood and clusters of silky dogwood.
9. Clusters of silky dogwood, arrowwood, alder and elderberry with scattered red maples
and a dense understory of skunk cabbage, touch -me -not, sensitive fern and cinnamon fern.
This area is flooded in heavy rains and is perennially wet.
10. Silky dogwood and alder islands.
11. Brushier edge with occasional multiflora rose, honeysuckle and silky dogwood.
12. Open, bright roadside edge thick with multiflora rose, as well as Morrow's honeysuckle
and Asiatic bittersweet. Other common roadside wildflowers also present.
25
REDISCOVERING ELWELL CONSERVATION AREA
The Natural History of a Familiar Landscape
From the Rail Trail I watch as the traffic streams over the Calvin Coolidge Bridge and the
early morning mists rise and swirl over the blue -black waters of the Connecticut River.
Someone in a single scull glides under the Rail Trail, and heads up into the broad, shallow
bottomed channel between Elwell Island and the mainland. This is a special place, one of the
few stretches of river where both sides, including the entire island, are protected as
conservation land.
Named after the family that owned the land for a century and a half, the 100+ acre Elwell
Conservation Area is the Northampton Conservation Commission's second largest property.
And it's growing. Since its purchase as a conservation area in 1981, as many as fifteen
additional acres have been added to Elwell Island, not through acquisition, but through active
deposition by the river.
Elwell Island is, in geologic time, a very new addition to the river. As Late as 1794, city maps
show not a trace of it (Map 7). However, by 1831 the first eight or so acres had formed and
the area was already known as Elwell Island (Map 8). By the 250th anniversary of
Northampton in 1904, the island had grown to approximately 25 acres (Map 9) and in 1981,
when the property was purchased with the help of federal and state grants; it had expanded to
60 acres (Map 10).
Sandbars and islands are relatively common phenomena on meandering rivers like the
Connecticut. In this case, however, the island's beginning and subsequent growth may have
been related to the increase in erosion and flooding caused by regional deforestation during
the 1800's. In addition, legend has it that the formation of the island was helped along by its
first owner, Levi Elwell, who is said to have planted young willows to stabilize the soil on a
newly developed sandbar. Whether Elwell planted willows on the island or not, by using the
land as hayfields and pasture, he and his heirs strongly influenced the face of the island that
we see today.
Knowing how the Elwell's used the island only partly explains the broad patterns we see
today. The rest of the explanation requires recognizing differences in soil types, plant
associations and flooding dynamics. Using this approach, four principal biological
communities become apparent. The two most extensive communities are the open meadow,
easily viewed from the Rail Trail, and the floodplain forest. The two smaller communities
are the mudflats and the young sandy deposits called point bars (Map 11).
EL WELL CONSER VATION AREA 27
The open meadow covers nearly half the island, and is a half -mile long by 300 -400 feet wide.
For more than a century, from the 1830's through the early 1940's, the Elwell's managed this
section as cattle pasture and hay fields. Since then, the only management of the area has
come in the form of annual flooding and repeated brush fires, most recently an eight acre
burn in the fall of 1992.
Examined more closely, the open meadow can be broken down into a patchwork of smaller
plant communities. Although dominated by goldenrod (Solidago canadensis), there are also
swaths of ostrich fern (Matteucia struthiopteris), open areas with grasses, and near the
nothern end, huge patches of soapwort (Saponaria officinalis) and poison ivy
(Toxicodendron radicans) (Map 12).
By mid - summer, the meadow vegetation is dense. The goldenrod (Solidago canadensis) is
taller than an adult and the ostrich fern is chest -high. Towering over the ostrich fern are
isolated clusters of stinging nettle (Urtica dioica), the principal food plant for red admiral
butterfly caterpillars. In the grassy places, wild germander (Teucrium canadense), an
unusual looking mint with pink- lavender blossoms, flowers in abundance in July and early
August.
With all the seed that repeated flooding brings in, one puzzling question is why woody plants
haven't colonized the open meadow. Fires may be part of the answer, but more likely it's
because woody plants can't germinate and survive below the existing vegetation. The dense
herb layer blocks most of the light from reaching the ground and in some areas, has a thick
root zone that suppresses the growth of seedlings. In addition, goldenrod is thought to be
allelopathic, producing chemicals that suppress the germination and growth of other species.
Bordering the meadow on three sides is floodplain forest, the second largest community on
the island. In many areas, the forest provides a classic example of this habitat type, with a tall
canopy, no shrub layer, and a lush layer of herbs.. Like the open meadow, the floodplain
forest can be subdivided into smaller subsets, three in this case, based on the age and
composition of its trees (Map 12).
The bulk of the floodplain forest Lies on the oldest portion of the island. Here, monster
cottonwoods (Populus deltoides) over three feet in diameter share the canopy with huge
silver maples (Acer saccharinum). One hundred feet below them, the forest floor is carpeted
by nearly solid stands of either ostrich fern or wood nettle (Laportea canadensis). In the
EL WELL CONSER VATION AREA 29
wetter lowspots, much smaller patches of false nettle (Boehmeria cylindrica), sensitive fern
(Onoclea sensibilis) and touch -me -not (Impatiens capensis; I. pallida) are found.
The second type of floodplain forest is found on the younger, sandy deposits along the
northern margin of the island. The precursor to the older floodplain forest, this area is
dominated by small (under fifty foot tall) cottonwoods (Populus deltoides) and a thick
understory of silver maple (Acer saccharinum) saplings and little else.
The final type of floodplain forest is found below the rail trail bridge and is dominated by
box elder (Acer negundo) in the overstory and ostrich fern in the understory. The dominance
of box elder, a species that often comes in after clearing, is consistent with the history of
disturbance (trampling, fires) in this section.
Mudflats are found in only two inlets: one long and narrow on the north side, and the other,
much smaller, along the southwest shore. These inlets provide the sheltered, calm -water
conditions necessary for fine silts and clays to settle out and the mudflats to develop.
Underwater for several months of the year, these areas are exposed during periods of low
water. In shallow, isolated pools on the mudflats, American toads (Bufo americana) breed in
late May and early June. By July the little toadlets can be found hopping across the mud.
During the growing season, these exposed muds are ringed by an interesting community of
plants that has evolved to cope with a saturated watertable. Arrowhead (Sagitarria latifolia),
mud plantains (Alisma subcordatum), false pimpernel (Lindernia dubia), monkey flower
(Mimulus ringens), rice cut grass (Leersia oryzoides) and clammy hedge hyssop (Gratiola
neglecta; G.aurea) are specific to silty mudflats and are among the most common finds (Map
12). Also present is the aggressive, non - native plant, purple loosestrife (Lythrum salicaria).
Although its blossoms are attractive, this plant outcompetes native species, which provide
better food and cover for wildlife. Fortunately, on Elwell Island the purple loosestrife
population is still small enough that with a work crew of six to eight people and a week's
worth of effort, all the loosestrife could be removed.
At both the ends of the island, extensive, linear sandy beaches have formed. These deposits,
technically known as point bars, are important breeding grounds for a rare tiger beetle
(Cicindela puritana) as well as habitat for another state - listed species, sandbar willow (Salix
exigua). Other plants growing on these point bars include a wide assortment of grasses,
EL WELL CONSER VATION AREA 29
stands of young cottonwood and silver maple, plus hundreds of cocklebur (Xanthium
strumarium) (Map 12). Point bars are unusual habitats because the perennial plants that
survive on them must be able to tolerate droughty, nutrient poor conditions as well as
extended periods of flooding. These fluctuations also help explain why so many of the
species in these sandy environments are weedy annuals, commonly found in disturbed, well -
drained soils along roadsides, railroads and in schoolyards.
In addition to rare tiger beetles and willows, these beaches are heavily used by boaters from
Memorial Day until Labor Day. In spite of this heavy use, there was surprisingly little trash
and only a few damaged trees during a July 1993 visit. Additional posting and the installation
of a sign that lists rules and regulations is recommended.
Although the island floods annually, sometimes for weeks at a time, each year it is
recolonized by woodchucks, red fox, deer, mink and raccoons. In winter, the open meadow is
an excellent place to watch for red fox, especially if you're on the rail trail bridge and have a
good pair of binoculars. A walk along the island's shoreline will often turn up sign of mink,
muskrat, and beaver, mammals well adapted for a river - island existence.
Red - winged blackbirds, gray catbirds, song sparrows, yellowthroats and red - tailed hawks are
a few of the birds that nest on the island, and dozens of other bird species can be seen feeding
and roosting on the island.
1TI ,l•
Elwell Island continues to expand on both sides of its upstream end, but appears to be
relatively stable at its downstream tip. The Connecticut River is gradually eroding the
Northampton side of the island and also the bank along Damon Road. The river would also
be eroding the Hadley bank were it not for the illegal rock riprapping that has been
dumped there over the last fifty years. Because of the riprapping, the river may begin to carry
more water in the channel on the Northampton side. If this happens, the present main
channel could fill in and the island could one day become part of Hadley.
EL WELL CONSER VATION AREA 30
on the Hadley side is heavily used by boaters, who must now loop around the island's
expanding sandbar. If dredging becomes an issue, the recreational- ecological conflicts that
arise will, no doubt, be hotly debated.
The remaining 35 -40 acres of the Elwell Conservation Area are located on the mainland,
between Damon Road and the river. Beginning a few hundred yards upriver from the Rail
Trail Bridge, this section runs for about a mile and is part cornfield and part floodplain forest.
Twenty -five years ago, a walk upriver from the old railroad bridge would have taken you
through open agricultural fields. The only trees were those along the river edge. Today, the
same walk takes you through an open forest composed of scattered butternut (Juglans
cinerea), a species in decline due to the invasion of the sirococcus canker (Sirococcus
clavigignenti juglandacearum). The understory is dense with touch -me -nots, ostrich fern
and in seepier areas, skunk cabbage (Symplocarpus foetidus). Along the river's steep,
eroding bank, silver maple is most common, but cottonwood, black willow (Salix nigra) and
elm (Ulmus rubra) are also present (Map 12).
Near the few houses on Damon Road are planted stands of spruce (Picea sp.) and red pine
(Pinus resinosa). Now part of the conservation land, these evergreen stands have gone
unmanaged for many years and their understories are now a mass of poison ivy, Asiatic
bittersweet (Celastrus orbiculatus), touch -me -not and young black cherry (Prunus serotina).
Between the two pine stands is another block of land that has also transformed from open
land 25 years ago to a tangly mass of vegetation with a few linden (Tilea americana), black
cherry and cottonwood in the canopy.
Behind and below these pine plantings, the floodplain forest shifts from butternut to silver
maple. Located in this silver maple zone is a good -sized population of green dragon
(Arisaema dracontium), a threatened plant in Massachusetts. Related to jack -in- the - pulpit,
this unusual looking arum is restricted to wet, silty floodplain soils3
3 Six additional green dragon sites are known in Northampton, but only one other is
EL WELL CONSER VATION AREA 11
protected. At present, Northampton has more green dragon sites and larger populations than
anywhere in the state.
The westernmost stretch of conservation land is flat, rich agricultural bottomland, currently
cultivated in corn. Between the cornfield and the river is a narrow strip of forest that shifts
from young (under 25 year old) box elder and grape to staghorn sumac (Rhus typhina) clones
to a wider band of older (over 25 year old) silver maple. Below the silver maple, the
understory is typically open and easy to walk through, with a patchwork of grasses, ostrich
fern, poison ivy (Toxicodendron radicans), white snakeroot (Eupatorium rugosum), Virginia
creeper (Parthenocissus quinquefolia) and Asiatic bittersweet (Celastrus orbiculatus).
The upstream end of the conservation area, which lies behind the River Run apartments, is
used by residents for swimming, fishing and relaxing. Behind the apartments is a small
triangle of upland woods containing large linden, butternut, green ash and silver maple. In
addition to ostrich fern, the thick understory also contains large patches of blackberries
(Rubus sp.), indicating where this section was open and cleared not long ago.
Elwell Island Conservation Area is a rich area with excellent opportunities for natural history
study, landscape interpretation, agriculture and recreation. Aside from encouraging research
on the island, posting and regular trash patrol, no management is necessary.
People access Elwell Island by boat, while the mainland portion of the Elwell Conservation
Area can be accessed by the farmroad behind the funeral parlor on Damon Road or by
footpaths behind the apartments. No trails are maintained in either area.
12
Map 7. The 1794 map of Northampton, which shows no trace of Elwell Island.
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EL WELL CONSER VATION AREA 33
Map 8. The 1831 map of Northampton, which shows the beginning eight (or so) acres of
Elwell Island.
14
Map 9. The 1895 map of Northampton depicting Elwell Island, which had grown to
15
Map 10. Major Communities
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Map 11. Detailed Vegetation Map
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THE ELWELL CONSERVATION AREA
Legend for the Detailed Vegetation Map
1. Ostrich fern with occasional touch -me -not, stinging nettle, and isolated elderberry and
arrowwood
2. Goldenrod (Solidago canadensis) dominated with isolated, small grass patches
3. Grass belt with large patches of poison ivy and soapwort; blackberry, asparagus, and
common milkweed occasional
4. Staghorn sumac clones
5. Classic floodplain forest characterized by a cottonwood - silver maple overstory, no shrub
layer and an herb layer of either ostrich fern or wood nettle. Patches of virginia creeper and
grapes; some problem with non - native Asiatic bittersweet
6. Young cottonwoods with sapling silver maple growing on newly deposited soils
7. Box elder ringed by a silver maple- cottonwood mix
8. Large cottonwoods mixed with silver maple along channel edge
9. Bare sands with clusters of willow (Salix spp.), young cottonwood and silver maple, and
stands of Japanese knotweed. Chinese sandbur growing along willow margin.
10. Diverse community containing abundant pimpernel, arrowhead, rice cut grass,
beggarticks (Bidens cernua; B. tripartita; B. vulgata), mud plantain, monkeyflower,
Eleocharis, Scirpus, and purple loosestrife.
EL WELL CONSER VATION AREA 19
11. Logs, sticks and miscellaneous organics deposited by floodwaters; occasionally abundant
patches of touch -me -not
12. Floodchannel with abundant false nettle, touch -me -not and clearweed
13. Open area characterized by touch -me -not (Impatiens pallida; I. capensis), sensitive fern,
ostrich fern, dodder, Virginia creeper, and moneywort
14. Seepy area with abundant skunk cabbage, silky dogwood, alder, and touch -me -not
15. Japanese knotweed
16. Butternut forest with goldenrod, touch -me -not, ostrich fern, white snakeroot, garlic
mustard, clearweed, and jack -in- the - pulpit in the herb layer
17. Silver maple- cottonwood mix with some butternut and slippery elm
18. Silver maple floodplain forest with few herbs.
19. Shallow depression with mud plaintains, beggar's ticks, smartweeds, grasses, and
abundant silver maple seedlings.
20. Planted red pine stand; pokeweed, poison ivy, touch -me -not, virginia creeper, Asiatic
bittersweet abundant in understory
21. Planted spruce stand. Mixed understory. See 20.
22. Box elder -grape dominated zone along river
23. Open marsh with cattails, touch -me -not, and tearthumbs
24. Cornfield (approx. 16.5 acres)
25. Staghorn sumac overstory with soapwort, Asiatic bittersweet, and white snakeroot in
understory
26. Silver maple forest with some box elder and a patchwork of grasses, asiatic bittersweet,
EL WELL CONSER VATION AREA 9
touch -me -not, and white snakeroot
27. Ostrich fern, blackberry, goldenrod understory below silver maple, linden, cottonwood
overstory
28. Red maple, silver maple, cottonwood mix bordered by tangle of blackberry, silky
dogwood, elderberry, goldenrod, touch -me -not and bur cucumber
29. Sugar maple forest with some black cherry on fill for Damon Road
30. Department of Environmental Management Regional Office
31. Elwell Island State Park (Rail Trail and Small boat Access) and Department of
Environment Management Environmental Police
40
THE NATURAL HISTORY OF
THE FITZGERALD LAKE CONSERVATION AREA
It was a beautiful day. One of those wonderfully hazy, hot afternoons when you realize that
summer has really arrived and time seems to float, one hour melting into the next. To take
advantage of it, my friend and I decided to go for a leisurely canoe trip. But since we didn't
want to drive too far or compete with the weekend motorboat traffic on the Connecticut
River, we headed for Fitzgerald Lake.
Located in the northeast corner of Northampton, Fitzgerald Lake is such a super spot that it's
surprising so few people visit it. When we arrived there was only one other boat - -a father and
son who had come to fish. During the next several hours, we saw less than a dozen people,
mostly fisherman, trying their luck along the northern shore.
Our outing was also a fishing trip of sorts, but instead of fish, we were hoping to catch sights
of birds, reptiles, and other wildlife. We also hoped to find plants, which I hadn't yet
recorded in Northampton. Because of this, our canoeing was a mixture of gentle, intermittent
paddling, lazy drifting and sometimes pulling the canoe behind us as we prowled on foot
along the shoreline. The water was refreshing and in certain places we sank in up to our
knees in the cool, fine mud.
Throughout the afternoon, we stayed close to the mat of vegetation ringing the shoreline in
all but a few rocky sections. In the water just beyond the mat were a variety of interesting
aquatic plants, including at Least three types of pondweed (Potamogeton amplifolius; P.
ephihydrys; P. foliosus), a diminutive bladderwort (Utricularia minor), a spatterdock lily
(Nuphar advena), and extensive patches of an uncommon water lily known as water shield
(Brasenia schreberi). Closeby, the wettest muds were rife with burreed (Sparganium
androcladum), arrowhead (Sagittaria latifolia), and grass -like plants called Eleocharis.
Further back from the water's edge, species richness increased dramatically. Among the
most common plants were boneset (Eupatorium perfoliatum), blue vervain (Verbena
hastata), virgin's bower (Clematis virginiana), spotted touch -me -not (Impatiens capensis),
asters (Aster spp.) and a miscellany of brilliant green sedges, grasses, and rushes. Also within
this slightly higher, drier zone were dozens of bright pink - purple blossoms of swamp
milkweed (Asclepias incarnata), which on this afternoon were a favorite nectar source for
fritillary butterflies, two kinds of skippers and several types of bees. There were also two
impressive wasps, both over an inch long. One was metallic blue- black, while the other had
an orange and ebony body and sported indigo wings.
As we skirted the margin, we saw fish called pumpkinseeds tending their circular gravel
nests, basking watersnakes, motionless green frogs, and several kinds of dragonflies and
FITZGERALD LAKE 41
damselflies. Red - spotted newts swam to the surface, took a gulp of air and then dove quickly
back to the safety of the underwater vegetation; painted turtles poked their heads above the
surface and then slipped below with hardly a ripple.
Just as it was for us that day, the "lake" is what draws most visitors to the conservation area.
Created in the mid- 1960's by the Fitzgerald family (of Fitzgerald Fence on Bridge Road),
Fitzgerald Lake covers forty acres of what used to be Northampton's most extensive swamp
forest and marshland. The lake (actually a large pond) was going to be the focus of a very
exclusive development. But as wetland regulations became stricter, the project become less
feasible and in 1977, Fitzgerald Lake and 110 acres of the surrounding rocky woodlands,
abandoned fields and wetlands were purchased by the City of Northampton.
Since then, additional acquisitions have increased the size of the Fitzgerald Lake
Conservation Area to nearly 300 acres, making it almost three times the size of the next
largest conservation area. These new acquisitions include a beautiful beaver pond, a section
of recently cut forest and more rocky upland woods. The result is that this area, with its
combination of extensive wetlands and uplands, is one of the most ecologically diverse in
town. Home to nearly all of the types of mammals found in our area (Appendix 3), this
conservation land abuts more than one thousand acres of as yet unprotected open space.
Beyond the Northampton townline are several thousand additional acres of undeveloped land
that extend through Hatfield and up into Whately. Designated by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife
Service as Forest Legacy Land, this huge section of wooded hillsides and wetlands includes
key watershed for Hatfield's aquifer and is an important wildlife corridor for wide- ranging
mammals like bear, fisher, otter and coyote.
Viewed from an airplane, the Fitzgerald Lake Conservation Area and its surroundings are a
patchwork of textures and colors. Within the conservation area, the patterns delineate six
major units: (1) Fitzgerald Lake, (2) a beaver pond, (3) a conspicuous, north -south strip of
younger vegetation on an abandoned telephone right -of -way, (4) a recently cut forest, (5) an
old field, and (6) extensive woodlands dotted with dark green clusters of hemlock (Tsuga
canadensis) and white pine (Pinus strobus) (Map 13, 14). An early October flight would
make it easy to further separate the woodlands by the autumn foliage: the red maple swamp
forests would glow brilliant red, while the rocky, oak - hickory uplands would be a wash of
greens, golds and burnt orange.
Because most visitors stay around the lake, they don't get to see these other interesting
places. One of my favorites is the beaver pond located downstream from Fitzgerald Lake.
The easiest way to get there is to follow the abandoned telephone right -of -way (R.O.W)
north from the dam (Map 15). The R.O.W. actually leads right to the beaver pond, but as it
gets close, the ground becomes wetter and the vegetation much brushier.
FITZGERALD LAKE 42
With its hemlock border, open expanse of water, skeletonized trees and lack of trash, the
beaver pond has the look and feel of a remote, wild place. Here, you can watch the high -
diving performances of belted kingfishers, the shy behavior of wood ducks and the
territorial displays of red - winged blackbirds. Tree swallows dip and glide, bullfrogs call from
the shallows, and woodpeckers (downy, hairy, pileated, red- bellied and flicker) poke,
hammer and carve the flood - killed trees as they search for insects. On a single outing this
July, a group of us found sign of coyote, muskrat, raccoon, fox, deer, bear, beaver (of course)
and, along the rocky feeder brook in the pond's northwest corner, the characteristic fish - scale
scat of river otters. On the same day, we also discovered two winter wren nests in the roots
of a nearby overturned tree and, most exciting, a pair of nesting great blue herons. Rare
nesters in Northampton, this pair of great blues successfully reared two offspring.
A good place to watch for wildlife and admire this pond is from the boulders on its northern
edge. From the top of these glacial erratics, the view to the south includes open water,
scattered dead trees and, in the background, the fringes of a large marsh (Map 13). Now
dominated by cattails (Typha latifolia) and hummocks of tussock sedge (Carex stricta),
meadowsweet (Spirea latifolia) and red maple (Ater rubrum), this marsh covers most of
what was once Cooke's Pasture (Map 16). Over the last 30 or so years, the pasture has slowly
become a rejuvenated wetland, thanks to industrious beavers' and the gradual filling in of old
drainage ditches.
Not far away from these boulders, between two rocky hills at the east end of the pond, is the
beaver dam. The beavers have been in and out of this area several times during the last two
years. Although they were here during the early part of the summer, they departed again in
early September 1993. Since then, their 4' -5' foot high dam has fallen into disrepair and the
water level in the pond has dropped a few inches. Below the dam, the brook continues as
"Broad Brook ", flowing east through marshland, Cole's Meadow and eventually into
Hatfield's Mill River.
On the south side of the beaver dam, most of the rocky upland and swamp forest is privately
owned (Map 13, 14). A mixture of younger and older forest, this tract continues virtually
uninterrupted, stretching east to Cole's Meadow Road and Route 5 and south for over a mile.
Throughout the forest is a network of wood roads that link this area to the 12 -acre Marian
Street Conservation Area, the 15 -acre Pines Edge Conservation and Boggy
Meadow Road.
4 This area and the surrounding cattail marsh would be a good place to install several wood
duck nesting boxes. On the north side of the beaver dam is the section of newly acquired
conservation land that is very visible from the air because of recent cutting (Map 13). In
FITZGERALD LAKE 43
1990, loggers removed nearly all the oak (Quercus spp.) and white pine (mostly 80 -120
years in age). Left behind were thin - crowned red maples, a few seed trees and the white
pine, oak and hickory (Carya spp.) that weren't worth harvesting. Below this sparse
canopy, the area is a tangle of slash, witch hazel (Hamamelis virginiana), resprouting
mountain laurel (Kahnia latifolia), black birch (Betula lenta) saplings and dozens of sun -
loving, disturbance species like fireweed (Erechtites hieracifolia), cleavers (Galium
aparine) and common speedwell (Veronica officinalis) (Map 16).
To get a sense of what this forest looked like before the 1990 logging, you need to backtrack
to the west side of the beaver pond and head west into the remainder of the conservation
area's rocky uplands.s Covering roughly 50% of the conservation area, these rocky uplands
are dominated by oaks- -red oak (Quercus rubra), black oak (Q. velutina), white oak (Q.
alba) and chestnut oak (Q. prinus). Much less common are red maple, hickories, resprouting
American chestnut (Castanea americans) and small clusters of white pine and hemlock.
