Broad Brook Greenway and FLCA 1
The Natural History of the Broad Brook Greenway
and Fitzgerald Lake
Prepared by Laurie L. Sanders, M.S.
February 2015
1
Table of Contents
Page
Overview of Broad Brook Greenway and Fitzgerald Lake 1
Bedrock Geology 6
Glacial Lake Hitchcock 8
Surficial Geology 9
Ecological Value 10
Vernal Pool and Rare Species Habitat 12
Special Habitats within FLCA & Broad Brook Greenway 13
Wildlife Value 14
UMASS CAPS 19
Recreation Value 20
Water Quality & Groundwater Recharge 