As is typical of these dry, acidic upland areas, the understory vegetation is abundant, but low
in its diversity. Most characteristic are the knee -high clusters of huckleberry (Gaylussacia
baccata), low -bush blueberries (Vaccinium angustifolium; V. vacillans), dangleberry (V.
frondosa) and acres of waist -high mountain laurel. Interspersed between the shrub layers,
bedrock outcrops and patches of decaying oak leaves are colonies of wintergreen (Gaultheria
procumbens), Pennsylvania sedge (Carex pensylvanica) and partridgeberry (Mitchella
repens). In slightly moister areas, wild sarsaparilla (Aralia nudicaulis) and Canada
mayflower (Maianthemum canadense) are widespread, and in sunny, exposed areas
(particularly along the telephone line) trailing arbutus (Epigaea repens) -- Massachusetts' state
flower - -is frequent.
During the late 1980's, a 10 +/- acre section of these uplands burned (Map 13). Beginning in
Cooke's Pasture and continuing over the R.O.W. and across the ridge, this suspicious blaze
killed dozens of canopy trees. Charring can still be seen on the bark of most of the living
trees and the ground is littered with the trunks and branches of many of those killed by the
fire. Many of the scorched trees and shrubs have resprouted, giving the area a scrubby look.
Among the resprouts are hundreds of mountain laurel, witch hazel, oak, red maple,
blueberries, huckleberries, American chestnut and sweet fern (Comptonia peregrina) (Map
16). This fire- scarred, secondary forest is the preferred habitat for rufous -sided towhees,
5 You could also head north to privately owned land. The species composition of the forest
is similar to other upland woods, but the topography is more rugged and marked by dozens of
boulder fields and several ridges. Between the ridges are vernal ponds and along the R.O.W.
a permanent pond. The latter is a potential breeding site for state- endangered marbled
salamanders, which were reported from the Fitzgerald Lake area in the 1930's.
FITZGERALD LAKE 44
which are abundant here but virtually absent in the surrounding uplands. Towhee populations
have been declining in recent years, as secondary growth forests are not as common as they
once were.
All of these rocky uplands were historically used as woodlots. Frequently long and linear, it
was not uncommon to own a 15 -acre woodlot that was only 150 feet wide. Knowing this
helps to explain the odd configuration of the Fitzgerald Lake Conservation Area's
northwestern boundary: the narrow rectangular tongue of private land is one of these old
wood lots.
Today, most of the forest in the conservation area's rocky uplands is between 60 -120 years
old. Nevertheless, in this area, you can still find some stumps of more recently cut trees.
Close to Fitzgerald Lake, the amount of recent cutting increases and in many areas the forest
is only thirty to forty years old. In addition to the smaller size of the trees and the presence
of cut stumps, the cutting history near the lake is recorded in the disturbance - dependent
species that germinated after logging. In these areas, you can find lots of black birch, big -
toothed aspen (Populus grandidentata), a band of black locust (Robinia pseudo- acacia) and
even a few old pin cherries (Prunus pensylvanica).
As you wander through the Fitzgerald Lake Conservation Area, it quickly becomes obvious
that the bedrock is always at near the surface. Classified as a hornblende quartz monzodiorite
gneiss, the bedrock was originally part of the volcanic island arc that collided with North
America during the beginning stages of the formation of the supercontinent Pangaea. The
pressure and heat of the collision melted and transformed the original igneous material into
the metamorphosed gneiss we see today. Since then, roughly 400 million years of erosion
have worn away more than a mile of overlying rock, exposing the roots of what were once
Himalayan -sized mountains.
More recently, during the last two million years, a series of continental glaciations have
rounded and modified our local landscape. The last of these departed approximately 12,000
years ago. During its retreat, all but the highest of the bedrock ledges that characterize the
conservation area were hidden below the milky, iceberg dotted waters of glacial Lake
Hitchcock. During its 3000 -year tenure (15,600- 12,400 years before present), shallow
deposits of silts and clays settled on to a thin veneer of glacial till.
Since the lake's departure, the silts, clays and some of the tills have eroded off the hillsides
and have been redeposited in the bedrock basins and along intermittent drainages. Because
of this, many of the depressions and low spots contain thick, virtually impervious clay
deposits that tend to collect rainwater and snowmelt (Maps 13, 16). Many of these shallow,
scattered pockets support classic wetland vegetation, including cinnamon fern (Osmunda
FITZGERALD LAKE 45
cinnamomea), spotted touch -me -not, swamp white oak (Quercus bicolor), black ash
(Fraxinus nigra), green ash (Fraxinus pensylvanica), and of course, red maple.
The deepest of these depressions lies just to the northwest of the conservation area (Map 16).
Surrounded by obligate wetland plants like pin oak (Quercus palustris), tupelo (Nyssa
sylvatica), buttonbush (Cephalanthus occidentalis) and winterberry (Ilex verticillata), this
area acts like a catch basin, filling temporarily with water during the winter and spring. Dry
by the end of summer, this vernal pond is used by species that have evolved to depend on this
particular type of habitat. In early April, wood frogs, spring peepers and spotted salamanders,
roused by spring rains and warming temperatures, migrate to its icy waters to breed.
Delicate- looking crustaceans known as fairy shrimp can also be found here. Wood ducks,
mallards, and black ducks visit this woodland haunt in the spring and fall, and deer
frequently pass through when the area is dry and grassy.
Another very interesting wetland lies about a mile south on property still owned by the
Fitzgerald family (Map 16). A one -acre pocket of peat (at least four feet deep and maybe
much deeper) is perched in a low spot created by the surrounding hills. This little basin is fed
by rainwater, and with little chance of buffering, conditions have developed for those select
species that can survive water - logged, nutrient poor, acidic conditions. Growing on a firm
mat of sphagnum moss are banks of water willow (Decodon verticillata), Northampton's
second known population of Virginia chain fern (Woodwardia virginica) and thickets of
high -bush blueberry (Vaccinium corymbosum), mountain holly (Nemopanthus mucronata),
leatherleaf (Chaemadaphne calyculata). Two pitch pines (Pinus resinosa) have also been
able to survive in these rigorous conditions. Scattered along the edge are swamp white oak,
tupelo, red maple and immediately behind, dozens of chestnut oak. Further investigations on
the depth of the peat and for state- listed species are recommended.
Not far from this peat pocket is a large abandoned field that borders Fitzgerald Lake (Map
13). In the last 15 to 20 years ago, this area has become a tangle of young trees, shrubs,
wildflowers and grasses. White pine, pin cherry and red maple mix with large clones of
panicled dogwood (Corpus racemosa), goldenrod (Solidago spp.), asters and virtually
impenetrable thickets of two aggressive non- natives -- multiflora rose (Rosa multi flora) and
Asiatic bittersweet (Celastrus orbiculatus). Also present here are two even more insidious
species. Much less showy, they are closely related shrubs known as European buckthorn
(Rhamnus cathartica) and glossy buckthorn (R. frangula). Of the two, glossy buckthorn is of
greatest concern. Unlike most non - native plants that thrive only in disturbed soil, glossy
buckthorn readily colonizes a wide variety of habitat types: woodlands, floodplains, swamps,
marshes, roadsides, bogs, sandplains and more. In these areas, this woody pest can quickly
form dense colonies, reducing light levels so drastically that native species cannot compete.
What's more is that this species is virtually valueless to wildlife; unpalatable toxins in its
FITZGERALD LAKE 46
leaves and fruit dissuade most species from eating it, and its branches are too thin and sparse
for wildlife cover or nesting birds.
The presence of fruit - bearing glossy buckthorn in this area threatens to degrade the
remainder of this field and to ruin the integrity of the vegetation around the lake, the beaver
pond and in Cooke's pasture. The control of glossy buckthorn, as well as the other non-
native species previously mentioned, should be a very high priority.
Aside from controlling non - native plants and continuing routine maintenance (trash pick -up,
trail improvement, brush clearing along the dam, and blocking 4 -wheel drive traffic), the
Commission is encouraged to enlist the help of volunteers to certify the conservation area's
vernal pools. These volunteers could also provide presence /absence data for state - listed
species, particularly for spotted turtles and marbled salamanders, which were both
historically reported in the Fitzgerald Lake area.
Key areas for protection should include, if possible, the large vernal pond to the northwest of
the conservation area, the peat pocket on the Fitzgerald property, the extensive wetlands
between Cooke's Pasture and Pines Edge Conservation Area and the large swamp
forest /drainage located between the beaver pond, Cole's Meadow Road and the Marian Street
Conservation Area.
The presence of this wild land helps to make the Fitzgerald Lake Conservation Area one of
the City's richest ecological areas. In addition to outstanding wildlife habitat, Fitzgerald Lake
Conservation Area provides Northampton residents with excellent opportunities for natural
history education and recreation. And thanks to members of the Broad Brook Coalition and
other volunteers, Fitzgerald Lake is now available to an even wider audience. In November,
1993, this group completed construction of a 500 -foot, wheel -chair accessible walkway that
extends from the North Farms Road parking area, through a red maple- tussock sedge marsh
and over to the canoe launch. The strength of the Broad Brook Coalition's commitment to
the Fitzgerald Lake area is an inspiration to anyone concerned about conservation land.
47
Map 13. Major Communities (without contour lines)
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Map 14. Major Communities (with contour lines)
Map 15. Trails
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FITZGERALD LAKE CONSERVATION AREA
Legend for the Detailed Vegetation Map
1. Red maple and white pine in swamp forest with arrowood and sensitive fern
2. Temporary pond with duckweed, cinnamon fern, cattail, beggar's ticks, grasses and
sedges.
3. Parking
4. Heavily cut over upland area with hemlock and clusters of white pine. Thick understory
of oak, red maple, cottonwood, alder, gray birch and multiflora rose. Some trash.
5. White pine and hemlock
6. Open swamp forest with many dead and live red maple. Silky dogwood, meadowsweet,
sensitive fern, cinnamon fern, many asters and some cattail and multiflora rose.
7. Band of cattails.
8. Red maple swamp with elm and silky dogwood in understory layer.
9. Hemlock -white pine mix. Many cut stumps.
10. A white pine /hemlock forest with scattered pockets of red maple and white oak. Some
cut stumps present.
11. Red maple dominated forest with sugar maple and white oak abundant. Red oak and
white pine also present. The understory contains witch hazel (most common), ironwood,
mountain laurel, partridgeberry, wintergreen, Christmas fern, New York fern and hay scented
fern, ground pine and Christmas pine. Gentle up- and -down terrain.
12. Temporary ponds. Possible locations for spotted salamanders and fairy shrimp.
Common winterberry and arrowwood.
13. White pine and hemlock mix. Nearby less red maple than 11 and more yellow birch,
witch hazel and red oak. Clusters of pine in understory.
14. A rocky, level area with red maple, hickory, green ash, quaking aspen, big toothed aspen,
white oak and red maple. Christmas fern, cinnamon fern and lady fern very abundant. Some
FITZGERALD LAKE 51
elm and sugar maple, and mountain laurel on rocky fringe. Also present: poison ivy, New
York fern and in rocky drainage, arrowwood, common winterberry, black ash, sensitive fern,
maple - leaved viburnum and sensitive fern.
15. Mountain laurel and huckleberry below a canopy of red oak, white oak, and black oak.
Other common shrubs include: witch hazel, low bush blueberry, late sweet blueberry,
hazelnut (Corylus americana), maple - leaved viburnum and occasional pine. The herb layer
is limited, and wintergreen, Lycopodium obscurum and Carex pensylvanica dominate. Some
cut stumps present. Some sugar maple in understory. Relatively level.
16. Similar to 15 with white oak, red oak, black in the canopy. Many chestnut oak also
present. This unit dominates the rocky uplands and has broad thickets of mountain laurel
intermixed with open areas where there may be no shrubs or patches of huckleberry, low -
bush blueberries, maple- leaved viburnum and hazelnut. Cut stumps are scattered throughout
this relatively open, generally easy -to -walk through forest. Wintergreen, partridgeberry,
ground pine ( Lycopodium obscurum), Canada mayflower, wild sarsaparilla, wild oats and
Carex pensylvanica are the most common herbs in the understory. Also occasional are black
birch, red maple, and sprouts of American chestnut.
17. Similar to 14, but few rocks exposed along the level grade. The forest is open and
contains hundreds of young ironwood in the understory.
18. Saturated vegetation mat around margin of Fitzgerald Lake. It contains a mix of wetland
species, including: Eleocharis, arrowhead, touch -me -not, boneset, swamp milkweed, asters,
sparganium and a variety of grasses, sedges and rushes.
19. Fitzgerald Lake. Although mostly free of aquatic vegetation, near its shoreline Brasenia
(a small water lily), bladderwort and several species of pondweed (Potamogeton spp.) occur.
20. Hemlock.
21. Similar to 14 but hemlock more common.
22. Big- toothed aspen widespread and approximately 25 years old, 60' high. Also present
are white oaks, mountain laurel, some red maple, witch hazel and a rocky, intermittent
streambed full of cinnamon ferns.
23. Mixed forest with sugar maple, red maple, white pine, hemlock, American hazelnut,
witch hazel, ground pine, wintergreen and partridgeberry. The up -and -down upland terrain
contains a temporary stream drainage surrounded by hemlock.
24. Hemlock- dominated, rocky area with an understory thicket of mountain laurel and white
pine. Witch hazel is thickest along old skid roads. Sugar maple and white ash also present.
FITZGERALD LAKE 53
25. Lots of hemlock and ash fill a low -lying rocky area. Also present are red maple, New
York fern, Lady fern and some white oak. The trail in this stretch is quite muddy and rocky.
26. Hemlock zone.
27. Transitionally wet area characterized by rocks, red maple, red oak, sugar maple, black
birch and mountain laurel. Some cutting historically. Most of the hemlocks have been
nibbled on by porcupines.
28. Cut -over, young black birch/witch hazel /red maple /mountain laurel area. Rocky.
29. Scrubby in some areas with dense shrubs including witch hazel, young red maple, to a
sugar maple /green ash /red oak mix. Rocky jumble.
30. Boulder zone that slopes into a wetland /mesic forest characterized by red maple, sugar
maple, white oak, red oak, black ash and swamp white oak. Some striped maple and
cinnamon fern, as well as in the center an open area where sedges, grasses, arrowwood, and
common winterberry grow. Other typical wetland plants in this area include: sensitive fern,
mad -dog skullcap, golden alexanders, Rubus pubescens and a variety of asters. Posion ivy
also present. Nearby is an old cutover area where black locust, a species that colonizes after
disturbance, dominates the canopy.
31. Red maple /oak mix but laurel understory.
32. This area burned in the late 1980's and is now characterized by many dead oaks and lots
of resprouting oak, red maple, and American chestnut. There is very little mountain laurel,
but lots of huckleberry, lowbush blueberry, late sweet blueberry, dangleberry and sweet fern.
Most of the oaks are either red or black; few white oaks are present.
33. Rocky slope with black birch, red oak and scattered pine (some giant) and hemlock. On
the slope there is mountain laurel and striped maple. Near the hemlock (chewed by
porcupines) are more red maples and sugar maple adn scattered chestnut oak. Also present
in this area is a small vernal pond (150'x 20'). Below 4" of poorly decomposed organic soil
is more than a foot of clay. In summer, marsh fern grows in the dried up pond. Surrounding
this pond are clusters of meadowsweet, common winterberry and hemlocks.
34. An abandoned telephone right -of -way with a mix of saplings. Species vary according to
the wetness of the soils and proximity of bedrock. In wetter areas, speckled alder dominates,
while in droughty, rocky soils, the vegetation is characterized by sweet fern, mountain laurel,
huckleberry, blueberries and occassional patches of wintergreen and trailing arbutus. In
deeper soils, young oaks and black birches (approx. 15' high) have colonized.
FITZGERALD LAKE
54
35. Low- lying, wet area with hemlock and a mix of green ash and red maple. Christmas
fern, New York fern, violets, cinnamon fern, winterberry, shagbark hickory, and black ash
present.
36. Similar to 16, but more sugar maple and less oak. Mountain laurel understory with some
wet sloughs with wetland vegetation. The roots of overturned trees provide nesting sites for
winter wrens.
37. Near stream and wetland margin where hemlock is abundant. Plenty of red maple,
ironwood, arrowwood and sprecies that can tolerate temporary flooding. Hooked crowfoot
and various buttercups along wet margin.
38. A slope forested with yellow birch, white pine, sugar maple, gray birch, whtie oak and
red oak. Understory is composed of maple- leaved viburnum and patches of mountain laurel.
Wild sarsaparilla common.
39. Steep sandy slopes along rocky stream. Hemlocks dominant.
Rocks along stream mossy. Woodland aster (Aster divaricatus), marginal fern, wood fern,
Christmas fern common. Some yellow birch near stream.
40. A large vernal pond with lots of wood frogs, spring peepers, and some spotted
salamanders. Tupelo, pin oak, buttonbush and common winterberry along borders. On south
side the slope is thick with mountain laurel. When filled with water, this area is used by
wood ducks and mallards. By late summer it is dry (although in early spring at least waist -
deep!) and low grasses cover the soils. Appears to be a bedrock depression that fills with
water. Lots of deer tracks in the ground in the fall. Examined for marble salamanders; none
in 1993. The "pond" was still dry in late October.
41. Hayfields with drainage ditches.
42. Open oak /sugar maple forest. Some cut stumps.
43. Cut within the last 10 years.
44. Sandy- gravelly ridgetop dominated by hemlock and uniformly aged pines, suggesting
that the area was cleared 55" years ago. This is the only known site in town for the orchid
Goodyera tesselata. Some old borrow pits. Maple- leaved viburnum, hazel nut,
partridgeberry, pipsissewa and Canada mayflower common.
45. Old campsite showing signs of a small fire that burned the area within the last 10 years.
46. Swamp with clusters of alder and winterberry below a thin red maple canopy.
FITZGERALD LAKE 55
Cinnamon fern, grasses sedges, ocassional elm, elderberry, arrowwood, sensitive fern, foam
flower and Solidago patula abundant. A rich (12 ") organic layer over sands.
47. Intensively logged in 1990. Presently lots of slash, raspberry, blackberry, cleavers, hay -
scented fern, wild sarsaparilla, fireweed (Erechtites hieracifolia), maple- leaved viburnum,
dewberry, hazelnut and wintergreen in the understory. Scattered white oaks in the canopy,
but mostly red maple and pine (less than 16" diameter) remaining. This forest had not been
cut in 80 to 120 years. Rocky.
48. Open, sunny marsh area created by beavers. Diverse with grasses, sedges,
monkeyflower, beggar's ticks (3), violets, boneset, meadowsweet, silky dogwood, burreed,
alder, rice -cut grass, some cattails and many clumps of winterberry. Many grasses, some
bulrushes, and scattered duckweed and wolffia on the sluggish surface of the brook. Royal
fern frequent.
49. Rocky hemlock woods.
50. Beaver pond (temporarily occupied in 1993). Dead hemlock and other trees extend near
the middle of the open water. Two great blue herons nests were built in 1993, and at least
two young fledged successfully. The pond is surrounded by some big boulders which are
good for watching wildlife. Wood ducks, kingfishers, mallards and a resident pileated are
frequent visitors at and around the pond. Near the mouth of Broad Brook there are many
clusters of alder, silky dogw000d and winterberry, plus many dead hemlock. Sugar maple
and yellow birch on drier margin. Cattails grow around the margin in many areas. A rich,
wonderful area. Outstanding for wildlife. Otter, bear, muskrat, coyote, raccoon, beaver and
porcupine sign are easy to find in this area.
51. A rich, seepy swamp forest with braided streams. Lush vegetation here provides
outstanding bear habitat. Bear sign is widespread, particularly in springtime when the bears
are foraging on the lush, abundant beds of skunk cabbage. Another beautiful area worthy of
further studies.
52. Red maple margin of marsh. Many spring wildflowers. The presence of barbed wire in
this section and the nearby uplands is evidence that this area was formerly pastured.
53. A small colony of Phragmites. This aggressive wetland grass grows up to 10 feet in a
single season and has become a nuisance species in many disturbed wetlands. It is less
valuable to wildlife and some management may be necessary in the future.
54. The former Cooke's Pasture, now a rejuvenated marsh characterized by tussock sedge,
meadowsweet and scattered red maple and cattails. Rushes, bulrushes, steeplebush, marsh
fern, sensitive fern, swamp milkweed, joe -pye -weed and other sedges present.
FITZGERALD LAKE
56
55. Red maple, shagbark hickory, ironwood, winterberry, swamp white oak, New York fern
and lots of quaking aspen characterize this area. There is an open 40 foot margin with a
variety of grasses and sedges. A band of vegetative cattail is approximately 15 wide.
Also present are tangles of arrowwood and scattered young white pine.
56. Abundant red maple, hemlock, ironwood and species that can survive in inundated soils.
57. Seepy soils with wetland plants, hemlock, red maple and abundant cinnamon fern,
Christmas fern and grasses and sedges.
58. Belt of mountain laurel and oaks at the top of the slope. Below a hemlock zone and
below that, a blend of white pine and hemlock. Wintergreen and partridgeberry common.
59. Gradually sloping to a moister, low -lying area dominated by hemlock and infrequently
scattered with oak and white pine. Well- shaded.
60. Oak/white pine woods with many of the pine less than 20 years old.
61. Hemlock.
62. White pine and oak uplands with hay- scented fern, New York fern, and Maple- leaved
viburnum in the understory. Witch hazel is scattered, as is big - toothed aspen. Other herbs
include various grasses, partridgeberry and Lycopodium obscurum. White pines increase as
near barbed wire and fence line. This area includes a nice lookout over the marsh with
nearby otter scat.
63. Former Cooke's Pasture. Dramatic change in vegetation after barbed wire. Now mostly
pine (largest "25 years, but most around 15 years old), scattered red maple and young
ironwood. At the wetland margin clusters of alder, winterberry, red maple and silky
dogwood. Ironwood drops out. Herbs absent below pines.
64. Cluster of quaking aspen.
65. Thin strip along pasture edge with young white pine, scattered pitch pine and quaking
aspen.
66. West of the barbed wire and the old cow path is a relatively steep hillside with red oak,
white oak, hickory and red maple mix. The understory is rocky and open with hazelnut,
maple - leaved viburnum and wintergreen. Ruffed grouse seen here.
67. Old field that has grown in with grasses, goldenrod, asters, dewberry, meadowsweet and
big clusters of panicled dogwood and lots of young (15 " year old) white pine. Along old
roads clumps of winterberry and speckled alder. Throughout this old pasture are scattered
FITZGERALD LAKE
apple trees.
57
68. Mostly open area with knapweed, goldenrod, asters and grasses. Some Asiatic
bittersweet and encroaching pine, scarlet oak and woody plants. An ATV trail runs
through this section. May be okay for bluebirds, but more likely a nest box would be used by
house wrens.
69. Black birch, white pine hemlock and a few scattered pitch pine. This area was cut
within the last 10 years. Near intersection with Boggy Meadow Rd. several large white oak.
70. Swampy border with mini -up and down topography that provides conditions that are
very wet and somewhat dry. Vegetation includes red maple, hemlock, white pine, alder,
cinnamon fern, wood fern and meadowsweet. Goldthread and sphagnum common. Some
Christmas fern present.
71. Like 70 but few white pine in section beyond conservation area. Evidence of cutting.
Near dam the vegetation on the drier slope is dominated by white pine, hemlock and hickory.
Some red maple is present. Winterberry is very common in the understory. There are many
old stumps and threads of logging orads. Hay- scented fern and partridgeberry common.
72. Cut over upland forest with pine, hickory, occasional oak and lots of saplings and
ironwood shrubs.
73. A white pine /oak/hickory mix with lots of young black birch because it was historically
logged.
74. Dam for Fitzgerald Lake. Grassy top and cleared of black locust and other vegetation
during 1993. Goldenrod common.
75. Vegetation includes white pine, red oak, some red maple and ironwood. Herbs are
abundant here and include hay- scented fern, wintergreen, fringed polygala, partridgeberry,
trailing arbutus, Christmas fern, sedges (Carex pennsylvanica) and Lycopodium obscurum.
Hemlock fringe along edge of rocky knoll. Some fire damage in the area surrounding a small
campsite /picnic area near the dam. Some cut stumps of pine (probably cut 5 -15 years ago).
76. Very open with red maple, white oak, and ironwood. Some hop hornbeam, pin cherry,
witch hazel and gray birch. Hay- scented fern and Christmas fern very common; New York
fern also common. Few rocks. White pine, quaking aspen and shadbush occasional. Near
the wood road there are older red maple and yellow birch. Overall forest age in this section is
probably under 30 years.
77. Disturbed, level wetland area with yellow birch, black birch, gray birch and pin cherry
along bermed edges. In low spot a diverse mix including quaking aspen, cottonwood, big-
FITZGERALD LAKE 58
toothed aspen, elm, goldenrod, cinquefoil, meadowsweet, blackberry, silky dogwood,
arrowwood, multiflora rose, willow, gray birch and dewberry. Occasional young pine.
78. Thin zone beyond disturbed area where white pine, white oak, red maple grow.
Ironwood and witch hazel are the most common shrubs; hay- scented fern is the most
common herb. Alder grows in a small swale that leads down to the water's edge. Also
present: Christmas fern, wintergreen and partridgeberry.
79. Hemlock zone on a rocky slope. Few herbs. In swale, maidenhair fern, cinnamon fern
and abundant spinulose wood fern.
80. Cut -over white pine, hemlock, oak forest. Many cut stumps; some red maple and lots of
hay - scented fern. Rocky outcrop present, but generally level grade or gently sloping.
81. Gently sloping hillside. Red maple, sensitive fern, cottonwood, royal fern, high -bush
blueberry. Beyond drainage swale shifte to a slightly older forest. Red maple still common,
but more pine. Some multiflora rose.
82. Old abandoned pasture /hayfield now grown in to a tangle of white pine (10 -15 year old),
red maple, scarlet oak, black cherry, pin cherry, panicled dogwood, alder and invasive non-
natives: Asiatic bittersweet, glossy buckthorn, European buckthorn and multiflora rose.
Grasses and goldenrod abundant. The non - natives in this area, in particular glossy
buckthorn, threaten to degrade the integrity of a much wider area at Fitzgerald Lake
Conservation Area. Controlling these aggressive non - natives should be a high- rp iol:4.
83. Open marsh dominated by grass (Calamagrostis). Also present: silky dogwood,
willows, alder, joe -pye weed, virgin's bower. At back edge grades into old field with
arrowwood, high -bush blueberry, red maple, white pine, panicled dowood and both
buckthorns.
84. Cut over white pine and red maple area. Some mountain laurel, goldthread, and many
ferns. Seepy, low -lying area. Lots of bear sign in this area during springtime. Deer sign
abundant.
85. Beautiful rocky knoll with signs of fire damage. Polytrichum moss abundant, some pitch
pine and scrub oak present. Also nearby are hemlock, black birch and lots of mountain
laurel.
86. Isolated peat wetland perched in bedrock. Sheep laurel surrounds nearby uplands.
Scattered tupelo and swamp white oak ring margin and 2 pitch pine grow in swamp. Along
wetland border is willow herb and one cluster of Virginia chain fern, only the second known
location in town. Growing on the peat are: leatherleaf, high -bush blueberry, mountain holly.
FITZGERALD LAKE 59
Beyond peat pocket are rocky uplands dominated by chestnut oak. There is at least 4' of peat
here. It would be worthwhile to study this area during the growing season and determine
exactly how deep the peat layer is.
59
AN ECOLOGICAL ASSESSMENT OF THE INDIAN HILL AQUIFER AREA
A few hundred feet northwest of the Brookwood Conservation Area is a relatively small (7.0
acre), crescent - shaped parcel known as the Indian Hill Conservation Area. Surrounded by
dense residential development and crossed by utility easements, this area of degraded
uplands and wetlands is a good example of the type of property donation that the
Conservation Commission should not accept in the future.
Unlike most of the Commission's other conservation areas, this site is designed to protect a
water supply area, not provide wildlife habitat or recreation. There is currently widespread
dumping of yardwastes and debris on the perimeter of the property and along the sewer
easement. Since its location is within an aquifer recharge area, the latter problem is not only
an eyesore but also a potential health hazard.
Donated to the City in 1985 as part of a so- called "cluster" development, the conservation
area consists of the unbuildable perimeter -- wetlands, powerline R.O.W., and steep slopes - -of
what was formerly a 20 -acre block of forest. On the basis of hydrology, vegetation and past
land use, the area can be separated into six different "zones ": (1) the powerline uplands; (2)
the powerline wetlands; (3) the Florence Road slope; (4) sewer line easement; (5) the brook
and its floodplain, and (6) surrounding upland woods (Map 17).
Actively maintained, the powerline is a one hundred foot wide swath that crosses the brook
and then continues upslope toward the Brookwood Conservation Area. Along the driest
upland sections of the powerline is a mix of bluestem grasses, goldenrods, young birches,
and large patches of fragrant, leathery- leaved sweetfern (Comptonia peregrina) (Map 18).
Heading downslope to the wetter areas, these species give way to others, which favor a
higher watertable, including blueberries (Vaccinium corymbosum), virgin's bower (Clematis
virginiana), and in the wettest spots, speckled alder (Alnus rugosa) and orange - blossomed
touch -me -nots (Impatiens capensis). This open wet area was created when the powerline was
constructed. In the process, the stream channel was obliterated and now the water sheets
across a broad (approximately 50 feet) area before regaining its channel a little further
downstream.
From the powerline wetland, the east arm of the conservation area is a narrow, wooded strip,
which ascends gradually and then more steeply before reaching Florence Road. This 140
INDIAN HILL AQUIFER AREA hl
foot wide piece is bounded by shrubby fields and forest on its north side and by an extensive
berm of rocky fill on the other.
Underlain by sandy stony sediments deposited as glacial outwash, the transect from the
wetland to Florence Road passes through seven different plant communities. As with the
broader habitat boundaries, these plant communities reflect the interplay between hydrology
and land use history (Map 18).
Just above the powerline wetland is a dense white pine (Pinus strobus) stand. Except for
Virginia creeper (Parthenocissus occidentalis), cinnamon fern (Osmunda cinnamomea), and
touch -me -not, few herbs survive in the deep shade of the pines. Not far away, a band of pin
cherry (Prunus pennsylvanica) and several rotting stumps are evidence of the logging
activities that took place prior to the construction of the Indian Hill development. The slope
climbs gradually and on these better drained soils is an even -aged stand of more white pine,
most 25 -30 years old and approximately fifty feet tall. The slope levels off and the pines mix
with red oak (Quercus rubra) and blueberry (Vaccinium vacillans, V. angustifolium). Tall
canopy trees drop out and expose a small grassy spot. A little higher on the slope is another
denser stand of 25 -year old pine. The understory is mostly bare, save for a few isolated
partridgeberries (Mitchella repens) and Canada mayflower (Maianthemum canadense).
Nearing Florence Road, the pine is replaced by a mix of black cherry (Prunus serotina) and
black locust (Robinia pseudoacacia), a species which readily colonizes disturbed soils.
Below the locust's thin canopy, panicled dogwood (Corpus racemosa) and non - natives
Morrow's honeysuckle (Lonicera morrowii) and Asiatic bittersweet (Celastrus orbiculatus)
dominate the understory.
At the western end of Indian Hill Road is a thirty -foot wide sewer easement, which serves as
an access route to the conservation area. The sewer easement zigzags its way through
woodlands and then across Sandy Hill Brook to Sandy Hill Road. At the wetland crossing,
the sewer line is a steep, twenty -foot high berm. The top of the sewer line is grassed and
contains a small footpath, which some neighbors use to dump their yardwastes (Map 18).
The most interesting area within the conservation area is Sandy Hill Brook and its floodplain.
Piped for most of its upstream length, the brook emerges from Brookwood Road in the
southwest corner of the property. After a fifty -foot stretch, it flows under the sewer easement
and then continues relatively uninterrupted until it enters the Mill River, half a mile
downstream, opposite the Maines Field Recreation Area.
INDIAN HILL AQUIFER AREA 62
Within the conservation area, the brook is shallow and sandy- bottomed. In the seepy
floodplain, the forest is dominated almost exclusively by red maple (Map 18). The
understory is diverse. False hellebore (Veratrum viride), skunk cabbage (Symplocarpus
foetidus), tall cinnamon fern (Osmunda cinnamomea), and dozens of wildflowers, including
wood anemone (Anemone quinquefolia), trout lily (Erythronium americanum), wild oats
(Uvularia sessilifolia), and red trillium (Trillium erectum) thrive in the wet, rich soils along
the stream. By late summer, many of these plants have been overtopped by touch -me -not
(Impatiens capensis), pink - purple blossomed joe -pye -weed (Eupatorium spp.), and the white
and lavender blossoms of various wetland asters (Aster spp.).
On the higher, drier ground near the stream, mountain laurel (Kalmia latifolia) and red oak
are the dominant plants (Map 18). Further upslope, old cut stumps and clusters of pin cherry
and young red maple document the area's logging history. Large patches of hay- scented fern
(Dennstaedtia punctilobula), cinnamon fern (Osmunda cinnamomea), and Canada
mayflower survive below the mix of pine, oak, and red maple. Along the conservation area's
southern border near the houses on Brookwood Drive is a large stand of 30 -year old pine,
with a few much older seed trees and even a few pitch pine (Pinus rigida).
In spite of the area's value for aquifer recharge, it is too small, too narrow, and too oddly
configured to be used by many birds and mammals. It is an isolated patch, crisscrossed by
right -of -ways, surrounded by a sea of houses, and used as a yardwaste dump. Moreover, it is
not within easy walking distance to a school, it does not have easy access for the public, and
parking is only available along the street.
Map 17. Major Communities
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63
INDIAN HILL AQUIFER AREA 64
Map 18. Detailed Vegetation Map
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65
THE INDIAN HILL AQUIFER AREA
Legend for the Detailed Vegetation Map
1. Red oak, white pine and gray birch
2. White pine
3. Young white pine and occasional gray birch overtop hay- scented fern, abundant sweet
fern, meadowsweet, whorled loosestrife, Rubus, and sedges
4. White pines (mostly 35 -40 years old, but a few much older wolf pines), three pitch pine,
and scattered red oaks and red maple
5. Young black cherry, red maple and pin cherry now grow where large pine, now stumps,
once stood. The herb layer is absent aside from Canada mayflower. Exposed rocks are
present.
6. Sewer line is full of grasses and bordered by young gray birch, black cherry, oak, black
locust, and goldenrod
7. Like 5, but also present are young oaks, pin cherry and clusters of bracken fern
8. Red maple and green ash surround the stream, which is bordered by touch -me -not and
coltsfoot
9. This tiny slice contains an abundance of cinnamon fern, touch -me -not, goldenrods and
asters.
10. The stream is shaded by a red maple canopy. Below there is a relatively dense herb
layer composed touch -me -not, cinnamon fern and sensitive fern.
11. Formerly cut over, this area now contains primarily red maple in the overstory. Pin
cherry, black cherry and white pine are also present in the overstory. Canada mayflower,
dewberry, hay- scented fern, and cinnamon fern comprise the understory. Numerous stumps
and cut logs are present.
12. Yard waste
13. Many smaller (20 year old) pines are present. Red maple is also frequent.
INDIAN HILL AQUIFER AREA
66
14. The powerline right -of -way contains goldenrod, steeplebush, touch -me -not and abundant
virgin's bower
15. An open swampy -marsh with dense thickets of silky dogwood, winterberry, touch -me-
not and virgin's bower.
16. A zone of dead red maple and cut stumps. Obviously flooded much of the year, the
muds are exposed by mid- to late summer. Hummocks of meadowsweet nearby.
17. A small triangle of upland woods dominated by white pine and red maple. In spite of its
proximity to the stream, the herb layer is composed of plants that are more typical of well -
drained uplands. Included among them are Canada mayflower, partridgeberry and ground
pine.
18. White pine dominates, but red maple is also present. The understory contains cinnamon
fern, Virginia creeper and touch -me -not.
19. Pin cherry marks this area where cutting took place six to seven years ago. The
understory is almost solid touch -me -not.
20. White pine (25 -30 years old and 50' tall) only.
21. A mix of oak and white pine.
22. A small area of open grass with young (4 year old) pine, black oak and black cherry.
23. A formerly cleared area now containing gray birch, goldenrod, silky dogwood, Asiatic
bittersweet and Canada mayflower.
24. A dense stand of 25 -year old white pine. Mixed in are occasional gray birch. Herbs,
except for scattered Canada mayflower and partridgeberry, are absent.
25. Black locust and black cherry are the principal overstory species, while panicled
dogwood, ironwood, dewberry, false solomon's seal and Morrow's honeysuckle are the chief
constituents in the understory.
mo
A CLASSIC SOUTHERN NEW ENGLAND LANDSCAPE
The Natural History of the Marian Street Section, Fitzgerald Lake Conservation Area
Not far from Route 91, in the northeast corner of town, is this 12 -acre tract of forest known
as the Marian Street section of Fitzgerald Lake Conservation Area. Purchased and
subsequently donated by concerned neighbors in 1984, the area serves as an access to the
eastern half of the Fitzgerald Lake Conservation Area.
Although the Marian Street Section includes wetlands, approximately 90% is uplands (Map
19). Rocky and relatively level, its open, dry oak woods are a near classic example of a
southern New England forest. Below the thin canopy, the shrub layer is thick but not
diverse. Large clusters of huckleberry (Gaylussacia baccata) mingle with late sweet
blueberries (Vaccinium angustifolium), low bush blueberries (Vaccinium vacillans), and
much less frequently sheep laurel (Kalmia angustifolia) and mountain laurel (Kalmia
latifolia). The sparse herb layer includes mostly leathery, evergreen plants like wintergreen
(Gaultheria procumbens), pipsissewa (Chimaphila umbellata), and partridgeberry (Mitchella
repens). Much less common are the patches of wild sarsaparilla (Aralia nudicaulis), sedges,
grasses, and ferns that push up through the rotting layer of oak leaves.
Compared to the nearby slopes, the vegetation in the wetland portion is very diverse.
Dominated by red maple (Acer rubrum) in the canopy and skunk cabbage (Symplocarpus
foetidus) in the understory, this half -acre section supports a large number of plant species.
Spicebush (Lindera benzoin), cinnamon fern (Osmunda cinnamomea), royal fern (Osmunda
regalis), and spotted touch -me -not (Impatiens capensis) are just a few of the three -dozen plus
species growing in this wetland area.
The small brook that flows through the wetland originates about two kilometers north, in a
large, hummocky red maple swamp just west of Laurel Park. South of Laurel Park, its
channel becomes well defined and runs almost due south until just before it reaches Marian
Street. At that point the stream loses its definition and meanders across a 15 -meter wide
bottomland. Once beyond Marian Street, the stream curves sharply to the east and flows
under Route 5 and Route 91 before cutting through a steep, sandy ravine to the Connecticut
River.
Uphill and to the west of the conservation area's wetland is a damp, east -west drainage swale,
sections of which are owned by three different homeowners. The swale follows the southern
edge of the conservation area's bedrock outcrops. From a botanical perspective, the narrow
interface between the uplands of the conservation area and this wetter portion of private land
is quite interesting. Several species that are less common in Northampton occur in this area;
there is leatherwood (Dirca palustris), with its wonderfully thick leaves and bendable
branches, wild honeysuckle (Lonicera dioica) with its perfoliate leaves and trumpetlike
FITZGERALD LAKE - MARIAN ST. SECTION hR
flowers, and even a few clusters of maidenhair fern (Adiantum pedatum), easily recognized
by its lacy, delicate - looking fronds.
Down in the swale proper, on private land, there are waist -high clumps of cinnamon fern
(Osmunda cinnamomea), poison ivy (Toxicodendron radicans) and broad patches of
sensitive fern (Onoclea sensibilis). Scattered young elm (Ulmus rubra) extend sprawling
branches toward the red maple canopy.
Unlike many of our familiar local landscapes, the Marian Street Section differs in that it
hasn't been greatly modified by human activities. Although previously logged and used for
grazing (barbed wire tells us this), it's thin, dry, rocky soils provide marginal pasture land,
slow - growing wood lots, and make home construction very difficult.
The structure and composition of the underlying bedrock at Marian Street are clues to the
fascinating geologic history of this part of New England. From 450 to 350 million years ago,
the eastern edge of North America underwent two major mountain building episodes. An
island arc collision and finally a continental collision compressed, heated and deformed the
rocks in our area, transforming them into new types and thrusting up whole mountain chains.
Sandy beaches became hard to erode quartzite ridges; shallow, carbonate -rich seafloor
metamorphosed into the band of dolomites and marbles that extends from western
Massachusetts to northern Vermont, and deep ocean muds and volcanics recrystallized into
the schists, gneisses, and granites that make up parts of the Berkshires and the Green
Mountains.
Over the last several hundred million years, chemical and physical weathering has eroded
away those ancient mountains - -once Himalayan -sized peaks - -, and exposed their underlying
cores. The exposed bedrock found throughout the area is part of the extreme eastern edge of
these ancient Berkshire rocks. This bedrock core, which is always at or near the surface,
controls the area's drainage patterns, soil types, and plant communities.
In the last million years, four separate glaciations occurred in New England. The glaciers
modified the landscape by smoothing and rounding the bedrock surfaces and depositing
boulders, rocks, cobbles, and an assortment of sandy - grained sediments across the landscape.
As the last continental glaciers retreated from Massachusetts 15,000 years ago, a glacial
debris dam formed near what is now Rocky Hill, CT. Meltwater backed up behind this dam
and created an enormous, linear lake that extended from Connecticut to northern Vermont.
Known as glacial Lake Hitchcock after Edward Hitchcock, a nineteenth century geology
professor at Amherst College, the lake had a dramatic effect on this section of the
Connecticut Valley. If we could travel back twelve to fifteen thousand years ago and visit
the Marian Street Conservation Area, we'd find ourselves along the lake's rocky shoreline.
FITZGERALD LAKE - MARIAN ST. SECTION 69
Just a little way into the water, a few of the Marian Street Conservation Area's taller bedrock
outcrops would poke above the water's surface, forming miniature islands. Because the level
of the lake fluctuated, it's likely that the conservation area was sometimes below the icy
waters and at other times, formed a rocky shoreline. The extensive sand deposits to the east,
below the Hebrew Cemetery and east to the Connecticut River, were beaches and deltas
modified by the waves of the glacial lake.
As the climate warmed, the tundra reinvaded. Mastodon, muskox and caribou followed,
feeding on the mosses and lichens and cold - tolerant plants that survived in and around
extensive forests of spruce. Following these large mammals were Native American hunters.
During the next 10,000 years, the climate warmed and other plants and animals that had been
pushed south during glaciation reinvaded their former ranges.
By the time the first Europeans arrived in the 1650's, a well- developed oak - chestnut
(Castanea dentata) forest dominated the conservation area. Due to the accidental importation
of the Chestnut blight fungus (Chryphonectria parasitica) in 1904, American chestnut- -
formerly one of the most important forest trees- -has been reduced to resprouts that usually
die back before setting seed. The abundance of chestnut resprouts in the Marian Street
Conservation Area attest to its former dominance.
Another imported pest that affects this conservation area is the gypsy moth (Lymantria
dispar). Accidentally released in Medford, Massachusetts in the late- 1800's, the gypsy moth
caterpillars feed preferentially on oak, but also nibble on American chestnut, red maple, and
many other tree species. In 1993, the infestation was fairly heavy in the Marian Street
Conservation Area. By mid -June, pieces of oak leaves littered the ground like the aftermath
of a ticker tape parade and caterpillar droppings could be heard falling like light rain.
The Marian Street Section is a good place for birds and mammals, not because of any special
quality of these 12 acres but because this parcel is contiguous with several hundred acres of
uninterrupted forest that includes the Fitzgerald Lake Conservation Area. Without question,
the reason why black bear sign can be found in the wetland, coyote scat in the forest, and
ovenbird nests in the leaf litter is because this conservation area connects with such a large
chunk of wild habitat. Aside from a few wood roads, there are no houses, no yards, and no
farm fields that break up this large, relatively intact forest.
Much of this surrounding forest is similar to the Marian Street Section with red oaks,
huckleberry thickets, and hundreds of rocky outcrops. Wood roads lead to Fitzgerald Lake,
the Pine's Edge Section. It's not difficult to reach the recently protected beaver ponds in the
FITZGERALD LAKE - MARIAN ST. SECTION 70
lower drainage of the Fitzgerald Lake Conservation Area.
To get to the beaver ponds from the Marian Street Conservation Area, take the right fork off
the grassy wood road that passes through the west end of the conservation area. After half a
mile, bushwack downslope on your left to find the wetland and ponds.
On your way, you will have passed the tongue of another extensive wetland, undoubtedly
one of the largest tracts of swamp forest in Northampton. Wet throughout the year, this area
is a favorite haunt of black bears, particularly in the spring when they feed heavily on skunk
cabbage. In this seepy area, spring wildflowers -- early blue violets (Viola cucullata), false
hellebore (Veratrum viride), marsh marigold (Caltha palustris) and dozens of others -- carpet
the forest floor. The overstory contains red maple, black ash (Fraxinus nigra), green ash
(Fraxinus pennsylvanica), and yellow birch (Betula lutea). Along the drier, rocky margins,
hemlock forms dense stands.
The braided watercourses from this large swamp eventually form a single stream, which
becomes more and more rocky before emptying into the slow - moving Broad Brook below
the beaver ponds. From here Broad Brook continues through Cole's Meadow into Hatfield
where it joins Hatfield's Mill River.
As the Conservation Commission considers important linkage lands, this rich and wild area
deserves to be among its top priorities for land conservation.
71
Map 19. Vegetation Map
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THE MARIAN STREET SECTION, FITZGERALD LAKE CONSERVATION AREA
Legend for the Detailed Vegetation Map
1. Mountain laurel, huckleberry, red oak
2. Red oak (dominant), white oak, American chestnut, white pine, occasional red maple;
huckleberry, low bush blueberry, late sweet blueberry, maple - leaved viburnum, wintergreen,
partridgeberry, many lichen - covered boulders
3. Swale with white oak, hickory, white ash, wild sarsaparilla, interrupted fern, and New
York fern
4. Mountain laurel
5. Red oak, occasional red maple and sugar maple, with mountain laurel and a thick tangle
of maple - leaved viburnum and witch hazel. Common wintergreen frequent.
6. Hemlock, red oak, and occasional witch hazel
7. Red maple overstory with abundant skunk cabbage, New York fern, spicebush, broad
swaths of spotted touch -me -not and occasional hemlock.
8. Red maple and red oak overstory with mountain laurel and Canada mayflower in the
understory. Pine, ironwood, witch hazel and New York fern frequent. Mixed and brushy.
9. Young white pine with an understory of Pennsylvania sedge and Canada mayflower
10. Red oak, quaking aspen, bracken fern, Pennsylvania sedge, Canada mayflower, and
occasional red maple
11. Hemlock bordering a low swale
12. Leaf dump
13. Japanese knotweed; leaf dump and conservation area sign near Marian Street footpath
grassy wood road, wetland border ,barbed wire fence
73
A FORGOTTEN SPOT:
The Natural History of Mary Brown's Dingle
Not far from downtown Northampton, near the edge of one of the City's densest residential
areas is a small, open wetland carpeted in early spring with the giant, green leaves of skunk
cabbage (Symplocarpus foetidus). By mid - summer, the skunk cabbage- -once so obvious - -is
almost completely hidden under thick clusters of straight- stemmed turtlehead (Chelone
glabra), watery - stalked touch -me -nots (Impatiens capensis), tall joe -pye -weed (Eupatorium
maculatum) and the graceful, spreading vines of virgin's bower (Clematis virginiana) (Map
20, 21). A gentle rise leads out of the wetland, past young silver maples (Acer saccharinum)
and black locusts (Robinia pseudoacacia), to a sewer line right -of -way (30' X 150'), which is
full of asters, grasses, sedges and dense clumps of Japanese knotweed (Reynoutria japonica)
and multiflora rose (Rosa multiflora).
Known as Mary Brown's Dingle, this two -acre conservation area is not really a "dingle"- -
which means a "small wooded valley " - -but actually part of a large, gently sloping swale that
drains all the land from the northwest side of Round Hill to the southeast edge of Childs
Park. Underlain by impervious clays from glacial Lake Hitchcock, the rich black muck of
the conservation area is moistened by close -to- the - surface ground water. From the
conservation area, this water is piped under Prospect Street, through a series of pipes and an
artificially constructed drainage channel into the Barrett Street Marsh Conservation Area
where it joins King Street Brook. From the marsh, the water flows through more ditches and
pipes, until it eventually makes its way into the Connecticut River.
Over the last two hundred years, the types of plants and animals found in the "dingle" area
have undoubtedly changed as the land was cleared, homes were built, and streets were
constructed. These activities in the upper watershed of the conservation area and around its
margins have altered light levels, drainage patterns and erosion rates - -all changes which
influence the kinds of species that live there.
The most recent, large -scale change to this area came in the mid- 1980's with the installation
of the sewerline. Its construction affected the entire eastern half of the "dingle ". Fill was
brought in and the original soils altered. These alterations, plus periodic mowing
maintenance, explain why the plants that dominate this section of the conservation area are
both light loving and disturbance tolerant.
Today, the "dingle" is the largest remaining wild patch in the Round Hill area. With its
MARYBROWN'S DINGLE 74
present day mix of plant communities, the conservation area provides a small but suitable
habitat for a variety of animals. Raccoons, opossums, skunks, shrews and a nearly a dozen
birds are among the larger animals to use the area (Table 1). Mary Brown's Dingle also
fulfills all the requirements for other creatures that need only a small area to survive. For
instance, in this small patch of "wildness ", you can search the leaves of turtlehead for the
red - and -black spined caterpillars of the Baltimore Checkerspot butterfly, watch spiders
weave their webs, listen to the crickets' songs, find assasin bugs on goldenrod, plus discover
a wide assortment of common wetland plants. And all just a few minutes walk from dozens
of homes and the Clarke School for the Deaf.
Table 1. A preliminary checklist to the animals at Mary Brown's Dingle.
Mammals
raccoon
skunk
opossum
gray squirrel
meadow vole
starnosed mole
Amphibians
spring peeper
red - backed salamander
pickerel frog
Birds
blue j ay
cardinal
cowbird
English sparrow
house finch
house wren
mourning dove
starling
titmouse
common yellowthroat
Reptile
garter snake
75
Map 20. Major Communities
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Map 21. Detailed Vegetation Map
77
Legend for the Detailed Vegetation Map of MARY BROWN'S DINGLE
1. Rice cut grass, spotted touch -me -not
2. Black willow, staghorn sumac, multiflora rose
3. Multiflora rose
4. Staghorn sumac
5. Skunk cabbage, turtlehead, virgin's bower, sensitive fern, swamp candles
6. Butternut
7. Multiflora rose
8. Yardwastes, spotted touch -me -not
9. Joe Pye weed, spotted touch -me -not, lady fern, turtlehead, tussock sedge
10. Silver maple, touch -me -not, sensitive fern
11. Alternate- leaved dogwood
12. Multiflora rose
13. Black willow, multiflora rose, occasional catalpa
14. Silver maple
15. Black locust, multiflora rose, privet
16. Sugar maple, red maple, Japanese knotweed, spotted touch -me -not
17. Box elder, Norway maple
MARYBROWN'S DINGLE 79
18. Japanese knotweed
19. Spotted touch -me -not (seepy area on sewer line)
20. Boneset, goldenrod, common plantain, red clover, queen Anne's lace, field horsetail,
fringed loosestrife, grasses (primarily Calamagrostis sp.), sedges (Carex crinita), rushes
(Juncus effusus)
21. Japanese knotweed
22. Japanese knotweed, Asiatic bittersweet, catalpa, sugar maple, slippery elm
23. Vegetable garden
24. Cottonwood, goldenrods, jumpseed, Japanese knotweed, joe pye weed, giant ragweed,
multiflora rose, catalpa
79
SALAMANDERS AND SWAMP WHITE OAKS
Explorations of the Pines Edge Section, Fitzgerald Lake Conservation Area
A cool April rain drizzles down as a small group of amphibian watchers shuffles into the
nighttime forest. Their flashlights glow eerily red and footsteps are muffled against wet,
rotting leaves. Their reward for venturing out on such a soggy night will be a chance to
watch the courtship and egglaying behavior of some of our most fascinating but seldom seen
wildlife.
Their destination is a group of vernal ponds, temporary wetland pockets that play a critical
role in the lives of many Massachusetts' amphibians, including tonight's quarry, spotted
salamanders. This species and their rarer cousins -- marbled salamanders and the genetically
complicated blue spotted /Jefferson's salamanders -- depend on these ephemeral, fish -free
environments for breeding and larval development.
Each spring, spotted salamanders migrate to ponds like these at the Pines Edge Section. Over
a period of two weeks (or less), courtship, fertilization and egglaying occur. When these
activities are complete, the 8 -inch adult salamanders return to the surrounding uplands where
they live underground the rest of the year, feeding on grubs and worms. Their offspring will
join them a few months later, emerging from the ponds just before the remaining water dries
UP.
The dependency of spotted salamanders and many other creatures on wetlands and uplands
illustrates why it's important to protect land that contains both habitat types. This kind of
protection is in essence what was accomplished when the developer of the Pines Edge
Condominium Complex donated the 15 -acre Pine Edge Conservation Area to the
Northampton Conservation Commission in 1989. Although some uplands and a fringe of
wetlands were developed, by clustering the condominium units on the most buildable land,
the developer was able to make a profit and at the same time protect two vernal pools, a large
swamp, and several acres of surrounding rocky woodlands.
The success of this approach is obvious back at the vernal ponds where the group of
amphibian admirers has discovered several spotted salamanders, wood frogs and spring
peepers.
Located north of the Moose Lodge at the end of Cooke Avenue, the Pine Edge Section is
roughly J- shaped, running along Boggy Meadow Road and then wrapping around the
PINES EDGE CONSER VA TION AREA 90
backside of the condominiums (Map 22). To the north and west of the conservation area are
1000+ acres of undeveloped land. Of these, over 500 acres are already protected, as
conservation land (Fitzgerald Lake Conservation Area and the associated Lathrop
Community conservation restriction. The nearness of this large and important piece of wild
land, with its rocky knolls, abandoned pastures, marshes, streams, swamps and extensive
woodlands, adds to the value of the conservation area as wildlife habitat. For instance, in
addition to gray squirrels, raccoons, red fox and opossums, larger mammals like black bears,
coyotes and deer occasionally visit the conservation area. Birds also benefit from the
nearness of such an extensive natural area. Scarlet tanagers, ovenbirds, wood thrushes,
northern orioles, red -eyed vireos and a dozen others are all commonly seen and heard here.
In addition to providing decent bird habitat, the Pines Edge Section also functions as a buffer
zone, helping to protect birds nesting in the interior forest. Research has shown that the nest
success of many forest interior species is declining due to rising nest parasitism by brown -
headed cowbirds. Cowbirds lay their eggs in the nests of other birds, who mistakenly raise
the young cowbird as if it were their own offspring. The large, aggressive cowbird chick
runs its foster parents ragged, while their own chicks starve. Cowbird populations have
soared because o£ 1) the conversion of forests to agricultural lands which has provided
outstanding feeding grounds for cowbirds (and starlings); and (2) increased forest
fragmentation, which multiplies the amount of forest edge, giving cowbirds more access
points. A female cowbird typically ventures only 300 feet into the forest to find a nest to
parasitize. By not developing the land now known as the Pines Edge Conservation Area,
forest fragmentation was reduced, which probably safeguarded more of the interior forest
from the negative effects of cowbird parasitism.
Within the boundaries of the Pines Edge Section are a variety of habitats: vernal pools,
swamps, muddy patches, bedrock outcrops and areas with well - drained soils (Map 23). The
transition from one habitat to another can be rather abrupt and in just a few steps, you can
pass from sneaker - soaking wetlands to dry, rocky uplands.
Most of the uplands are covered with a mix of red oak (Quercus rubra), scarlet oak (Quercus
coccinea) and white oak (Quercus alba), with some shagbark hickory (Carya ovata) and red
maple (Acer rubrum). Charcoal in the soil indicates that fires have swept through in the past,
and tree stumps and the presence of many relatively young trees (less than 60 years old)
confirms past logging activity. Near the beginning of Boggy Meadow Road and the Moose
Lodge, American chestnut (Castanea dentata) resprouts are common, a sad reminder of what
this forest was like before the chestnut blight (Endothia parasitica) (Map 23).
The soils of the upland oak woods vary from a thin organic layer over bedrock ledges to soils
with a foot of rich black organics on top of at least three feet of yellow- brown, loamy sands.
PINES EDGE CONSER VATION AREA 91
These loamy -sands are sediments that were deposited just off the western shore of glacial
Lake Hitchcock, a long, linear lake that filled much of the Connecticut Valley from 15,600 to
12,400 years ago. Digging down through these sandy sediments, glacially rounded cobbles,
probably once carried by ice rafts, can occasionally be found.
Supported by these well- drained soils are broad patches of huckleberry (Gaylussacia
baccata), low bush blueberries (Vaccinium vacillans; V. angustifolium) and common
wintergreen (Gaultheria procumbens). Other associates include leathery, drought tolerant
species like pipsissewa (Chimaphila umbellata), spotted wintergreen (Chimaphila maculata),
partridgeberry (Mitchella repens) and sheep laurel (Kalmia angustifolia). Bracken fern
(Pteridium aquilinum), hay- scented fern (Dennstaedtia punctilobula) and ground pine
(Lycopodium obscurum) are also widespread.
Another common, but often overlooked shrub throughout the well- drained uplands is witch
hazel (Hamamelis virginiana). The last shrub to bloom in our area, it has spidery, yellow
flowers, with petals that resemble thin strips of crinkly, shaved wax. At the flowering time,
the plant also has miniature, acorn - shaped capsules that contain last year's seeds. When these
capsules dry, they split open explosively, firing their contents as much as nine feet away!
In the northwest corner of the conservation area, the number of white pines increases and
occasional clusters of hemlock (Tsuga canadensis) occur. There is also a noticeable shift in
the understory vegetation in this section. Although many of the upland species persist,
wetland species like witherod (Viburnum cassinoides), sheep laurel, winterberry (Ilex
verticillata) and even mountain holly (Nemopanthus mucronata) show up. This appearance
of wetland plants seems to be a function of changes in soil composition, which here is
characterized by silts, clays, and a small percentage of sand. Hardpacked silt lenses limit the
ability of water to percolate quickly through the soil, and oxidized streaks are a clue that the
water table in this section slowly rises and falls.
Walking east from this corner of the property, the landscape is relatively flat, with gently
rolling humps and isolated bedrock outcrops. The bedrock that underlies this area formed
more than four hundred million years ago when a volcanic island arc in the Proto - Atlantic
Ocean collided with the North American plate. During this collision, intense heat and
pressure deformed and recrystallized rock into the monzodiorites6 that form the bedrock in
this area.
A ledge of this bedrock, covered with lichens and polypody ferns (Polypodium virginianum),
marks the boundary between the uplands and a large wetland area. Covering almost half the
conservation area, this wetland is underlain by a layer of virtually impervious clays that were
6 Monzodiorites are metamorphosed intrusives containing quartz, hornblende and augite.
PINES EDGE CONSER VA TION AREA 92
deposited by the milky waters of glacial Lake Hitchcock. Because of these clays and the
surrounding topography, the wetland acts much like a catch basin. The water that collects
here stays for a long time; only a small portion of it flows south out of the conservation area
as a tiny, intermittent stream.
During the year, the wetland changes dramatically, shifting from shallow, tree - filled ponds in
spring to a wet swamp in mid- summer. Red maple (Acer rubrum) and swamp white oak
(Quercus bicolor) are the two most common trees in the overstory, but white oaks and red
oaks can also be found creeping in along its margins (Map 23).
The extent and large size of the swamp white oaks at the Pine Edge Section is relatively
uncommon in Northampton. Restricted to wetland soils, swamp white oak is distinguished
from other oaks by its pale bark, shallowly lobed leaves, and beautifully fringed acorn cups.
The leaves, which are deep green and shiny above, are whitish below.
Below the oaks and maples grow a wide assortment of shrubs and herbs. Along the wetland's
margin and throughout its sinuous swales are thick patches of waist -high, deer- nipped
arrowwood (Viburnum recognitum). Nearby grow clusters of winterberry and on higher
hummocks, high -bush blueberry (Vaccinium corymbosum) and mountain laurel (Kalmia
latifolia). Below the shrubs are watery- stalked touch -me -nots (Impatiens capensis), swaths of
sensitive fern (Onoclea sensibilis), clusters of pale blue violets (Viola cucullata), plus poison
ivy (Toxicodendron radicans), willow herb (Epilobium sp.), smartweeds (Polygonum spp.),
beggar's ticks (Bidens cernua; B. Yulgata) and a few clumps of burreeds (Sparganium sp.).
With nearly three square miles of uninterrupted wild land to the north, the 15 -acre Pines
Edge Section seems like a pretty tiny piece of natural habitat. It is nevertheless an interesting
piece, worthy of exploration and appreciation. The conservation area is used by the Broad
Brook Coalition for natural history programs and probably just as important, by
neighborhood children, who have outdoor adventures catching tadpoles, building forts and
exploring the surrounding wild lands.
Through a network of wood roads and footpaths, the Pines Edge Section is another access
point to Fitzgerald Lake Conservation Area and the rest of this undeveloped section of
Northampton.
93
Map 22. Major Communities
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PINES EDGE CONSER VA TION AREA 94
94
94
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Map 23. Detailed Vegetation Map
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THE PINES EDGE CONSERVATION AREA
Legend for the Detailed Vegetation Map
1. Hemlock with a few oaks; understory absent
2. White pine (30 -40'); forest floor open save for scattered wintergreen and ground pine
3. Mix of shallow, seasonally flooded depressions and slightly higher uplands. Depressions
contain cinnamon fern, witherod, and sheep laurel, while surrounding uplands are vegetated
with red oak and blueberry (Vaccinium angustifolium)
4. Young white pine with dense hayscented fern in the understory
5. Red oak forest with scattered red maple, hickory (Carya spp.), white oak, black oak, and
sprouts of American chestnut. The shrub layer is typically dense and shifts from witch hazel
and hazelnut to lowbush blueberries (Vaccinium angustifolium; V. vacillans) and
huckleberry. Wintergreen, bracken, ground pine and sedge (Carex pennsylvanica) scattered.
Rocky outcrops numerous. Many of the oaks are large (3' diameter).
6. Cut over forest with young oak (15'), gray birch, red maple and stumps.
7. Young white pine, red oak, sugar maple and red maple forest with little understory except
a thick leaf litter.
8. Red maple- hickory overstory with a dense witch hazel understory. Herb layer nearly
absent. Occasionally wintergreen and low blueberries.
9. Red oak and black oak dominated with scattered red maples below. Herb layer entirely
absent or dense wit hayscented fern and wintergreen.
10. Red maple, red oak and hickory with a thick understory of beaked hazelnut, witch hazel,
low bush blueberry, maple leaved viburnum. Thick leaf litter. Wintergreen, hog peanut,
hayscented fern, ground pine, partridgeberry and patches of round- leaved pyrola frequent.
11. Bulldozed and wet wood road with dense growth of winterberry, black cherry,
arrowwood, various sedges, bulrush, Juncus effusus, and New York fern on the drier berms
12. White pine dominated with a mix of red oak, black oak, red maple and hickory.
Understory shrubs frequent and relatively diverse. Witch hazel is most common, but also
present are blueberries (Vaccinium vacillans; V angustifolium), mountain laurel, and many
PINES EDGE CONSER VATION AREA 97
sprouts of American chestnut. Herbs scant.
13. Rock outcrop with a diverse collection of plants: chokecherry, virginia creeper, false
solomon's seal, true solomon's seal, partridgeberry, maple- leaved viburnum, Canada
mayflower, wild columbine, plus two goldenrods and three different ferns.
14. Low -lying area beyond rock outcrops with abundant New York fern, interrupted fern,
lady fern, arrowwood, winterberry and witch hazel. Red maple is most abundant in canopy
but hickory, green ash and scattered oaks present.
15. Red maple swamp with abundant winterberry (Ilex verticillata), arrowwood (often low
to ground and nipped by deer), marsh fern, and scattered tussock sedges. A rich area.
16. A mix of large white oak (Quercus bicolor) and red maple. Understory dominants
sensitive fern, poison ivy, asters, and touch -me -not. This is the largest, densest stand of white
oak presently known in Northampton.
17. Vernal pools used by spotted salamanders, wood frogs, and spring peepers. Tussock
sedge, mud plantain, and beggar's tick abundant.
18. Wet low spot that was cleared in the past. Now contains a red maple canopy with an
understory where interrupted fern and dewberry are most abundant.
19. Thick belt of mountain laurel below red oak -red maple overstory. Small stand of
hemlock nearby.
M
NEW LAND FROM FLOODING WATERS
A Natural History of the Rainbow Beach Conservation Area
A cloud of fine dust billows up behind my car as I drive down the bumpy farm road on my
way to Northampton's Rainbow Beach Conservation Area. On either side are fields of
tomatoes, potatoes, pumpkins, butternut squash and lots and lots of corn. Above a field of
broccoli, dozens of cabbage white butterflies flutter in the wind.
A mile further the road bends close to the Connecticut River and soon after I reach a fork in
the road. I pull in and park near one of the two gated entrances to Rainbow Beach. The
conservation land is just a few minutes walk from here, and its boundary is obvious- -it's
where the farm fields end and the trees begin.
At eighty acres plus, the Rainbow Beach Conservation Area is the largest remaining tract of
uninterrupted floodplain forest on the Connecticut River in Hampshire County. Floodplain
forests once covered hundreds of acres in Hampshire County, but most of them were
converted to agriculture by Europeans and before them, by Native Americans. Evidence of
Native American use of the area is unearthed every spring when plows turn up thousands of
bits of worked flint and quartz fragments and even an occasional arrowhead.
Unlike the adjacent farm fields, most of the Rainbow Beach Conservation Area has never
been plowed or logged. This is because most of the conservation area is new land that was
deposited by the Connecticut River over the last hundred or so years. In fact, so much land
has accumulated on this side of the river that Shepherd's Island, once near the middle of the
river, is now connected to the mainland and a basalt piling that stood on the river's edge is
now 100 feet inland. A second piling that used to be on the Hadley side of the river is now
located a third of the way into the river's main channel.
The phenomenon of cutting on one side and depositing on the other is typical of meandering
rivers like the Connecticut. Relatively unimpeded by mountains or rocky cliffs, the river
began snaking back and forth across the broad valley floor when glacial Lake Hitchcock
drained 12,400 years ago. Since then, the river has carved down through 80 feet of lake
deposits, working and reworking the landscape, sculpting river terraces, creating islands,
forming oxbows, and developing extensive floodplains and wide loops like the one that
frames the Rainbow Beach Conservation Area.
Because of the river's dynamic nature, it's easy to find dramatic habitat variations within the
Rainbow Beach Conservation Area. At one extreme are its well - drained, nutrient poor sands,
and on the other its water - saturated, nutrient rich mudflats. Such shifts in soil composition
and moisture level profoundly affect the distribution of plant species. By considering these
combined differences along with changes in light levels, the Rainbow Beach Conservation
RAINBOW BEACH CONSER VA TION AREA R9
Area can be divided into five main communities -- floodplain forest, mudflats, sandy deposits,
flood channels, and a long inlet that lies between Shepherd's Island and the mainland (Map
24). In spite of their differences, all of these communities have at least one thing in common:
They all contain perennial plants that can withstand periods of flooding that lasts for weeks.
Of the five communities, the floodplain forest is by far the largest, covering nearly 90% of
the conservation area. As is typical of floodplain forests, there is no shrub layer, only a
canopy layer and a lush herb layer. In this case, the forest is dominated by silver maple
(Ater saccharinum) in the canopy and an herb layer of wood nettle (Laportea canadensis)
(Map 25). Actually the amount of wood nettle can best be described as superabundant; it
covers approximately 60 acres and by mid- summer forms a chest -high stinging sea. An itchy,
stinging sensation may be your first clue that you've found wood nettle, but to confirm your
discovery, look for alternate, long petioled leaves that are just a little bigger than the palm of
your hand.
Despite the abundance of wood nettle in summer, there is hardly a trace of it left the
following spring after floodwaters have swept away its stems. This is one advantage to
visting this conservation area in the spring. Another plus is that it's easy to see the dramatic
effects of flooding. Flood -borne plant debris dangles from the lower branches, and the first
six feet of the tree trunks is covered with a fine wash of silt, giving the floodplain forest a
muted gray - brown, hazy look.
By the first week in May, yellow - rumped warblers, redstarts, prairie warblers and black -and-
white warblers flit through the treetops, feeding on young caterpillars and other insects in the
newly developing leaves. Brown creepers sing their melodic song as they scale up the tree
trunks in search of food in the bark's nooks and crevices. Below, pushing up through a thick
layer of newly deposited silts, are ostrich fern fiddleheads (Matteucia strutiopteris).
Although less common at the Rainbow Beach Conservation Area than in some floodplain
forests, ostrich ferns number in the hundreds, growing on the river terrace that borders the
farm fields, on Shepherd's Island and in isolated clusters in the main floodplain forest. By the
end of August, many of these waist -high fronds -- particularly those growing closest to the
river - -are brown and withered. This premature death is due to a moth larva that bores into
the base of the frond.
On the west side of the conservation area is a small trail that leads from the edge of the field
through the floodplain forest to the river's edge. Less than ten years ago, this trail was
heavily abused by 4 -wheel drive and all terrain vehicles. In 1988, the Northampton
Conservation Commission put an end to this by installing two heavy, locked gates on the
RAINBOW BEACH CONSER VATION AREA 90
farm roads, about a mile from the trailhead.
Near its beginning, the somewhat overgrown trail is surrounded by cottonwood (Populus
deltoides), staghorn sumac (Rhus typhina) and a mix of goldenrod (Solidago canadensis),
wood sorrel (Oxalis europea), and asters (Aster spp.). The trail then passes through a mixed
forest dominated by box elder (Acer negundo) and less frequently, silver maple. The
abundance of box elder and the brushy nature of the understory suggests that this area was
cleared in the past.
Box elder is a low statured maple, which, because of its compound, 5- parted leaves looks, at
first glance, more like an ash. However, unlike ash, the young branches of box elder are
purplish green and its seeds are large versions of the classic winged maple seeds. Another
helpful way to recognize box elder is that its seeds remain on the tree through much of the
winter. 7
Beyond the small section of box elder, the forest shifts to silver maple and then, as one nears
the river's edge, a silver maple /cottonwood mix. Along the way are wide swaths of wood
nettle, clusters of touch -me -nots (Impatiens pallida; I capensis), white snakeroot
(Eupatorium rugosum), woodland sunflower (Helianthus sp.), ostrich fern and small patches
of virginia creeper (Parthenocissus quinquefolius). Grape vines (Vitis riparia) climb high
into the canopy, while in sunny spots, vines of wild balsam apple (Echinocystis lobata) and
bur cucumber (Sicyos angulatus) drape over the herbs.
Where the trail finally joins the river, the current has carved a steep bank. Downstream, the
trail passes a strip of young willows, marking the boundary between the floodplain forest and
the open beach. From this point, if you walk straight back into the forest you pass through a
series of plant associations that get progressively older. Beyond the young willows is a
willow /cottonwood belt. A few feet further a zone of cottonwood with a thick understory of
silver maple replaces this belt. And beyond this strip is the dominant plant community - -the
silver maple forest, with scattered large cottonwoods, and its carpet of wood nettle. The
gently curved rainbow shape of the beach is repeated in its bands of vegetation -- younger to
older, willow to silver maple (Fig. 3). An excellent place to view these vegetation arcs is
from the Summit House at the top of Skinner Mountain State Park.
7 Box elder can be either male or female. Therefore, you'll see some trees (the females)
loaded with seeds and others (the males) with none.
RAINBOW BEACH CONSER VATION AREA 91
4
Figure 3. A stylization of the vegetation bands at the Rainbow Beach. 1= willows;
2= willow /cottonwood; 3= cottonwood /silver maple sapling; 4= silver maple.
Between the young willows and the river is a broad sand beach. Curved and roughly 300 feet
wide by a quarter mile long, this site consists of newly deposited sands. Few plants can
survive here, and those that do must withstand conditions that range from weeks of drought
to weeks of flood, from burial in new sand layers to having the ground swept out from under
them.
Nevertheless a few species are adapted to these harsh conditions. On thehigher margins of
the sandy point bar, a mixture of cocklebur (Xanthium strumarium), smartweeds (Polygonum
spp.), and grasses grow in abundance (Map 25). Close to the water, an occasional,
depauperate beggar's tick (Bidens vulgata) can be found. These plants help stabilize the
sands and establish the necessary preconditions for the future development of the floodplain
forest.
Their ephemeral nature and patchy distribution make these point bars rare habitats. To date,
two state- listed species are known to live on this one. Sandbar willow (Salix exigua),
identified by its long, linear leaves and slender, reddish branches, grows six to fifteen feet in
height. The other species of concern is a tiger beetle (Cicindela puritana), which breeds in
the sands not far from the willows.
RAINBOW BEACH CONSER VATION AREA 92
Unfortunately for the tiger beetles, Rainbow Beach is also a very attractive area for boaters
and campers. Although most visitors behave responsibly, there is a subset that does not, and
because of them, this stretch of the conservation area is suffering. People are constructing
seasonal camps, cutting down trees, trampling native plants, building fires, and leaving
behind broken grills and chairs, cans, bottles and paper. An even more serious problem is
the issue of improper sewage disposal.
Although use of the area will continue, it is critical to repost the area because the old signs
have become obscured by vegetation. In addition, a new sign describing the rarity and
importance of the tiger beetle could be installed and the most vulnerable area could be
restricted during critical periods, much as tern nesting areas are cordoned off along the
seashore. Already spread thin, the environmental police need support from the Conservation
Commission to help protect this site from further degradation.
A different category of concern along the beach is the spread of non - native plants that
include Japanese knotweed (Reynoutria japonica) and purple loosestrife (Lythrum salicaria).
These aggressive exotics degrade natural areas by readily outcompeting the native plants,
which are more valuable as food and cover for wildlife. At this stage, the invasions are still
manageable, but a work crew is needed to eliminate these undesirable, nuisance species.
Covering little more than an acre, mudflats are found near the junction of Shepherd's Island
and the mainland. In spite of their small area, these sunny, muddy zones contain the most
diverse plant assemblage within the conservation area. There are broad patches of grasses,
umbrella sedges (Cyperus spp.), touch -me -nots (Impatiens capensis), young willows (Salix
spp.), grape, silky dogwood (Corpus ammomum), arrowhead (Sagittaria latifolia), mud
plantain (Alisma subcordatum), and both bur cucumber and wild balsam apple (Map 25).
These plants and the sprawling shrubs that grow on their drier margins provide food and
cover for a wide range of animals, from midges and spiders to raccoons and shorebirds.
Besides spotted sandpipers and lesser yellowlegs, red - winged blackbirds, grackles, robins,
catbirds, and common yellowthroats all frequent the mudflats' brushy borders.
Although now a quiet backwater, the inlet was once one of the main channels that looped
RAINBOW BEACH CONSER VATION AREA 93
around Shepherd's Island (Fig. 4). Today, this calm, silty- bottomed inlet provides ideal
growing conditions for aquatic plants like coon's tail (Myriophyllum sp.), water starwort
(Callitrichne sp.), eelgrass (Valisneria americana), waterweed (Elodea canadensis) and at
least two species of pondweeds (Potamogeton spp.) (Map 25). Great blue herons and green
herons wade in its shallows, kingfishers chatter and dive for fish, and wood ducks feed on the
submerged plants.$ During migration season, mallards, black ducks, blue- winged teal, ring -
necked ducks, ruddy ducks, common mergansers and American widgeon also use these
private backwaters. Pickerel frogs, American toads and painted turtles are the amphibians
and reptiles most commonly seen here.
Figure 4. The development of the inlet at Shepherd's Island.
Within the Rainbow Beach Conservation Area are two easy -to -find flood channels. The
smaller of the two channels runs north -south on Shepherd's Island, the larger channel runs
north -south on the mainland. Located just inside the boundary of the conservation area, this
large swale parallels the farm fields for most of its length. Gouged by floodwaters, this
channel helps drain the farm fields and extensive floodplain nearby. As you head south, this
channel gets gradually broader and deeper. So deep, in fact, that even during the driest part
of the year, it contains water. Just before reaching the inlet, the channel narrows abruptly. A
large amount of flood debris has accumulated at this narrow outlet.
By mid- to late summer both channels contain lush plant communities, which are dominated
by either touch -me -not or the non - stinging false nettle (Boehmeria cylindrica). Patchily
8 These inlets might be good locations to install wood duck nesting boxes.
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Figure 4. The development of the inlet at Shepherd's Island.
Within the Rainbow Beach Conservation Area are two easy -to -find flood channels. The
smaller of the two channels runs north -south on Shepherd's Island, the larger channel runs
north -south on the mainland. Located just inside the boundary of the conservation area, this
large swale parallels the farm fields for most of its length. Gouged by floodwaters, this
channel helps drain the farm fields and extensive floodplain nearby. As you head south, this
channel gets gradually broader and deeper. So deep, in fact, that even during the driest part
of the year, it contains water. Just before reaching the inlet, the channel narrows abruptly. A
large amount of flood debris has accumulated at this narrow outlet.
By mid- to late summer both channels contain lush plant communities, which are dominated
by either touch -me -not or the non - stinging false nettle (Boehmeria cylindrica). Patchily
8 These inlets might be good locations to install wood duck nesting boxes.
RAINBOW BEACH CONSER VATION AREA 94
distributed within these channels are beggar's ticks (Bidens cernua; B. vulgata), mud
plantain, several different grasses, and a mix of plants that tolerate wet, poorly oxygenated
soils.
Islands are common, ephemeral features on meandering rivers like the Connecticut and
Shepherd's Island is no exception. Like Elwell Island a mile upriver, Shepherd's is a
relatively recent addition to the Connecticut River.
Now owned by the Massachusetts Division of Fisheries and Wildlife, Shepherd's Island
began forming in 1729. By 1754, just twenty -five years later, the island had grown to six or
seven acres and was already under cultivation. In 1770 the island became the property of
Solomon Stoddard, and for the next thirty years the land was known as Stoddard's Island. In
1803, Levi Shepherd purchased the island for $1200 and it became known, as it is today, as
Shepherd's Island.
The island's rather rapid initial growth didn't last and by 1904, when Northampton celebrated
its 250th anniversary, the island measured only 15 acres. By then, the land had switched
hands again and was owned by the Mount Tom Lumber Company.
At that time, the Connecticut River was still an important logging river and the Mount Tom
Lumber Company had purchased the island in order to construct a series of basalt pilings that
would span the river and with a chain, catch logs moving downriver. The logs were slowly
released and allowed to flow down to the mill, which was located on Route 5 where the
Packaging Corporation of America now stands. Extra logs were stored in the Oxbow, which
used to be called the "Old Bed of the Connecticut River ". After processing, the pulp was sent
to Holyoke's paper mills.
By the 1950's, logs were no longer being sent down the river and Shepherd's Island was
abandoned by the Mount Tom Lumber Company. An aerial photograph taken in 1965 clearly
shows a small cleared area on the east side of Shepherd's Island and Northampton native, Ed
Gross, recalls that a small cottage had been built in this vicinity. This building is long gone,
and the formerly cleared area has now grown up into a mix of staghorn sumac (Rhus
typhina), goldenrod (Solidago canadensis), white snakeroot (Eupatorium rugosum), touch -
me -not, grape and the sun - loving bur cucumber and wild balsam apple.
Further west on the island is a row of large silver maple and cottonwood where ostrich fern is
dominant. The land dips down into a shallow flood channel and then to a level plain with
RAINBOW BEACH CONSER VATION AREA 95
young cottonwood and willows. In this section, the forest floor is covered by dense patches
of touch -me -not, false nettle, and Virginia creeper (Parthenocissus quinquefolius). As one
heads downriver the land becomes sandier and there are numerous small, open areas with
few or no herbs. At present, the river is eroding the east side of Shepherd's Island, creating a
steep bank. But while it's disappearing in this area, new sands are being deposited at its
south end as well as on its west side.
The Rainbow Beach Conservation Area is one of only four large tracts of floodplain forest in
Northampton. Three of the areas, including Rainbow Beach, are protected: Elwell
Conservation Area is owned by the City of Northampton and Ned's Ditch is owned by
Massachusetts Audubon Society's Arcadia Wildlife Sanctuary.
The fourth area is located in the vicinity of the Route 91 pits, about 1 1/2 miles downriver
from Rainbow Beach. In this section, fragments of floodplain forest cover between 70 and
80+ acres. One long ribbon runs along the abandoned channel of the old Mill River
diversion and several smaller patches are located near the Route 91 pits. In between these
patches is active and abandoned agricultural land.
Frequented by fisherman, hunters, walkers and four -wheel drive enthusiasts, the area - -in
spite of its patchiness and trash problems -- provides quality habitat for some of our rarest
species. On a long tongue of newly deposited land, a pair of bald eagles nested in 1992 and
reared their first offspring in 1993. In this same area are four other state - listed plant species,
one of which is endemic to Northampton.
Long coveted by the conservation community, negotiations to protect this special area have
stalled repeatedly in the past. Nevertheless, this area should remain one of the City's highest
priorities for protection.
96
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RAINBOW BEACH CONSER VA TION AREA 97
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THE RAINBOW BEACH CONSERVATION AREA
Legend for the Detailed Vegetation Map
1. Silver maple with occasional cottonwood in the canopy. A mix of hog peanut, ostrich
fern, Asiatic bittersweet, poison ivy, virginia creeper, white snakeroot and sensitive fern
below.
2. Cottonwood and silver maple with ostrich fern or wood nettle understory.
3. Open water frequented by wood ducks, great blue herons, and sand pipers. Inhabited by
painted turtles.
4. Silver maple canopy with ostrich fern. At the base of the steep bank are open mudflats
with grasses (Echinochloa & Leersia), bur cucumber, sparganium, touch -me -not, silky
dogwood, and willows.
5. Extensive mudflats that contain beggar's ticks (Bidens tripartita; B. vulgata), mud
plantain, touch -me -not, various grasses and increasingly, false nettle. On surrounding ridges
the forest is composed of silver maple with an understory of ostrich fern, or most common on
the river side, wood nettle.
6. Extensive silver maple floodplain forest with wood nettle understory. Small islands of
ostrich fern infrequently encountered.
7. Gradual replacement of false nettle to wood nettle.
8. Silver maple forest mixed with abundant, smaller statured box elder. Understory remains
almost exclusively wood nettle. Near the field, occasional patches of white snakeroot and
Helianthus.
9. Box elder dominated forest with wood nettle and touch -me -not understory.
10. Young cottonwoods with mixture of goldenrod, garlic mustard and Oxalis. Trail, now
infrequently used, begins here.
11. Young cottonwood -box elder forest with understory of wood nettle, white snakeroot, and
Helianthus. Touch -me -not and clearweed also common. Ostrich fern occasional.
12. Mix of older cottonwood (20" diam.) and silver maple in canopy. Understory absent or
wood nettle.
RAINBOW BEACH CONSERVATIONAREA 99
13. Open sand (point bar) that is absent of vegetation except along the margin where
Chinese cocklebur and grasses form the outermost edge of plants. Behind these grow
willow, and behind the willow, young cottonwoods. This area is the nesting site for a rare
tiger beetle and also contains a rare willow.
14. A transition zone of young cottonwood with sapling silver maple. Also present are older
willows.
15. Willows and cottonwoods most abundant. Along the shore, smartweeds, grasses and
cocklebur abundant.
16. Sandy area thickly vegetated with cottonwood seedlings and an extensive bank of
willows.
17. Strip of land that connects the former Shepherd's Island with the mainland. Vegetated
by willows and ringed with tangle of smartweeds, grasses, pimpernel, and Cyperus. Below
willows are field horsetail, asters, false nettle, and wood nettle. Frequented by raccoons.
18. Small mudflat with sparse vegetation. Plants include mud plantain, asters, bur
cucumber, and beggar's ticks.
19. A long row of large, mostly cottonwood defines the eastern boundary of this plant
community. This area is characterized by silver maple, occasional elm and box elder. The
ground is covered with extensive patches of touch -me -not (Impatiens capensis; I. pallida),
false nettle, and asiatic bittersweet. Many areas are completely free of herbs.
20. Zone of young cottonwoods.
21. Sandy soils with young silver maple and cottonwood. Often free of herbs, but in sunny
locations dominated by goldenrods, ostrich fern, Virginia creeper, bur cucumber and white
snakeroot.
22. River channel dominated by false nettle.
23. Like 19 but ostrich fern dominates the understory.
24. Open area with staghorn sumac, touch -me -not and bur cucumber.
25. Cropland
100
A NATURAL HISTORY OF THE ROBERTS HILL CONSERVATION AREA
From the highest ridge of the Roberts Hill Conservation Area, the surrounding woodlands
glow with oranges, reds, yellows and greens in the mid - October sunshine. There is so much
forest to see from here that it's hard to imagine that only 150 years ago this area and, in fact,
most of Massachusetts, was nearly treeless. Cut for timber and firewood, the forests had
been converted to scrubby pasture for sheep and cows.
Going back yet another 150 years would bring us to the era of Robert Lyman, the avid
hunter after whom Roberts Hill and Roberts Meadow are named. During Lyman's lifetime,
the hills in western Northampton were still covered with virgin forests -- massive oaks and
chestnuts, towering sugar maples and hickories. Timber wolves and mountain lions still
roamed the woods, and the ancient footpaths of the Nonotucks threaded through the
surrounding countryside.
Going back much further, to 15,000 years ago, we would again have seen a treeless region,
this time the result of the last in a series of continental glaciations that modified and shaped
the New England landscape. To the north, south and west, tundra grasses, mosses and stunted
balsam fir and spruce covered the freshly deposited glacial debris. But to the east, instead of
tundra, we would have seen the milky green waters of a great glacial lake, dotted with
icebergs and a few rocky islands.
Fed by the meltwaters of the last receding glacier, Lake Hitchcock filled the Connecticut
River valley from northern Vermont to what is now Rocky Hill, CT. It existed for more than
3000 years (15,600 - 12,400 before present), and for much of that time, its shoreline matched
our current 300' contour line.
The glacial outwash dam at Rocky Hill eventually breached, Lake Hitchcock drained and as
the climate gradually warmed, plants and animals from the south began to recolonize the
region. By six thousand years ago, most of the trees that we're familiar with - -the oaks,
hickories, pines, and maples- -were well established in New England.
Today, more than half of the Roberts Hill Conservation Area's 104 acres is dominated by
oaks (Map 26 and 27). There are red oaks, white oaks, black oaks and even a few chestnut
oaks. (Quercus rubra; Q. alba; Q. velutina; Q. prinus). Hickories (Carya ovata; C. ovalis)
and red maple (Acer rubrum) are also abundant, and in certain areas, there are almost pure
stands of white pine (Pinus strobus) and hemlock (Tsuga canadensis).
7 Lyman is also credited with finding the lead desposits in Loudville. He and others formed
a small mineral company and began the first leadmining operation in the country.
ROBERTS HILL CONSERVATIONAREA 101
Below the oak canopy is an abundant shrub layer composed of only a few species. Where the
bedrock lies close to the surface, there are broad, knee -high patches of huckleberry
(Gaylussacia baccata), low -bush blueberry (Vaccinium vacillans), and late sweet blueberry
(V. angustifolium). In deeper, moister soils, witch hazel (Hamamelis virginiana), resprouting
American chestnut (Castanea dentata), and acres and acres of mountain laurel (Kalmia
latifolia) form a dense, hard -to- walk - through understory.
The number of species in the herb layer is similarly low. The two most common wildflowers
are wintergreen (Gaultheria procumbens) and partridgeberry (Mitchella repens). Both have
evergreen leaves and red fruits, but are easily distinguished. Wintergreen is a short (5 "),
upright plant with leathery, aromatic leaves and urn - shaped flowers. Partridgeberry, a
relative of coffee, is a prostrate plant with fleshy, four - petaled flowers that blossom in pairs.
Its two flowers fuse and form one fruit, and because of this, the plant is occasionally called
"two -eyed berry ". Other herbs in the upland soils include wild sarsaparilla (Aralia
nudicaulis), Canada mayflower (Maianthemum canadense), indian pipe (Monotropa uniflora)
and in rocky areas, polypody (Polypodium virginianum) and marginal fern (Dryopteris
marginalis).
The remaining habitat diversity at the Roberts Hill Conservation Area is largely the result of
changes caused by people. All told, eight human - disturbed areas can be identified: 1) the
quarry; (2) the ice pond; (3) the old field; (4) the "muckhole" pond; (5) the abandoned
powerline right -of -ways; (6) the sewer line; (7) the burned area; and (8) the recently logged
forest patches (Maps 27).
Among the oldest of the disturbed areas is the quarry. Located near the summit of Roberts
Hill, the quarry is now only a jumble of rocks, its surrounding cliffs marked by dynamite
bore holes. The quarried stones were probably used locally, possibly in the construction of
the reservoir dam or in Cooke's dam on the Mill River.
Today, many of the rocks are covered with lichens, including a leafy variety known as rock
tripe, which can change from brown and brittle to green and fleshy after just an hour or two
of rain. Among the rocks, one also finds young black birch (Betula lenta), marginal fern,
polypody and a few sedges (Carex spp.) (Map 28). At the back of the quarry, near the rock
wall, is a small bedrock hole (15' X 10') that collects rainwater and winter melt. In spring,
this temporary "pond" serves as a breeding site for wood frogs (Rana sylvatica).
ROBERTS HILL CONSERVATIONAREA 102
An important modification to the southern end of the conservation area occurred early in this
century when a dam was built near a little waterfall and Howard's Ice Pond was created.
Used as a source of ice until the middle of this century, the 1/4 acre pond has been and
continues to be a popular place for picnicking and relaxing. It's also a good spot to watch
birds. Chickadees, nuthatches, tufted titmice, downy woodpeckers and brown creepers can
be seen year- round, foraging in the hemlocks around the pond. From early spring through
mid - October, eastern phoebes can be seen sallying out from their shoreline perches to snatch
small flying insects in midair. One of the plants you'll see the phoebes on is speckled alder
(Alnus rugosa). Growing in isolated clusters along the water's edge, this six to fifteen foot
shrub is readily identified by is miniature pinecone -like fuits. Also found on these wet
shorelines are beggar's ticks (Bidens vulgata), spotted touch -me -not (Impatiens capensis),
asters (Aster spp.) and various grasses (Map 28).
On the higher and drier slopes around the pond, the vegetation is dominated by hemlock. An
exception to this is on the north side where gray birch (Betula populifolia) and red maple
have colonized an area that was open and grassy 25 years ago. Also on the north side is a
tulip tree (Liriodendron tulipifera) that has a circumference of more than 10 feet, making it
one of the fattest tulip trees in Northampton.
The pond is fed by a small, sandy- bottomed brook that cuts across the southern edge the
conservation area. After exiting the pond via the dam spillway, the little stream flows
through a shady, hemlock forest where striped maple (Acer pensylvanica) and spicebush
(Lindera benzoin) grow in the understory and migrating Louisiana waterthrushes hunt insects
in spring. The stream passes the "muckhole" and then veers southeast, flowing out of the
conservation area through a red maple swamp, past the Fairway Village Condominiums and
into the Mill River.
Remnants of a barbed wire fence are evidence that the gently sloping land just north of the
pond was once a pasture. Today, this former pastureland is fairly open forest with scattered
oaks, hickory, hemlock and lots of white pine (Map 28). Several of these white pines are
giants, and probably weren't cut in the past because they were multi - stemmed or crooked.
These "wolf' pines are now the seed source for the hundreds of white pine seedlings and
ROBERTS HILL CONSERVATIONAREA 101
saplings in the understory.
For part of this century this area was kept open when the Roberts Hill area was owned and
maintained as the private hunting grounds for a wealthy businessman from Springfield.
Congressman Bowles married one of the Howard daughters and later built a small hunting
cabin not far from a natural spring. Although the cabin is gone, the spring and and some
brickwork around it can still be seen along one of the trails (Map 29).
A few hundred feet in from Dimock Street is a half -acre wetland, known locally as the
"muckhole ". Years ago, fill for an old wood road dammed what had probably always been a
low wet spot and converted it into the year- round, shallow pond that we see today. This
pond is probably a breeding site for wood frogs, spring peepers, gray tree frogs, American
toads, spotted salamanders and red - spotted newts.
On either side of the "muckhole" is a narrow shoreline with a variety of wetland herbs and
shrubs (Map 28). Immediately behind are rocky outcrops, which on the west side includes a
small, well- shaded talus slope that supports a rich fern community as well as a porcupine or
two.
Running along the western side of the muckhole is the sewerline right -of -way. Along this
edge, high -bush blueberry (Vaccinium corymbosum), touch -me -not, swamp candle
(Lysimachia terrestris), marsh fern (Thelypteris palustris), cinnamon fern and a wide array of
wetland asters, smartweeds (Polygonum spp.) and sedges are well established (Map 28).
South of the pond, near Dimock Street, the soils are slightly higher and drier, and the sewer
easement is dense with 12 -foot high saplings of black birch, tulip tree, alder and willow
(Salix sp.). This area, along with two tiny red maple swamps and nearby stream, is a good
place to learn common wetland plants.
At the north end of the muckhole, the sewerline is crossed by an abandoned powerline right -
of -way. In this moist, open area, the vegetation is dominated by cinnamon fern (Osmunda
cinnamomea), hay- scented fern (Dennstaedia punctilobula) and groundnut (Apios
americana).
ROBERTS HILL CONSERVATIONAREA 104
Together with the sewerline, the abandoned powerline right -of -ways divide the conservation
area into five separate pieces. An east -west line runs from Dimock Street, across the rocks
near the Mill River, over the sewerline, and then begins a long, nearly steady climb to the
intersection with a second line. The second line runs roughly north -south and crosses
Chesterfield Road and Reservoir Road (Map 26, 27).
Since their abandonment 20 -plus years ago, these 50' wide easements, which were regularly
brush - hogged and herbicided in the past, have been slowly recolonized by a variety of plants.
Which plants grow in the easements depends in large part on the depth of the soil and the
amount of recent use.
Near the Mill River section of the east -west powerline in a fire scarred area where bedrock is
close to the surface, the most common plants are young pine, lowbush blueberry, mountain
laurel and wintergreen (Map 28). Close by, the rocky banks of the Mill River are surrounded
by hemlock and pine. In spite of the fact that this is a popular swimming spot, few trees have
been damaged and trash is not a big problem.
Beyond the sewerline, the east -west right -of -way is dominated by hay- scented fern, young
black birch and occasional blackberries (Rubus spp.). At the top of a steep rise, it intersects
two trails, one of which parallels the powerline right -of -way for nearly 1/4 mile. With a
well- maintained trail nearby, the powerline has not been used as a path and now contains a
thick mix of gray birch, poplar (Populus tremuloides), occasional oak, low juniper (Juniperus
communis), lowbush blueberry, sedges and mosses (particularly Polytrichum). The trail
eventually hooks into the right -of -way, and soon after the vegetation shifts to a more open
mix with mountain laurel and sweet fern (Comptonia peregrina).
Where this east -west right -of -way joins the north -south line, two trails split off. one
continues west through the Department of Public Works land to Reservoir Road, the other
heads north along the powerline and eventually loops to Reservoir Road. The latter trail,
kept open by people on foot, mountain bikers, horseback riders and kids on ATVs, passes
over rocky terrain where the soil is thin or absent. Here, the vegetation includes mosses,
lichens, wintergreen, lowbush blueberries, huckleberry, sweet fern, mountain laurel, and
young white pine (under 5' in height). Gracing the margin of the path are occasional patches
of trailing arbutus, one of our earliest flowering and prettiest smelling wildflowers.
ROBERTS HILL CONSERVATIONAREA 105
Three trails lead to the lookout at the top of Roberts Hill; one leaves from Water Street,
another opposite the Musante Recreation Area, and a third splits off the east -west powerline
right -of -way. No matter which path you take, you'll notice that as you near the summit the
forest changes dramatically. Oak skeletons, some with charred trunks, stand eerily above
young resprouts and a dense thicket of mountain laurel (Map 28).
Approximately ten acres in size, this hilltop area burned ten years ago when a fire started by
children went out of control. After the fire, the area was completely blackened and most of
the shrub layer was destroyed. Today, mountain laurel, witch hazel, American chestnut and
hazelnut have sprouted to form a dense shrub layer. Come fall their yellowed leaves blend
with the greens of mountain laurel and orangy -reds of the red maples to transform this area
into a carnival of color.
In 1988, patches of forest were selectively cut along the east and south sides of the
conservation area. The reasons for cutting were partly economic (to defray costs from a new
land purchase at Roberts Hill) and partly an attempt to increase habitat diversity for white -
tailed deer and ruffed grouse. Aesthetic considerations were taken into account, and most of
the work is completely invisible from the trails. By following the old skid roads, however,
the intrepid visitor will come across several patches with dense stands of black birch
saplings, hay - scented fern and blackberries- -three species that often sprout up after clearing
(Map 28, 29).
Considering the size of Roberts Hill, the area's plant diversity is actually fairly small. This is
probably due to the conservation area's bedrock and glacial geology. In essence, Roberts
Hill is a big bump of thick - bedded gneisses and mica schists covered with a relatively thin
veneer of acidic, well drained glacial till. These difficult habitat conditions are suitable to a
relatively small percentage of plants. The species that can tolerate these conditions - -oaks,
huckleberries, mountain laurel, hickories- -are the ones that we see prospering here.
It's important, however, not to interpret the relatively low diversity of plant species at the
Roberts Hill Conservation Area as making the area "less valuable ". Instead, one goal in
conservation is the protection of as many different intact habitats as possible. By protecting
ROBERTS HILL CONSERVATIONAREA 106
distinctly different habitats, we can preserve a rich and diverse mosaic of conservation land.
The habitat at Roberts Hill is just one of these.
In addition, this type of forest, which we might think of as depauperate in plant species, is the
very one preferred by some animals. For instance, rufous -sided towhees and black throated
blue warblers are absent from most areas in town, but are common at Roberts Hill during the
nesting season.
It's also important to consider the relationship of the Roberts Hill Conservation Area to
several hundred acres of open space protected by the Department of Public Works as
watershed. This land, together with the conservation land and the privately owned woodlands
that form the north side of Roberts Hill, provide a large area for wildlife. In fact, thousands
of animals live out their lives in the uplands and wetlands at the Roberts Hill Conservation
Area. In addition to thousands of species of invertebrates, at least nine species of
amphibians, dozens of bird species and nearly all the mammal species found in Northampton
live or at least pass through the Roberts Hill Conservation Area.
Roberts Hill is also important because it fits into an even larger wildlife corridor that extends
from Mount Tom to the northwest part of town and eventually to the Berkshires. 1 0
Although it's one of the City's largest conservation areas, Roberts Hill is infrequently used.
This is because most people don't know of its existence, or if they do, aren't sure where the
paths are. A new sign opposite the Musante Beach area would help. As part of a scout or
service project, other signs showing the trail layout could be installed at one or two locations.
In addition, natural history field trips for Leeds Elementary teachers and townspeople would
help introduce many more people to this beautiful area.
I o The forested land between Arcadia Wildlife Sanctuary and Pine Grove Golf Course is a
key piece in this corridor. Mammals, including bear, deer and coyote, are commonly seen
crossing Rt. 10 in this last remaining forested stretch between Northampton and
Easthampton. Ecological considerations must be taken into account when the development
of this area (currently zoned industrial) is discussed.
ROBERTS HILL CONSERVATIONAREA 107
Map 26. Roberts Hill Conservation Area
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ROBERTS HILL CONSERVATIONAREA 109
Map 27. Major Communities
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ROBERTS HILL CONSERVATIONAREA 109
Map 28. Detailed Vegetation Map
110
Map 29. 'Trails Map
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ROBERTS HILL CONSERVATION AREA
Legend for the Detailed Vegetation Map
1. A steep slope dominated by hemlock, ash and 45- year -old white pine. Scattered yellow
birch, red oak, red maple. Occasional hobblebush and woodfern. Shady.
2. Red maple, red oak, white oak, black oak and a mix of hickories overtop a dense
understory of mountain laurel. Rock outcrops occasional. Not affected by the fire and not
recently logged.
3. Abandoned telephone right -of -way now covered with sweet fern, young pine, lowbush
blueberries, mountain laurel, wintergreen, bracken, common juniper, trailing arbutus,
whorled Ioosestrife, fringed polygala, mosses (Polytrichum) and a handful of other species
tolerant to open, rocky conditions. This section of R.O.W. is more open than the other
stretches of abandoned R.O.W.
4. White pine
5. A red maple -red oak zone with a dense understory of mountain laurel. White ash,
hickory, white oak, hemlock and pine are also present. In some areas, a few trees have been
cut during the last five years.
6. This large zone was severely affected by a fire in the mid- 1980's . Many of the oaks in the
core area were killed, while at the outside edges the trees escaped with only charring on their
trunks. The mountain laurel now forms a very dense thicket. Dozens of witch hazel and
American chestnut have resprouted. In 1993, most of the witch hazel were flowering. Also
present are patches of sweet fern, lowbush blueberry and wild sarsaparilla. Wintergreen and
partridgeberry also occur in the understory.
7. Affected lightly by the fire. A level spot colonized by mountain laurel and gray birch
with a few scattered hemlock.
8. Scenic vista that looks northwest across the Roberts Meadow Reservoir and on to
Williamsburg. The slope was cut in winter 1993 to improve the view. On this rocky, dry
hilltop are scattered chestnut and red oaks. Lowbush blueberry, goldenrod, grasses form the
understory. A variety of lichens grow on the rocks.
9. Abandoned quarry.
10. Hemlock- dominated forest interspersed with logged areas. Red maple and sugar maple
frequent. In the understory, Christmas fern and partridgeberry are common.
ROBERTS HILL CONSERVATIONAREA 112
11. A large area, parts of which were selectively cut by students at the Smith Vocational
School in 1988. Wood roads, now dense with sapling birch and blackberry, thread through
the forest. Many areas dominated with red maple and black birch, in other hemlock and oak
(red, black and white) were not cut. Hickories are common. One moves from blacks of forest
that were not cut to others where several trees were removed and a dense thicket of saplings
now grows. Aesthetic considerations were taken into account and little evidence of cutting is
visible from the maintained trails.
11a. Partially cut, rocky, lowlying area with spicebush, witch hazel and ironwood in
understory; bitternut, linden, shagbark hickory and green ash in overstory. Barberry
common and many clusters of Christmas ferns. Obviously seepy in wet months.
12. Young, mesic forest with witch hazel and gray birch.
13. Open, red oak dominated forest with many exposed outcrops and clumps of mountain
laurel. Occasional shagbark hickory, red maple and patches with maple- leaved viburnum
and low -bush blueberry. Herbs are scant and most ground is covered with oak leaves_ Some
pennsylvania sedge, common wintergreen and Canada mayflower present. A few scattered
pitch pines near the trail that Leads from the powerline to the top of Roberts Hill and quarry.
13a. Similar to 13, but more pines, white oak, and lowbush blueberries (Vaccinium
vacillans; V. angustifolium)
14. Hemlock grove.
15. Pine - hemlock mix with some oaks.
16. Grove of hemlocks and pines along steep rocky bank. Rock cliffs form border with Mill
River. This area is a popular rope swing /swimming spot.
17. Abandoned telephone R.O.W. dense with black birch, young pine, hemlock, low juniper,
and in more open areas, gray birch, big- toothed aspen, blackberry and goldenrod. Many
young oaks growing with the birch poles. Hay- scented fern and Canada mayflower common.
18. Abandoned telephone R.O.W. Dense with 10 -15' saplings of yellow birch, black birch,
gray birch and scattered red maples, hickory, hemlock and pine. Witch hazel, cinnamon fern
and Christmas ferns common in the understory.
19. Hemlock and pine dominated with an understory of yellow birch and striped maple.
ROBERTS HILL CONSERVATIONAREA 113
Some red maple in the canopy, along with hickory and red oak. Hay- scented fern,
partridgeberry, wild sarsaparilla and ironwood are abundant in the understory.
20. Upland woods dominated with black birch, red oak. More pine and hemlock than in unit
21. Mountain laurel, witch hazel, pipsissewa, wintergreen, lowbush blueberry and ground
pine are common.
21. Low, rich woods dominated by red maple, with some large white pine, hickory and elm.
Scattered clusters of hemlock grow below the red maple overstory. Spice bush,
partridgeberry, and cinnamon ferns are common. Foamflower is also common in the
southern half of this unit.
22. White pine- hemlock - hickory -red oak - chestnut oak -white oak mix. Understory shifts
from open, barren areas to those with dense carpets of partridgeberry and /or Canada
mayflower. Many pines about 35 years, with a few, much older and giant. The forest has an
open quality of a former field now recolonized. Other herbs include indian pipe, spotted
wintergreen, wild sarsaparilla, Christmas fern, wintergreen and patches of lowbush
blueberries.
23. Mix of young white pine, young black birch, red maple and gray birch with an
understory of Canada mayflower, partridgeberry, ground pine, wintergreen bracken and
poison ivy. Some sedges present.
24. The trees along the stream are hemlock. In the shady, seepy soils below the hemlocks, the
vegetation is a mix of touch -me -not, sensitive fern, cinnamon fern, false nettle, beggar's
ticks, violet and spicebush. An enormous tulip tree is on the nearby peninsula and many
young tulip trees grow in the vicinity. Not far from the stream, a limited amount of logging
took place years ago and a blend of hemlock, pine and hardwoods have regenerated.
25.Grassy picnic area with gray birch, red maple, black birch.
26. Some sections dominated by hemlock, others by red oak. Sloping, rocky and mesic, with
a rich fern component (Lady fern, woodfern, polypody, and Christmas fern). Although
understory vegetation is scant, Christmas fern, Virginia creeper, mountain laurel, witch
hazel, striped maple and Asiatic bittersweet are present. Along the streamside, canopy is
exclusively hemlock.
27. A gravelly, sandy stream with mossy cobbles. Surrounded by a mix of plant species,
including touch -me -not, serviceberry and American speedwell. Striped maple and spicebush
common in understory below dam.
ROBERTS HILL CONSERVATIONAREA 114
28. A young red maple overstory with wild oats, asters, hog peanut, jack -in- the - pulpit, field
horsetail and touch -me -not in the understory. Ferns (interrupted, sensitive, and cinnamon)
are abundant.
29. Sewerline with a diverse mix of shrubs and herbs. Typical associates include alder,
willow, fringed loosestrife, blue vervain, staghorn sumac, young black birch and young tulip
trees.
30. Swampy ground with a red maple overstory and tussock sedge, meadow sweet,
winterberry, field horsetail, touch -me -not, and a combination of royal, cinnamon, and
sensitive ferns. Some young slippery elm also in the overstory.
31. Bedrock cliff with talus. Overstory of hemlocks, black birch along rocks, above rocks
the forest shifts to a red oak and mountain laurel blend. The fern community includes
spinulose woodfern, polypody, marginal fern, and lady fern. Virginia creeper common.
Barbed wire runs along one edge. Porcupine dens occur here.
32. Level upland with bedrock outcrop that drops off to shallow, linear pond. Forest is a
mix of hemlock, oak, and hickory.
33. Open marshy edge of sewer line with marsh fern, winterberry, poison ivy, cinnamon
fern, false loosestrife, beggar's ticks, golden rod, groundnut and a variety of sedges.
34. Continuation of Sleepy Hollow Road, now lined with dense stand of hemlocks.
35. Steep slope dominated by oaks and hickories. Several rock outcrops.
36. Not yet examined
113
REDISCOVERING AN OVERLOOKED AREA
A Natural History of the Vistron Section, Mill River Greenway
Only half an acre in size, the triangular- shaped Vistron Section is the smallest parcel owned
by the Conservation Commission. Located in Florence, the land is bounded by a rocky
stretch of the Mill River, a private yard and a small parking area owned by one of the
adjacent mills. Despite its riverside location, the site, when viewed from the adjoining
parking area, looks like countless other neglected areas -- shrubby tangles, thorny multiflora
rose thickets, a jumble of roadside weeds, and a big pile of unwanted sand. The combination,
all in all, is downright uniniviting.
Over the last two hundred years, the site has suffered a long history of human abuse. The
bank along the Mill River has been rocked, the vegetation has been cleared and recleared,
and the soils have been worked, reworked, dumped on, bulldozed, and leveled. There may
even be heavy metal wastes from brass manufacturing buried on site.
Since it became a conservation area in 1975, the area has experienced a period of relative
calm, with little human activity inside the conservation area. Tree ring counts reveal that
even 25 years before receiving "conservation area" status the back border had been allowed
to revegetate. The canopy is dominated by fifty -foot black locust (Robinia pseudoacacia), a
fast growing colonizer that is easily recognized by its heavily braided dark gray bark, pinnate
leaves, and pea -pod fruits. Other overstory species include a few sugar maples (Acer
saccharum), black cherries (Prunus serotina), and a lone sycamore (Platanus occidentalis)
(Map 30).
Unlike the overstory species, which are native to North America, the most common plants in
the understory are species that have been introduced -- accidentally or intentionally- -from
Europe and Asia. Of these, the most obvious is the shrub known as Morrow's honeysuckle
(Lonicera morrowii). Between one and two meters in height, this species forms a nearly
continuous understory. Nearby, other non - natives include privet, euonymus, barberry,
multiflora rose, two old crab apples, and a large, uninterrupted clump of Japanese knotweed
(Reynoutria japonica). The area has, in essence, become a reservoir for non - native species.
This fact, along with its small size and urban setting, make the Vistron Section a poor habitat
for wildlife, and, in its present state, almost useless to townspeople too.
However, with a little effort, the Vistron Section could become a much more pleasant and
interesting place for local residents and wildlife. Working with a local organization or
company, non - native plants could be removed and in selected areas, replaced with native
species, such as jack -in -the- pulpit (Arisaema triphyllum), sensitive fern (Onoclea sensibilis),
fringed loosestrife (Lysimachia ciliata), silky dogwood (Corpus amomum), elderberry
VISTRON SECTION, MILL RIVER GREENWAY 116
(Sambucus canadensis) and other species that are attractive to wildlife. Along with a bench
or picnic table, a sign describing the history of the Mill River and importance of floodplain
areas could be installed. Access to this parklet would be through the Braid Mill parking lot.
In addition, because the area is level, well drained, and infrequently flooded, a path could
easily be made wheelchair accessible.
As a long -term recreation goal, additional easements along this edge of the Mill River could
connect the Vistron Section to Maines field. From an ecological perspective, this narrow
stretch is very similar to the Vistron Section in that it has been seriously degraded by the
aggressive invasion of several non - native plants. Restoring the ecological integrity of this
downstream section is possible, but would require extensive work and at least initially,
demand vigilant upkeep to protect against a reinvasion by non- native plants.
117
Map 30. Vegetation Map
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THE YANKEE HILL SECTION AND THE MILL RIVER GREENWAY:
Clement Street to Smith College
Half a mile downstream from the rebuilt Clement Street Bridge, the Mill River flows past a
five -acre ribbon of conservation land known as the Yankee Hill Section (Map 31). The most
striking feature of this greenway is its steep slopes, with the up- and -down, ridge- and -gully
topography typical of an area governed by landslides. Just why this river's edge is so
susceptible to landslides, which are relatively rare phenomena in Northampton, is a function
of the area's glacial history.
For more than 3000 years a large, post - glacial lake called Lake Hitchcock covered the
Connecticut Valley. Extensive delta deposits accumulated at the mouths of the various rivers
that fed into the lake. One of these was our own Mill River, which carried down from the
hills the sand and gravel deposits that underlie much of the land we now call Florence and
Northampton.
When glacial Lake Hitchcock finally drained about 12,000 years ago, the Mill River began
cutting into its own deltaic deposits. In the stretch between the Northampton Country Club
and Maines field, the river meandered back and forth, easily cutting down through the
accumulated sediments. Just below Maines Field, the river carved a channel south of the
Baker Hill drumlin, which funneled it into an area underlain by older, compact glacial tillsi i
It is these till deposits that are landsliding as the river undercuts them.
Mainly composed of boulders, cobbles, gravels and sands, these tills also have impervious
layers of clay. When groundwater reaches these clay seams, it follows the gradient and
eventually emerges as seeps along the bank. In the process, the clay layers are lubricated,
setting the stage for landslides on this slope of otherwise well consolidated glacial till. After
heavy rains, the earth above these slippery layers becomes waterlogged and the hillside gives
way.
11 Till is unstratified glacial material deposited directly by the ice without reworking by
streams. It contains a wide range of size classes (boulders, cobbles, gravel, sand, and clay).
Drumlins are thought to be a combination of two tills deposited by two separate glaciations.
The lower till, which is more compact and full of clay, was deposited by the Illinoian
glaciation 140,000 years ago and the top layer was deposited 20,000 year old by the
Wisconsin glaciation.
YANKEE HILL SECTION AND MILL RIVER GREENWAY 119
Landsliding in this area has created two very different microhabitats: ridges and slumps. On
the relatively barren ridges, rainwater tends to carry away organic materials and in many
areas, exposes the mineral soil. The extent of erosion is obvious when you look at the base of
the trees. On the upslope side, the trunks are partially buried, while downslope, bare roots
run along the surface.
Rainwater runs off so fast along these ridges that most of it never percolates into the ground,
resulting in very droughty conditions. Overall, the effect is that the ridges are low in
nutrients, humus, and water, creating conditions too harsh for most plant species to survive.
Also restricting the number of plant species that can survive here is the presence of hemlocks
(Tsuga canadensis), which tends to create a very shady environment.
Slumps occur when a section of the bank gives way, leaving a gully with a large flat plug of
hillside at the base. The slump then acts like a dammed up catch basin, collecting rainwater,
along with organic debris, nutrients and fine particles of mineral soil that erode off the ridges'
steep slopes.
In contrast to the half a dozen species found along the ridges and in the upper portions of the
gullies, the vegetation on the slump plug is typically diverse and varies according to the
area's size, slope, age and underlying soils. The smaller slumps are cool and shady, and
provide suitable growing conditions for shade - tolerant, moisture loving species like Canada
yew (Taxes canadensis), striped maple (Acer pensylvanica), mountain maple (Acer spicata),
red baneberry (Actaea rubra), gooseberries (Ribes sp.), jack -in- the - pulpits (Arisaema
triphyllum), false spikenard (Aralia racemosa), more than half a dozen ferns, and many other
woodland wildflowers (Map 32).
Large slumps receive more light and warmth, conditions, which allow a different flora to
establish. The largest slump found at the upstream end of the conservation area is roughly
150 feet wide by 100 feet long. Whether you're on the ridgetop trail above the slide or
walking through it, the abrupt transition from dense hemlock to an open 15 -20 year old sugar
maple (Acer saccharum) forest is hard to miss. Below the surrounding hemlocks, herbs are
scarce, but within the slide area the maple forest floor is covered with wildflowers and ferns.
Just downstream from this large slide is an area underlain with sandy soil that supports dense
young hemlocks and a few white pines (Pinus strobus). Further downstream, in the vicinity
of an old dam, is another section prone to slumpage. Near the hill's summit where the sandy
soils are exposed, sun loving, disturbance tolerant species, such as blackberry (Rubus spp.),
goldenrods (Solidago spp.), grasses and black locusts (Robinia pseudoacacia) are well
established (Map 32).
YANKEE HILL SECTION AND MILL RIVER GREENWAY 120
The presence of the old dam in this section of the conservation area is a reminder of a time
in the mid- 1800`s when the Mill River was the most thoroughly dammed waterway in the
United States, with 74 factories drawing power from the river. Many dams were destroyed in
1874 when a devastating flood roared down from Williamsburg, killing 140 people and
causing millions of dollars in property damage to riverside factories, houses, and agricultural
land.
This low dam once had baffle boards that increased its water holding capacity enough to
power a sawmill. Although most of the logs brought to the mill probably came from
elsewhere, the age of most of the trees on the nearby slopes of the conservation area suggests
that this area, like most of New England, was cleared during the 19th century. A rusted
strand of barbed wired, embedded in the trunk of a large hemlock, indicates that at some time
in the distant past, farm animals grazed on the open slopes overlooking the sawmill.
Below the dam and another small, sandy landslide is a level, wooded area dominated by pine
and hemlock. Picnickers, hikers, and an occasional bather frequently use this spot. Nearby,
the conservation area forms a narrow strip of rocky floodplain, dominated by sycamore
(Platanus occidentalis) and red maple (Acer rubrum) and a wide array of herbs, including
asters (Aster spp.), poison ivy (Toxicodendron radicans), white snakeroot (Eupatorium
rugosum), touch -me -not (Impatiens capensis) and the non - native plants garlic mustard
(Alliaria officinalis), bouncing bet (Saponaria officinalis) and Asiatic bittersweet (Celastrus
orbiculatus) (Map 32).
Downstream from the Yankee Hill Conservation Area is a section where a 300 -foot wide
island sits between the river and its former channel. Owned by the Northampton
Manufacturing Company, this stretch contains a mix of (1) young forest near the old channel,
(2) scrubby growth in an abandoned utility right -of -way, and (3) older forest closest to the
river (Map 32).
Twenty -five years ago, the portion of the island near the abandoned channel was open and
treeless. Since then a red maple forest has developed with an understory composed almost
exclusively of wild oats (Uvularia sessilifolia) and ground pine (Lycopodium obscurum).
YANKEE HILL SECTION AND MILL RIVER GREENWAY 121
An abrupt end to the red maples marks the boundary of a 50" right -of -way, now grown in
with a mix of hay- scented fern (Dennstaedtia punctilobula), blackberry (Rubus spp.),
honeysuckle (Lonicera spp.), goldenrod and young shrubs and saplings. Beyond the right-of-
way is an older, red oak/red maple /hickory forest and the river. The vegetation in this
section is variable: where floodwaters scour the ground, non - native plants are common and
often more abundant than native species. In contrast, infrequently flooded areas contain
mostly native herbs, with wild sarsaparilla (Aralia nudicaulis) and New York fern
(Thelypteris noveaboracensis) being two of the most common.
The end of the forest and beginning of a cornfield marks the boundary between the
Northampton Manufacturing Company property and the former State Hospital land. Level
and fertile, this cornfield was formed long before Europeans arrived in this area. The
arrowheads and quartz and flint fragments that are occasionally found here are evidence that
Native Americans knew the value of good floodplain farmland.
Hidden closeby in the woods is a former ice pond. Like the cornfield, the ice pond is also
part of the Mill River floodplain (Map 31). A berm built decades ago on the eastern and
northern sides of a low swale traps the water that emerges from the springs and seeps on the
southwestern slope. Near the largest spring it's still possible to see the stonework that helped
direct the flow of water into the pond. Today, this slope is dominated by red oak (Quercus
rubra), red maple, hemlock and black birch (Betula lenta); in the seepy soils, cinnamon fern
(Osmunda cinnamomea), skunk cabbage (Symplocarpus foetidus), sensitive fern (Onoclea
sensibilis) and a variety of woodland and wetland species are common.
The pond itself has been filling in for decades and is surrounded by a soggy mat of rice cut -
grass (Leersia oryzoides), beggar's ticks (Bidens spp.), touch -me -not and smartweeds
(Polygonum spp.). By mid - summer, duckweed (Lemna minor) creates a green film that
covers nearly the entire surface. On slightly drier ground is a thick tangle of silky dogwood
(Cornus amomum) and fox grape (Vitis riparia), and on the berm, black locust, cottonwoods
(Populus deltoides; P. tremuloides; P. grandidentata) and multiflora rose (Rosa multiflora)
(Map 32).
Although some waterfowl- -wood ducks, mallards, and black ducks- -use this pond for a
temporary rest stop during migration, it's too small and isolated to be good habitat for nesting
ducks. More permanent residents include raccoons, muskrats, skunks, gray squirrels,
chipmunks, red - spotted newts and a diverse assortment of aquatic creatures. It's also very
likely that spring peepers and American toads use the pond to breed in the spring.
YANKEE HILL SECTION AND MILL RIVER GREENWAY 122
Back between the cornfield and the river, the forested strip narrows to just 50 feet and is
composed of a mix of black locust, red oak, and linden (Tilea americana). This stretch has a
thick understory of raspberry, poison ivy and Asiatic bittersweet. The next bend in the river
brings another shift in forest composition. Here, the banks are repeatedly scoured by
floodwaters and non - native, disturbance tolerant species dominate the vegetation. Among
the most common are Morrow's honeysuckle, barberry (Berberis thunbergii), and multiflora
rose. Asiatic bittersweet is abundant here, coiling over the shrubs, up the trunks, and high
into the black locust canopy.
A little further downstream, black locust drops out and red maple and sycamore form the
overstory. The forested belt along the river widens in this area, but non - natives still make up
the bulk of the understory. From here to the end of the large hayfield, 3/4 of a mile away, the
composition of the forest strip is a hodgepodge of red oak, pignut (Carya ovata), shagbark
hickory (Carya ovalis), black locust, hemlock, linden, panicled dogwood (Cornus racemosa),
European buckthorn (Rhamnus cathartica), glossy buckthorn (Rhamnus frangula), multiflora
rose, and an even wider variety of herbs (Map 32).
The presence of this tree -lined river edge helps mitigate the effects of flooding by reducing
erosion and floodwater velocity. The benefits of this corridor to wildlife, however, are
mixed. Although narrow wooded strips can act as corridors for some wildlife, they also
provide a potential route for disease and predators and are fertile ground for aggressive non-
native plants, which do well in disturbed, edge habitats. The narrowness of the vegetated
zone increases the chance that bird nests will be parasitized by cowbirds, that English
sparrows and starlings will compete with native species for nesting cavities, and that all of
them are more likely to be gobbled up by animals that do well in association with humans,
like cats, opossums, raccoons and skunks. For most animals, the habitat is so fragmented and
degraded that it would be impossible for them to live here full -time. However, these
drawbacks are lessened by the fact that this land is still open and undeveloped and offers
valuable agriculture and recreation opportunities.
Beyond the large (10 +acre) hayfield, the river bends northeast and the land is forested again.
Close to the river are three separate mini - plantations of white pine, red pine (Pinus resinosa)
and spruce (Picea rubra). Growing near the patches of younger forest are light loving,
disturbance tolerant species like honeysuckle, bittersweet and privet (Ligustrum sp.) as well
as the native plants Canada goldenrod (Solidago canadensis), touch -me -not, sensitive fern
and jack -in- the - pulpit (Map 32).
YANKEE HILL SECTION AND MILL RIVER GREENWAY 123
In contrast to the land closest to the river, the slopes and the level plateau above are
dominated by hemlock. Open and easy to walk through, the forest floor is essentially free of
herbs. Among the hemlock are a few scattered red oak, white oak (Quercus alba), red maples
and at the toe of the slope, dozens of black birch.
The hemlock forests continue for another quarter mile before they end at the Smith College
athletic fields, where the width of the vegetated corridor along the Mill River tapers to less
than fifty feet.
Between the Yankee Hill Conservation Area and the Clement Street Bridge, the steep,
rugged hillsides are covered almost exclusively by hemlock. A few scattered red oak and
black birches can also be found in the overstory, and hobblebush (Viburnum alnifolium),
witch hazel (Hammamelis virginiana), and clusters of lady fern (Athyrium felix femina) and
spinulose wood fern (Dryopteris spinulosa) occur occasionally in the understory. Most of
the forest floor is covered with a thin layer of dry oak leaves and hemlock needles, or nothing
at all (Map 32).
Most of the landslides in this section are quite old and have revegetated with hemlock. Two
landslides, however, have occurred within the last five years. The larger of these is a V-
shaped area some 30 feet across and 40 feet long. Here, exposed gray clays, soft with
moisture even in the driest part of the summer, support a few plant species that colonize and
thrive on wet, disturbed, mineral soils. The most abundant colonizer is a member of a
primitive plant family. Known as field horsetail (Equisetum arvense), this plant, with its
whorled, jointed branches, resembles a floppy, green bottlebrush. Other common species
include coltsfoot (Tussilago farfara), which has a flower similar to dandelions, hundreds of
weak- stemmed spotted touch -me -nots, and down near the base, a few dozen willows (Salix
spp.).
Not far from this fresh slide is an exposure of 200 million year old (Triassic) sandstone
called Sugarloaf arkose. Known locally as red beds, these sedimentary rocks were deposited
when the Connecticut Valley was a minor tear in the breaking apart of the supercontinent of
Pangaea. Sugarloaf arkose forms much of the bedrock below Northampton but is a rare sight
here because it's typically buried below tens or hundreds of feet of glacial till or Lake
YANKEE HILL SECTION AND MILL RIVER GREENWAY 124
Hitchcock deposits.
Also of interest along this stretch is a section of hillside covered with hundreds of boulders.
Rather than some aberrant glacial boulder train, this appears to be the result of two hundred
years of stone dumping by local farmers in an attempt to clear their fields.
From Clement Street to Smith College, a walk along the Mill River will surprise you.
Bordered by trees and largely out -of -sight of houses and factories, the Mill River is beautiful
and accessible. Below the shallow dam at the southeast end of the Yankee Hill Conservation
Area, the river is full of 20 to 100 pound rocks. Further downriver, the rocks grade into the
"boulder" category, some them half as big as a Volkswagen and weighing in at over 1000
pounds. As you might imagine, during floodstage, the rapids in this area are very impressive.
Still further downstream, the size of the rocks decreases back to a foot or so and for another
half mile, the river drops through a series of small rapids. Near the gauging station, the river
slows down and another three quarters of mile of gentle flow brings the river to Paradise
Pond.
On a hazy, humid summer afternoon, as you hop from boulder to boulder, wade through the
shallows and pick your way along its borders, you'll find yourself wondering: why haven't I
taken advantage of this beautiful area before?
YANKEE HILL SECTION AND MILL RIVER GREENWAY 125
Map 31. Mill River Corridor: Clement Street to Smith College Land
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YANKEE HILL SECTION AND MILL RIVER GREENWAY 127
THE YANKEE HILL SECTION AND THE MILL RIVER GREENWAY
Legend of the Detailed Vegetation Map
1. A steep, northfacing slope that drops 150' to the Mill River. Covered by dense hemlock
forest with occasional red oak, black birch, and few herbs. Herbs present include lady fern,
Christmas fern, spinulose wood fern, purple trillium, enchanter's nightshade and wild
sarsaparilla. Hobblebush and witch hazel infrequent.
2. A fresh landslide (2 -3 years) with exposed clays now vegetated with coltsfoot, field
horsetail, touch -me -not and a few willows and purple- flowering raspberries.
3. An older landslide with a rich moist seep with abundant ferns, touch -me -not, jack- in -the-
pulpit, Canada yew and false solomon's seal.
4. Still a hemlock dominated slope, but here it is littered with dozens of boulders and large
cobbles pushed over the hillside by farmers. Leaves and pine needles form thin soil covering.
5. A large, wonderful seep with touch -me -not, big toothed aspen, maple, oak and hemlock
mix. Lots of woodfern, broad beech fern, false spikenard, wild ginger, hooked crowfoot, hog
peanut, barberry and scouring rush.
6. A large open landslide with sugar maples and rich understory of scouring rush, lady fern
and asters. Christmas fern, red baneberry, and jack -in- the - pulpit are also present on this
rocky, moist slope.
7. A small island dominated by red maple with a grassy understory and scattered herbs.
8. A mix of younger hemlocks, beech, pine and red oak. The slope is steep with few herbs
and scattered large trees. A few naturalized spruce; in the more open areas, asters, Christmas
fern, lady fern, Canada mayflower and false solomon's seal are common.
9. Small landslides dominated by raspberry, goldenrod, grasses. Sandy.
10. Very open and light with young elm, Japanese knotweed, black locust, blackberry,
goldenrod, and a mix of grasses. Quite sandy with a few large boulders. Hemlock growing
along upper slope.
YANKEE HILL SECTION AND MILL RIVER GREENWAY 129
11. Level, upland forest of sugar maples, hemlocks and oak. A footpath follows the
ridgeline and joins with the cornfield and main trail that returns to the parking area near the
community gardens. Mountain laurel common in the understory.
12. Pine, hemlock dominated area where people picnic. A trail from the corn field leads to
this frequently used area. Canada mayflower common in understory.
13. A thin rocky island covered with red maple, Japanese knotweed, joe -pye -weed, alder
and a mix of grasses and sedges.
14. Cobbly, treed floodplain forest within the Yankee Hill Conservation area. A diverse mix
of understory plants, including poison ivy, lady fern, white snakeroot, common woodland
aster, barberry, hog peanut and grape. Sycamore, red maple, linden are the most common
overstory trees.
15. Abandoned (100' wide) utility right -of -way with abundant raspberry, staghorn sumac,
jumpseed, meadowsweet, golden rod and young paper birch and black birch seedlings.
16. A mix of forest types. Where scoured by floodwaters many non - native species are
frequent, while in other areas, native species dominate. Ironwood, black cherry, black locust,
many large red oak, sugar maple and hickories are common. Yellow birch and sycamore are
occasional, while witch hazel, ironwood and maple - leaved viburnum are common in the
understory. River is fast flowing with large boulders and cobbles (1 -3' diameter). An old
river channel crosses this area.
17. A steep, northfacing slope dominated by a mix of hemlock, red oak, yellow birch, striped
maple and a few large black birches. Ferns (particularly spinulose woodfern, cinnamon,
interrupted, and New York) common; witch hazel abundant. Many glacially rounded rocks
exposed.
18. A level section of formerly cleared forest, now grown into red maple of approximately
20 years of age. Understory open with sedges, wild oats and princess pine (Lycopodium
obscurum).
19. Thin strip of mature forest with red oak and sugar maple.
20. Infrequently flooded forest with mix of red oak, linden, and some red maple. Lots of
raspberry, honeysuckle and some Japanese knotweed. Near the northwest corner of the
YANKEE HILL SECTION AND MILL RIVER GREENWAY 129
cornfield, this unit has shifted to hemlock and linden with very little honeysuckle.
21. Cornfield
22. Curve in river that is frequently scoured by floodwaters. The disturbed, gravelly
substrate supports dense tangles of Asiatic bittersweet, barberry, black locust, and some red
maple. River flows faster here.
23. Sycamore dominated with an understory of raspberry and honeysuckle. Along the river
edge, red maple common. The understory is mixed with wood nettle, Virginia creeper, lady
fern, wild sarsaparilla, poison ivy. Also present slippery elm, hop hornbeam and a few large
cottonwoods.
24. Quaking aspen, hickory, pin oak, red oak, 3 larches and red maple in the overstory.
Poison ivy, chokecherry are abundant, but most abundant is honeysuckle, which in some
areas forms a nearly impenetrable thicket.
25. A low swale with false nettle, moneywort, clearweed, and sensitive fern, marsh fern,
silky dogwood, ditch stonecrop, three species of smartweed and Carex are common. Nearby
hillside contains black birch and hemlock.
26. Hayfields
27. A man -made berm now dominated with black locust and staghorn sumac. Black cherry
and ash are occasional. Honeysuckle is common in the understory. Few herbs, infrequent
clusters of Christmas fern and lady fern.
28. Wet grassy areas with abundant rice cut grass, purple nightshade, and beggar's ticks.
The pond in summer is covered with duckweed and Wolffia.
29. Open, grassy with silky dogwood and fox grape borders. Smartweed, touch -me -not, and
rice cut grass common. In the nearby forest, red maple and black birch are common.
30. Rich border along ice pond and the seepy slope with broad patches of Christmas fern,
lady fern, interrupted fern, false solomon's seal, spicebush, ash, sugar maple and hickory.
Also common is bloodroot, ironwood, wood aster, and New York fern and in seepy places,
skunk cabbage. Honeysuckle grows near the old spring.
YANKEE HILL SECTION AND MILL RIVER GREENWAY 130
31. Unexamined forest type
32. Near gauging station forest shifts to red oak - hemlock mix. Clusters of staghorn sumac
also present. Beyond gauging station, river is slower moving with few exposed cobbles.
33. A narrow (15 -25 foot) strip along the river, which has a mix of native and non- native
species. Silky dogwood, alder shifts to red oak (most common), linden, pignut and bitternut
mix. Also present sycamore, box elder, glossy buckthorn, European buckthorn, black birch,
ironwood, ironwood, burning bush, black cherry, staghorn sumac, red maple and thick
growth of Asiatic bittersweet.
34. Hedge row of the non- native Russian olive.
35. Formerly cleared now grown up into a dense tangle of rose, grasses, wildflowers and
young saplings.
36. A stand of white pine (approx. 20 years) along hemlock border when the land rises.
Between the pine and hemlock is a strip of scrubby growth with honeysuckle, black locust,
Norway maple and box elder.
37. Back from river, black locust and black birch dominate the overstory in most areas.
Occasionally there is a small grove of hemlocks. Black cherry, Morrows honeysuckle, and
some sugar maple grow in the understory.
38. Along river edge, red maple in overstory. The understory is open and sunny with
abundant Virginia creeper, Asiatic bittersweet, Japanese barberry, white snakeroot, poison
ivy, honeysuckle and daylilies.
39. Red pine planting (approx. 20 years); choke cherry and jack -in -the- pulpit common.
40. Red spruce planting with black locust around edge.
41. Level, open lush floodplain area with touch -me -not, goldenrod and blackberry, and
sensitive fern. At the toe of the slope and near the old access road, black locust, red maple,
black birch, Norway maple, Morrow's honeysuckle, Asiatic bittersweet and other non- natives
abundant.
YANKEE HILL SECTION AND MILL RIVER GREENWAY 131
42. Very shady, part level, part steep slope with dense hemlock forest. Black birch, red oak,
white oak red maple are also occasional. In the understory, scattered witch hazel, hay -
scented fern, poison ivy. In general, understory is very open with few herbs.
43. Smith College athletic fields
44. Community gardens
132
A Preliminary Ecological Overview of the
MARBLE BROOK WATERSHED
Located in the northwest corner of Northampton, the Marble Brook watershed covers
roughly five square miles and includes extensive woodlands, agricultural land, an abandoned
hayfield, a beaver meadow, a glacial kettle and, of course, Marble Brook itself. This north -
south trending watershed is an important part of the drainage that flows into the Roberts
Meadow Reservoir, and via Department of Public Works land, is contiguous with Roberts
Hill Conservation Area. Its large size, relatively gentle terrain, accessibility and extensive
system of wood roads make it ideally suited for various types of recreation (hunting, hiking,
mountain biking, horseback riding, cross- country skiing and nature study.) It's also decent
wildlife habitat and part of a forest corridor that extends from Mount Tom to the Berkshires.
However, it's missing something. That something is a lack of diversity of forest types. The
Marble Brook drainage has been cut again and again, and the overall "sameness" of much of
the forest makes it, from my perspective, a little disappointing. However, if the land were
protected and no more cutting occurred, all of this would change over time.
If a large piece of this valley becomes available in the future, my suggestion, even in light of
the preliminary nature of my investigation and the temporarily disappointing forest diversity,
is to protect it.
The remainder of this text takes you on a tour of the major habitats in the Marble Brook
drainage in Northampton.
Fed by several small, mostly intermittent streams, Marble Brook drains the southeastern end
of Unquomonk Mountain and flows south for two miles before it joins Roberts Meadow
Brook near Chesterfield Road. Along the way, the brook meanders through a broad (300+/ -
feet), wooded floodplain dominated by red maple (Acer rubrum) and clusters of hemlock
(Tsuga canadensis) and scattered yellow birch (Betula lutea), sugar maple (Acer saccharum)
and green ash (Fraxinus pensylvanica). In most places the seepy, organic soils
MARBLE BROOK WATERSHED 133
support a lush array of plants, including Canada yew (Taxus canadensis), swamp saxifrage
( Saxifraga pensylvanica), swamp dewberry (Rubus pubescens), marsh blue violets (Viola
cucullata), golden ragwort (Senecio aureus), red trillium (Trillium erectum), poison ivy
(Toxicodendron radicans), four different ferns (cinnamon (Osmunda cinnamomea);
interupted (O. claytoniana); lady (Athyrium felix - femina); and sensitve (Onoclea sensibilis)
and dozens of mosses.
As the beautiful little brook heads south, the bottom shifts from sands and gravels to rounded
stones and cobbles. Where until the brook crosses a rich, marshy beaver habitat the stream
channel is lost and the underlying soils are soft and organic. After the beaver dam, the water
begins a fast -paced run down a rocky, hemlock -lined channel.
On joining Roberts Meadow Brook, the flow cascades east down a steep, rocky course to the
quiet waters of the Upper Reservoir. From the Upper Reservoir, the water flows via a mile -
long, riprapped channel into Roberts Meadow Reservoir and eventually joins the Mill River
in Leeds. Back near the intersection of Marble Brook and Roberts Meadow Brook, the
shaded ravine and pools are popular fishing and picnicking spots. Nearby is a parking pull -
off and the entrance to a long, level dirt road that parallels Marble Brook. The road heads
north past rolling pasture and cornfields where wild turkeys are often seen.
At the end of the cornfield, the road enters the woods and soon passes a 2 -acre circular
wetland. Located on the west side of the road, this area is one of the few Northampton
wetlands that contain deep, poorly drained soils composed of highly decomposed organic
material. 12
Sometimes in the past, farmers tried to drain this "unusable muckhole" by digging a ditch
along its western edge. Their efforts paid off (at least to some extent) because the water level
dropped enough for white pine (Pinus strobus) to establish. In the last few years, these pines
were harvested and the effect of the drainage ditch was eliminated, thanks to the dam -
building activity of a family of beavers.
The circular shape and unusual soils of this wetland are indicators that this feature may be a
12 This soil is classified as Freetown Muck. The Hampshire County Soil Survey lists the soil
type as Freetown Muck in three other Northampton sites: the Burt's Pit Bog near the
Brookwood Conservation Area; a site off Route 66 near an abandoned pig farm, and a
wetland near the intersection of Chesterfield Road and Spring Street. All of these areas show
evidence of drainage efforts over the last fifty years.
MARBLE BROOK WATERSHED 134
glacial kettle hole, possibly Northampton's only kettle hole. Glacial kettle holes form after a
large block of ice becomes stranded and buried beneath glacial outwash. When it finally
melts, the ground caves in, leaving a gently sloping depression.
Because the base of the kettle hole intercepts groundwater, conditions favoring the growth of
bog plants developed. Sphagnum moss along with decaying plants produce hydrogen ions
and organic acids, making the water acidic. The underlying sands are poor in nutrients and
buffers, and the only other source of water - - precipitation - - is also naturally acidic.
Growing in this waterlogged, acidic, nutrient poor environment is a sometimes soupy,
sometimes firm mat of sphagnum moss and isolated hummocks of sheep laurel (Kalmia
angustifolia), leatherleaf (Chaemadaphne calyculata), mountain holly (Nemopanthus
mucronata) and high -bush blueberry (Vaccinium corymbosum).
West of the kettle hole is a narrow ribbon of red maple swamp, which leads north to a former
hayfield, now full of waist -high sedges (Carex sp.) in its wetter spots. Cutting across the
open meadow is a snowmobile /ATV trail, which leads up a small feeder brook into the
woods to the northwest. In addition to humans, bear, deer, coyote, and red fox take
advantage of this trail as a way to cross the small brook and return to the dirt road.
On the east side of the main wood road is a beaver meadow and pond. Open and full of
grasses, with islands of winterberry (Ilex verticillata), alder (Alnus rugosa) and willow (Salix
spp.), this marsh is a wonderful place to observe wildlife. In addition to beavers, this
wetland also supports painted turtles, wood ducks, kingfishers, and thousands of red- spotted
newts. Racoon tracks follow the muddy margins, and from April to early September, tree
swallows fly back and forth across the open marsh feeding on insects. Dragonflies join in the
hunt during daylight hours and bats take their place once the sun goes down. Sitting quietly
along the edge, it's hard to imagine you're just a fifteen - minute drive from downtown
Northampton.
The woods near the beaver dam contain patches of mountain laurel (Kalmia latifolia) and
hobblebush (Viburnum alnifolium) in the understory and white pine, red oak (Quercus
rubra), hemlock, red maple, black birch (Betula lenta), sugar maple and hemlock in the
overstory. This section of woodland has been recently logged, and in the disturbed soils,
young black birch, beaked hazelnut (Corylus cornuta), common hazelnut (Corylus
americana), witch hazel (Hamamelis virginiana) and red maple have sprouted. Herbs are
common; among the most frequent are partridgeberry (Mitchella repens), wild sarsaparilla
(Aralia nudicaulis), whorled loosestrife (Lysimachia quadrifolia), ground pine (Lycopodium
obscurum) and princess pine (Lycopodium flabelliforme).
MARBLE BROOK WATERSHED 135
West of the beaver meadow, the road passes former pastures, crossed with stonewalls, and
now forested with a mix of white pine, sugar maple and red oak. A few old stone
foundations provide further evidence that this flat land was, like most of Massachusetts,
completely deforested less a century and half ago.
A mile more and the main road passes another small wetland with hummocks of sphagnum
and a mix of high -bush blueberry, marsh violets, cattails (Typha latifolia), sedges and stunted
red maples. Spring peepers chorus here so loudly that your chest cavity reverberates and
your ears tingle. This small, diverse wetland is worthy of additional investigation.
Beyond this wetland, a newer logging road branches to the west but the main road soon
peters out. Preliminary outings in the woodlands to the west revealed little variation in
species composition, but more studies may uncover variations in topography and hydrology
that create more unusual habitats.
136
Map: Marble Brook Watershed
137
A Preliminary Ecological Overview of
MINERAL HILL AND THE ORCHID SWAMP
Unlike a street map, a topographic map reveals the lay of the land. With a careful read of its
contour lines, wetland symbols, threads of blue and patches of pale green, hundreds of acres
that are seldom explored but potentially quite interesting can be easily identified. Topo maps
show us the locations of hidden wetlands, steep cliffs, narrow ravines, forgotten ponds,
floodplain forest fragments and upland woods.
A quick study of the topographic map that covers most of Northampton reveals several
square miles of undeveloped, forested uplands in the western third of town. Known as the
Mineral Hills, Sawmill Hills, and Marble Brook watershed, these Berkshire foothills are too
rocky to be easily developed. Even logging, their chief use during the last few hundred
years, has been somewhat limited by the hillsides' rocky character and steep slopes.
While scrutinizing this western section of the map, I noticed several wetlands, perched close
to the summits of some of the hills. One of the largest of these wetlands lies at the south end
of the Mineral Hills, just north of Route 66, between West Farms Road and the Westhampton
townline. Isolated wetlands like this always intrigue me; they promise rare plants, vernal
pools, and often beautiful, under - appreciated natural areas.
On a Saturday afternoon in early May 1993, I made my first foray to the area. My intention
was to head right up the drainage and into the heart of the swamp. An accidental turn up the
wrong drainage led me not to the swamp, but instead to a large hill to the north, known to
some as Mineral Hill. Very soon I realized that this was one of the best wrong turns I could
have made. Mineral Hill is like no other in Northampton. It is botanically very rich, with
many Northampton rarities and a unique combination of forest types. It provides excellent
wildlife habitat and exceptional views, and the combination of the hill and the swamp (which
I later found) has drawn me back to the area over and over during the last several months.
Mineral Hill covers some 150 acres, much of it forested slopes of hemlock (Tsuga
canadensis) and mixed hardwoods. On the western side, broad slabs of lichen- covered
bedrock and rocky outcrops offer impressive views into Westhampton and beyond. In these
rocky, open sections, soil is only found in narrow crevices and shallow depressions where it
supports half a dozen of the hardiest, most drought tolerant plants in our area: red cedar
(Juniperus virginiana), blue curls (Trichostema dichotomum), Pennsylvania sedge (Carex
pensylvanica), little bluestem (Andropogon scoparius) and several species of panic grass
MINERAL HILL AND THE ORCHID SWAMP 139
(Panicum spp.). Among the most notable botanical finds on these rocky barrens are two little
ferns, rusty woodsia ( Woodsia ilvensis) and ebony fern (Asplenium platyneuron), both rarely
encountered inside Northampton's borders.
A little further to the north, the outcrops are smaller and more scattered, the sails are deeper
and there is a dramatic and abrupt change in the vegetation. But the change is not only in
terms of what's there and what's not. This place has a look and feel unlike any other in
Northampton. Almost park -like in its appearance, the forest here is a mix of stunted hop
hornbeams (Ostrya virginiana), hazelnuts (Corylus cornuta), hickories (Carya sp.) and red
oaks (Quercus rubra). Below them is a thick carpet of Pennsylvania sedge and occasional
grasses. In the springtime, isolated bunches of wild columbine (Aquilegia canadensis) and
early saxifrage (Saxifrage virginiensis) blossom along seepy rock crevices, and at the end of
summer, the slopes are graced with the bright pink blooms of wild basil (Satureja vulgaris)
and the yellow tops of three different types of goldenrod (Solidago arguta; S. Bicolor; S.
caesia). The origin of this anamolous patch of forest was probably a fire, but whatever the
cause, the result is aesthetically very pleasing.
Above this section, the slope ends and the hilltop has a gentle up and down topography,
characterized by numerous outcrops, small depressions but generally level ground. The
composition of the canopy trees shifts again. Chestnut oak (Quercus prinus), red oak, and
black oak (Q. velutina) are the three most common overstory species, but red maple (Acer
rubrum) and hickories (Carya spp.) are also fairly common. In the understory, the ground is
covered with an irregular patchwork of low -bush blueberries (Vaccinium vacillans; V.
angustifolium), huckleberry (Gaylussacia baccata) and near the north end of the hill, acres of
mountain laurel (Kalmia latifolia). Herb -free expanses are not uncommon, but in other areas
you can find wild sarsaparilla (Aralia nudicaulis), wintergreen (Gaultheria procumbens) and
plenty of Pennsylvania sedge. Among the more unusual plants in sunny, rocky areas along
the summit are bristly sarsaparilla (Aralia hispida) and pale corydalis ( Corydalis
sempervirens). Some of the greatest diversity found on Mineral Hill is in the primitive group
known as lichens. A lichen is actually a unique combination of two separate organisms, an
alga and a fungus, which have evolved together and are now inextricably linked, i.e. one
cannot survive without the other. On the top of Mineral Hill, you can easily find more than a
dozen different lichens growing on the rocks and tree trunks.
The summit and the western slope are also great places to find sign of turkey, deer and
rabbit. Chickadees, robins, tufted titmice and juncos flit through the open canopy, and the
"check please" and warble of the scarlet tanager, the police whistle of the great crested
flycatcher and the "here me, see me, watch me" tease of the red -eyed vireo are three of the
MINERAL HILL AND THE ORCHID SWAMP 139
most common summertime songs.
On the eastern side of Mineral Hill, the forest changes again. Unlike the western slope, this
half is characterized by huge, fractured rocks and a small talus slope. The piled up rocks
create hundreds of nooks and cavities that are used as denning sites by porcupines, racoons,
red fox and coyotes. In addition, the aspect and moisture levels create conditions that
support a very different assemblage of plants. In the sunniest patches, one finds several
plants known from only one or two locations in Northampton: tick trefoil (Desmodium
paniculatum), mountain mint (Pycnanthemum incanum), a native hawthorn (Crataegus sp.)
and four - leaved milkweed (Asclepius quadrifolia). Nearby, in moister soil, grow four other
Northampton rarities which are known only from Mineral Hill: woodland agrimony
(Agrimonia striata) with its tiny yellow blossoms, herb robert (Geranium robertianum) with
its redolent foliage, waxy meadow rue (Thalictrum revolutum) with its bluish -gray stems,
and the lacy fronds of fragile fern (Cystopteris fragilis). In addition to these, the slope is also
covered with great masses of white snakeroot (Eupatorium rugosum), clusters of wild
sarsaparilla, panicled dogwood (Corpus racemosa), round - leaved dogwood (Cornus rugosa),
and in the rocky soils, marginal fern (Dryopteris marginalis) and polypody (Polypodium
virginianum).
Because of the rocks, the overstory is spotty. It consists of a mix of hardwoods, primarily
linden (Tilea americana), pignut hickory (Cornus ovata), sugar maple (Acer saccharum), red
oak and black birch (Betula lenta). Near the base of the slope, the moist, shaded soils
support striped maple (Acer pensylvanica) and a rich diversity of herbs, including horse balm
(Collinsonia canadensis), downy yellow violets (Viola pubescens), red trillium (Trillium
erectum), round -lobed hepatica (Hepatica americana), solomon's seal (Polygonatum
pubescens), false solomon's seal (Smilacina racemosa) and rattlesnake plantain (Goodyera
pubescens). At least six different ferns are also found near the toe of the slope: Christmas
fern (Polystichum acrostichoides), lady fern (Athyrium felix- femina), marginal fern,
maidenhair fern (Adiantum pedatum), New York fern (Thelypteris novaeboracensis) and an
occasional rattlesnake fern (Botrychium virginiana).
Moving downslope from the talus, the grade is gentle and few rocks are exposed. The
overstory species remain the same, but the understory species change. Now, witch hazel
(Hamamelis virginiana), maple - leaved viburnum (Viburnum acerifolium) and beaked
hazelnut are common. The herb layer is well developed, and includes, among the more
unusual plants two that lack chlorophyll: squawroot (Conopholis americana) and autumn
coralroot (Corallorhiza maculata). Squawroot, which grows in clusters of four to ten,
parasitizes beech and oak roots for its carbohydrate energy. The pine cone- shaped plants
MINERAL HILL AND THE ORCHID SWAMP 140
blossom in early spring, but their withered, reddish -brown stalks don't decompose until the
following spring. The other chlorophyll -free plant is autumn coralroot, an orchid, which
relies on fungal mycelium to obtain its energy and nutrients. Widely scattered in
Northampton, autumn coralroot is most often found in rich, moist woodlands, especially
along streams or near the base of boulders. Another plant known in Northampton from this
slope alone is ovate - leaved ragwort (Senecio obovatus). Unlike its more familiar relative
golden ragwort (S. aureus), this plant does not grow in wetlands but instead on well - drained,
wooded slopes.
On this eastern slope, not far from the base of the talus, is a small footpath, which connects to
a larger wood road to the north and a network of well -used trails to the south. Following
these southern trails, it's possible to reach the isolated swamp that first prompted my
explorations of this area. Several trails cross its outflow stream, which, although I missed it
on my initial outing, is perhaps the best way to find the wetland on a first visit.
Following the intermittent, rocky stream, one passes through shady hemlock stands and
mixed hardwoods. When the wetland is finally reached, the stream channel disappears and is
replaced by a wide, 5 +1- acre bottomland. The ground is seepy and covered with thick, soft
layers of saturated sphagnum moss and muck. Mini - upland islands support yellow birch
(Betula lutea), red maple, black ash (Fraxinus nigra), tupelo (Nyssa sylvatica), and lots of
hemlock. As you explore, you must duck and maneuver around clusters of winterberry (Ilex
verticillata), spicebush (Lindera benzoin), witherod (Viburnum lentago) and mountain laurel.
At least three orchids are found in this swamp. Early coralroot (Corallorhiza trifida), a
diminutive, yellowish -green orchid, blossoms in early May. One month later, purple fringed
orchid (Platanthera grandiflora) begins to bloom. Up to two feet in height and with a three -
inch flower spike composed of dozens of lavender blossoms, this unmistakable orchid is one
of New England's most beautiful wildflowers. The last of the three to bloom is the green
wood orchid (Platanthera clavellata). Also small and with greenish -white flowers, it grows
in sphagnum mats and is easily missed.
In early spring, this large swamp fills with rainwater and snowmelt. Underlain by the 350
million year old schists and gneisses that compose the surrounding hills, this depression is a
likely breeding spot for four -toed salamanders, currently listed as special concern in the state
and so far, unknown from Northampton. As only two excursions were made to this area, it is
very likely that repeated explorations will yield other species - both plant and animal - of
interest.
MINERAL HILL AND THE ORCHID SWAMP 141
Beyond the wetland, much of the land to the south, north and west has been recently logged,
adding even more forage for the area's deer population. From the look of the flagging, more
logging may soon occur east of the swamp.
The Mineral Hill area has high ecological value. The hill itself has a wide variety of habitats
and rare plants. The nearby swamp and surrounding forests are relatively undisturbed and
are contiguous with hundreds of acres of undeveloped land to the north. The protection of
this site should be a high priority.
SUMMIT SWAMPS AND THE SAWMILL HILLS 142
Map: Mineral Hill and the Orchid Swamp Trails Map
SUMMIT SWAMPS AND THE SAWMILL HILLS 141
Map: Major Communities at Mineral Hill and the Orchid Swamp
SUMMIT SWAMPS AND THE SAWMILL HILLS 144
A Preliminary Ecological Overview of
THE SUMMIT SWAMPS AND THE SAWMILL HILLS
Behind the National Guard Armory at the end of Colonel Lavalee Lane is a long, well -
maintained wood road that leads into Northampton's largest remaining tract of undeveloped
land. Known as the Sawmill Hills, these rocky woodlands earned their local name during the
19th century when they were extensively logged. Today, most of the land is forested and it's
easy to find sections that have not been cut for over a century.
The reason this land has been spared from development is that bedrock is always at or near
the surface, making road construction, septic design, well installation and house construction
difficult. The underlying bedrock in this part of New England formed more than four
hundred million years ago during a major mountain building episode when a volcanic island
arc in the Proto - Atlantic Ocean collided with the North American plate. Intense heat and
pressure deformed the volcanic rocks and ocean sediments into the schists and gneisses that
we see today. Another major mountain building collision occurred 100 million years later
when ancestral Europe /Africa collided with North America to form the supercontinent
Pangaea. The mountains created by these collisions rivaled the Himalayas, but today several
hundred million years of erosion has reduced what were once impressive peaks to gently
rolling hills. The Sawmill Hills are the eastern edge of that ancient but much - reduced
mountain chain we now call the Berkshires.
A small part of the wearing away of the Berkshires were the effects of four separate
continental glaciations that covered our part of the world during the last two million years.
In our area only the features of the latest (or Wisconsin) glaciation are well preserved, nearly
all of the others were obliterated by the final surge of ice.
When the last continental glacier retreated, the Sawmill Hills were covered with a thin layer
of glacial till, an unconsolidated, unsorted mix of boulders, cobbles, gravel, sand and clay.
As the climate warmed, these tills developed into well - drained, acidic soils. It's in these
rocky, shallow soils that oaks rule. There are red oaks (Quercus rubra), white oaks (Q. alba)
and, upon the rocky summits, black oaks (Q. velutina) and chestnut oaks (Q. Prinus).
Below the oaks grow several members of the blueberry family. There are broad patches of
huckleberry (Gaylussacia baccata), two kinds of low -bush blueberry (Vaccinium vacillans;
V. angustifolium), carpets of wintergreen (Gaultheria procumbens) and dense thickets of
SUMMIT SWAMPS AND THE SAWMILL HILLS 145
mountain laurel (Kalmia latifolia). Covering tens of acres, the mountain laurel tangles often
make walking a struggle. In fact, the combination of mountain laurel thickets,
few paths, and rocky topography makes this upland area a rather confusing place for the first
time visitor.
Although rocky uplands form a major portion of the Sawmill Hills, the area also contains
steep cliffs, gradually sloping hillsides, intermittent and permanent streams, large swamps, a
few recently logged patches, and several isolated wetland pockets. This diversity enhances
the value of the area as wildlife habitat. Coyotes and porcupines den in the rocky outcrops,
black bears forage on the wetland's skunk cabbage, deer hide in the mountain laurel thickets
and great horned owls hunt the extensive oak forests for flying squirrels.
Variability in the hydrology, aspect and slope of the area strongly influences the distribution
of plants. A walk downslope from the oak - dominated rocky uplands reveals a rather rapid
shift in forest composition. The black oaks and chestnut oaks drop out and are replaced by
scattered red oaks, white oaks and a mix of red maples (Acer rubrum), hickories (Carya spp.)
and tulip trees (Liriodendron tulipifera).
Some of the streams that drain the Sawmill Hills flow in broad, seepy valleys. Here, red
maple dominates the overstory and a lush combination of mosses, ferns, wildflowers and
shrubs carpet the damp understory. One of the more common shrubs found here is a member
of the avocado family called spicebush (Lindera benzoin). Its citrus- smelling leaves and
early flowering yellow blossoms make this plant easy to identify. Also found here are some
of Northampton's less commonly encountered plant species, among them cardinal flower
(Lobelia cardinalis), large purple fringed orchid (Platanthera grandiflora), and along one
stream, the easy to miss dwarf grapefern (Botrychium simplex).
Following these streams to their sources, one finds wetland areas that have formed in
impermeable bedrock depresssions. To date, six so- called "summit swamps" are known;
four are large forested swamps, two are vernal ponds. Further studies in this area will
probably turn up several more.
Of these wetlands, the largest is located just off the wood road that leads up from the
National Guard Armory. Approximately four acres in size, the swamp is a botanical treasure
trove. There are hummocks of sphagnum moss (Sphagnum spp.), banks of water willow
(Decodon verticillata), insectivorous sundews (Drosera spatula), two kinds of orchids
(Platanthera hyperborea; Corallorhiza trifida), and eight species of ferns, including the
largest of only two locations in Northampton of Virginia chain fern (Woodwardia virginica).
SUMMIT SWAMPS AND THE SAWMILL HILLS 146
On the swamp's slightly elevated islands grow dense thickets of high -bush blueberries
(Vaccinium corymbosum), common winterberry (Ilex verticillata) and its less common
relative, mountain holly (Nemopanthus mucronata). Forming the canopy are warty barked
black ashes
(Fraxinus nigra), large yellow birches (Betula lutea), dozens of red maples and
Northampton's largest tupelos (Nyssa sylvatica). Identified by its dramatic horizontal
branching and shiny, almond- shaped leaves, tupelo (also known as black gum or pepperidge)
is related to spicebush.
Throughout this large wetland are signs of deer, bear and coyote. Porcupines live in the
jumble of rocks in the nearby cliffs, and winter explorations will probably turn up signs of
fisher, weasel and maybe even bobcat.
To date, the Sawmill Hills area has yielded five species of snake (racer, red - bellied, milk,
ring - necked and hognose) and three types of salamanders (two - lined, red - backed, and blue
spotted /Jefferson's). Two of these - - the hognose snake and blue- spotted /Jefferson's
salamander - - are state - listed species of special concern.
Hognose snakes, short and stocky with dramatic brown and orange banding, are most often
found in sandy places (like the gravel pits east of the Sawmill Hills) where they feed
exclusively on toads. They are famous for their elaborate bluffing behaviors. When first
surprised, this snake, also called a puff adder, will inflate itself with air and pretend to strike.
A hognose snake will actually never bite, but will only bump the intruder with its blunt nose.
If this scare tactic doesn't work, it flips over, writhes on its back, vomits, defecates, opens it
mouth wide, lets its tongue hang out and then abruptly plays dead. If it feels safe, the snake
will slowly turn over and slither way, but if scared again it will resume its dead pose.
These dramatic performances have the desired effect on most would -be predators, but
unfortunately some people misidentify this harmless creature and kill it. Worse than this
misguided response is the large -scale destruction of the sandy habitat the hognose needs to
survive. Housing projects, shopping centers, airports and gravel pits have all contributed to
habitat loss and the species' rapid population decline.
The other state - listed species, the blue - spotted /Jefferson's salamander, offers no such drama
when discovered. These slow - moving, five to six inch salamanders are brownish -black with
enamel blue markings, making them unmistakable. Like many amphibians, these
salamanders rely on vernal ponds, like the large summit swamps, for breeding. Other
relatives that may also be found in the Sawmill Hills summit swamps are spotted
SUMMIT SWAMPS AND THE SAWMILL HILLS 147
salamanders, marbled salamanders, and possibly four -toed salamanders. These wetlands act
like catch basins, filling with winter runoff and spring rains. Although some of this water
drains out and the remainder eventually evaporates, there is usually enough water and time
for these salamanders to complete their aquatic larval stage.
Although no development projects are currently proposed for these wetland areas and the
surrounding woods, their protection should be on the Conservation Commission's list of
priorities. The wetlands are valuable for their plant diversity and the large tract of relatively
undisturbed forest provides habitat for many species of mammals and quality nesting ground
for warblers and other neo- tropical migrants. Black- throated blue warblers, rufous -sided
towhees and scarlet tanagers are among the most commonly heard summertime residents. In
addition, this wild landscape, a portion of which falls within the aquifer recharge area, is less
than a 15 minute drive from most of Northampton and has high recreation potential for
walking, running, hunting, nature study and cross - country skiing. A final reason to protect
this site is that the entire tract fits into a large wildlife corridor that runs from Mount Tom to
the Berkshires.
.•
Map: Sawmill Hills and the Summit Swamps
.•
Appendix 1. A preliminary checklist to the reptiles and amphibians of Northampton, MA.
Common Name
Amphibians
Latin Name
Status
Spotted salamander
Ambystoma maculata
P
Jefferson/Blue- spotted complex
Ambystoma laterale
SC
Marbled salamander
Ambystoma opacum
H;SC
Red - spotted newt
Notophthalmus viridescens
A
Redback salamander
Plethodon cinereus
A
Northern dusky salamander
Desmognathus fuscus
A
Two -lined salamander
Eurycea bislineata
A
Four -toed salamander
Hemidactylium scutatum
E;SC
American toad
Bufo americanus
A
Fowler's toad
Bufo americanus
P
Gray treefrog
Hyla versicolor
P
Spring peeper
Hyla crucifer
A
Bullfrog
Rana catesbiana
A
Green frog
Rana clamitans
A
Wood frog
Rana sylvatica
A
Leopard frog
Rana pipiens
SC
Pickerel frog
Rana palustris
A
Reptiles
Snapping turtle
Chelydra serpentina
A
Painted turtle
Chrysemys picta picta
A
Wood turtle
Clemmys insculpta
SC
Spotted turtle
Clemmys guttata
SC
Eastern box turtle
Terrapene carolina
E;SC
Eastern garter snake
Thamnophis sirtalis
A
Ribbon snake
Thamnophis sauritus
E
Northern water snake
Nerodia sipedon sipedon
A
Northern ringneck snake
Diadophis punctatus
P
Redbelly snake
Storeria occipitomaculata
P
Brown snake
Storeria dekayi dekay
P
Smooth green snake
Opheodrys vernalis
E
Black racer
Coluber constrictor
P
Eastern hognose snake
Heterodon platirhinos
P
Eastern milk snake
Lampropeltis triangulum
P
A= abundant; P= present; E= expected; H= historical; SC= state - listed special concern
species
150
Appendix 2. A checklist to the birds of Northampton, MA.
A= Accidental R= Resident (year - round)
B= Breeding (summer) U= Uncommon (rare)
C= Common V= Vagrant (wanders after breeding)
M= Migrant (spring /fall) W= Winter visitor (non- breeding)
O= Occasional visitor
********************************** * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * **
Loons, Grebes, Cormorants and Herons
Common Loon
M
Pied - billed Grebe
M
Horned Grebe
W
Double- crested Cormorant
V
American Bittern
U
Great Blue Heron
UB
Great Egret
V
Snowy Egret
V
Cattle Egret
V
Green - backed Heron
B
Black- crowned Night Heron
U
Glossy Ibis
A
Swans and Ducks
Mute Swan
R
Snow Goose
M
Canada Goose
B/R
Wood Duck
CB
Green - winged Teal
M
American Black Duck
B
Mallard
CB
Northern Pintail
M
Blue- winged Teal
M
Northern Shoveler
A
Gadwall
UM
American Widgeon
M
Ring- necked Duck
M
Oldsquaw
UW
Common Goldeneye
W
Barrow's Goldeneye
UW
Bufflehead
UW
Hooded Merganser
UB
Common Merganser
W
Red - breasted Merganser
W
Ruddy Duck
M
Birds of Northampton (cont.)
151
Vultures, Eagles and Hawks
Turkey Vulture
M
Osprey
M
Bald Eagle
UR /B
Northern Harrier
U
Sharp- shinned Hawk
UB /CM
Cooper's Hawk
UB /CM
Northern Goshawk
M /UW
Red - shouldered Hawk
UB /M
Broad - winged Hawk
B
Red - tailed Hawk
B /CR
Rough - legged Hawk
M/U W
American Kestrel
B
Merlin
M
Peregrine Falcon
UM
Gyrfalcon
U W
Pheasants, Grouse and Turkey
Ring- necked Pheasant UR
Ruffed Grouse CR
Wild Turkey CR
Rails
Virginia Rail B
Sora Rail B
Shorebirds
Black - bellied Plover
UM
Golden - bellied Plover
UM
Semipalmated Plover
M
Killdeer
CB
Greater Yellowlegs
M
Lesser Yellowlegs
M
Solitary Sandpiper
M
Spotted Sandpiper
B
Sanderling
M
Semipalmated Sandpiper
M
Least Sandpiper
M
Dunlin
UM
Common Snipe
M
American Woodcock
B
clutis
Laughing Gull O
Bonaparte's Gull O
Ring - billed Gull W
Birds of Northampton (cont.)
152
Herring Gull
W
Iceland Gull
UW
Glaucous Gull
UW
Great Black- backed Gull
W
Doves
Rock Dove CR
Mourning Dove CR
Cuckoos
Black- billed Cuckoo UB
Yellow- billed Cuckoo U
X19
Common Barn Owl
U
Eastern Screech Owl
R
Great Horned Owl
R
Snowy Owl
UW
Barred Owl
R
Long -eared Owl
UR
Short-eared Owl
UW
Northern Saw -whet Owl
UR
Goatsuckers
Common Nighthawk B
Whip - poor -will UB
Swifts and Hummingbirds
Chimney Swift CB
Ruby - throated Hummingbird B
Kingfishers and Woodpeckers
Belted Kingfisher
CR
Red - headed Woodpecker
O
Red- bellied Woodpecker
O
Yellow- bellied Sapsucker
B
Downy Woodpecker
CR
Hairy Woodpecker
CR
Northern Flicker
CR
Pileated Woodpecker
CR
Passeriformes
Eastern Wood Pewee
B
Yellow- bellied Flycatcher
M
Alder Flycatcher
UB
Willow Flycatcher
B
Least Flycatcher
B
Eastern Phoebe
CB
Birds of Northampton (cont.)
153
Horned Lark
W
Purple Martin
UM
Tree Swallow
CB
Northern Rough - winged Swallow
B
Bank Swallow
B
Cliff Swallow
U
Barn Swallow
CB
Blue Jay
CR
American Crow
CR
Fish Crow
OM
Common Raven
U
Black- capped Chickadee
CR
Tufted Titmouse
CR
Red - breasted Nuthatch
R
White- breasted Nuthatch
CR
Brown Creeper
R
Carolina Wren
V
House Wren
CB
Winter Wren
B
Marsh Wren
UB
Golden- crowned Kinglet
W/M
Ruby - crowned Kinglet
M
Blue -gray Gnatcatcher
UB
Eastern Bluebird
B
V eery
B
Gray - cheeked Thrush
UM
Swainson's Thrush M
Hermit Thrush
B
Wood Thrush
B
American Robin
CR
Wheatear
AM
Gray Catbird
CB
Northern Mockingbird
CR
Brown Thrasher
B
Water Pipit
M
Cedar Waxwing
R
Northern Shrike
UW
European Starling
CR
Solitary Vireo
B
Yellow- throated Vireo
B
Warbling Vireo
B
Philadelphia Vireo
M
Red -.eyed Vireo
B
Blue- winged Warbler
B
Golden- winged Warbler
U
Tennessee Warbler
M
Orange- crowned Warbler
UM
Nashville Warbler
UB
Birds of Northampton (cont.)
154
Northern Parula
M
Yellow Warbler
CB
Chestnut -sided Warbler
B
Magnolia Warbler
M
Cape May Warbler
M
Black- throated Blue
B
Yellow - rumped Warbler
B
Black- throated Green Warbler
B
Blackburnian Warbler
B
Pine Warber
B
Prairie Warbler
B
Palm Warbler
M
Bay - breasted Warbler
M
Blackpoll Warbler
M
Black- and -White Warbler
B
American Redstart
B
Ovenbird
CB
Northern Waterthrush
B
Louisiana Waterthrush
B
Connecticut Warbler
UM
Mourning Warbler
M
Common Yellowthroat
CB
Wilson's Warbler
M
Canada Warbler
B
Scarlet Tanager
B
Northern Cardinal
CR
Rose - breasted Grosbeak
B
Blue Grosbeak
A
Indigo Bunting
B
Dickcissel
U
Rufous -sided Towhee
B
American Tree Sparrow
W
Chipping Sparrow
B
Field Sparrow
B
Vesper Sparrow
M
Lark Sparrow
A
Savannah Sparrow
B
Grashopper Sparrow
UB
Sharp - tailed Sparrow
A
Fox Sparrow
M
Song Sparrow
CR
Lincoln's Sparrow
M
Swamp Sparrow
B
White- throated Sparrow
W
White- crowned Sparrow
M
Dark -eyed Junco
R
Lapland Longspur
W
Snow Bunting
W
Birds of Northampton (cont.)
155
Bobolink
B
Red - winged Blackbird
CB
Eastern Meadowlark
B
Rusty Blackbird
M
Common Grackle
CB
Brown- headed Cowbird
CB
Orchard Oriole
U
Northern Oriole
B
Pine Grosbeak
UW
Purple Finch
W
House Finch
R
Red Crossbill
UW
White - winged Crossbill
UW
Common Redpoll
UW
Pine Siskin
W
American Goldfinch
CR
Evening Grosbeak
UW
House Sparrow
CR
156
Appendix 3. A checklist to the mammals of Northampton, MA.
(* = expected; + = accidental)
Order- Marsupalia
Virginia opossum
Didelphis virginiana
Order- insectivora
Short- tailed shrew
Blarina brevicauda
Masked shrew
Sorex cinereus
Smoky shrew
Sorex fumeus
Northern water shrew
Sorex palustris
Hairy- tailed mole
Parascalops brewerii
Star -nosed mole
Condylura cristata
Order- Chiro tp .era
Little brown bat Myotis lucifugus
Keen's myotis Myotis keenii septentrionalis
Silver - haired bat Lasionycteris noctivagans
Big brown bat Eptesicus fuscus
Order: I ,agememha
Eastern cottontail Sylvilagus floridanus
New England cottontail Sylvilagus transitionalis
Snowshoe hare Lepus americanus *
Order: Rodentia
Eastern chipmunk Tamias striatus
Woodchuck Marmota monax
Gray squirrel Sciurus carolinensis pennsylvanicus
Red squirrel Tamiasciurus hudsonicus
Southern flying squirrel Glaucomys volans
Northern flying squirrel Glaucomys sabrinus macrotis
Beaver Castor canadensis
White- footed mouse Peromyscus leucopus
Meadow jumping mouse Zapus hudsonius
Woodland jumping mouse Nopeaeozapus insignis
Red - backed vole Clethrionomys gapperi
Mammals of Northampton (cont.)
157
Meadow vole Microtus pennsylvanicus
Pine vole Microtus pinetorum scalopsoides
Muskrat Ondatra zibethicus
Porcupine Erethizon dorsatum dorsatum
Norway rat Rattus norvegicus
House mouse Mus musculus
Order: Camivora
Coyote Canis latrans
Red fox Vulpes vulpes
Gray fox Urocyon cinereoargenteus
Black bear Ursus americanus
Raccoon Procyon lotor
Fisher Martes pennanti pennanti +
Ermine Mustela erminea cicognannii
Long - tailed weasel Mustela frenata
Mink Mustela vison
Striped skunk Mephitis mephitis nigra
Otter Lutra canadensis
Bobcat Lynx rufus
Order: Artiedactyla
White - tailed deer Odiocoileus virginianus
Moose Alces alces +
NOTE: Each species reported here is known or expected to occur in Northampton given its
observed distribution and abundance in the Connecticut Valley. Voucher specimens from
Northampton, however, do not exist for each species listed here. This list was reviewed by
Dr. David Klininger at the University of Massachusetts - Amherst.
159
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Little, R.O. 1986. Dinosaurs, Dunes and Drifting Continents. The Geohistory of the
Connecticut Valley. 2nd ed. Greenfield, MA: Valley Geology Publications. 107 pp.
Robinson, P. and J.B. Brady, eds. 1992. Guidebook for Field Trips in the Connecticut
Valley Region of Massachusetts and Adjacent States. Vols. 1 and 2. Amherst, MA:
University of Massachusetts Geology Department.
Swenson, E.I. 1981. Soil Survey of Hampshire County, MA. Central Part. Amerhst, MA:
USDA Soil Conservation Service in cooperation with the Massachusetts
Agricultural Experiment Station. 172 pp.
Zen, E -an, ed. 1983. Bedrock geologic map of Massachusetts.
159
L Although sometimes incorrectly called a swamp, the area is a true marsh. Swamps are wetlands
with tall trees. Marshes, however, are characterized by shallow, open water with hummocks of
sedges and other waist -high vegetation.
2.. Spring Grove Cemetery is the only Northampton site for wild lupine (Lupinus perennis),
currently "watch listed" in Massachusetts. Years ago, when the Cemetery was burned annually, wild
lupine was much more widespread. Given this observation, the DPW should consider a controlled
spring burn as part of its maintenance plan. The cemetery also contains the City's only known
population of blunt leaved milkweed (Asclepias amplexifolius).
3.. Six additional green dragon sites are known in Northampton, but only one other is protected. At
present, Northampton has more green dragon sites and larger populations than anywhere in the state.
4.. This area and the surrounding cattail marsh would be a good place to install several wood duck
nesting boxes.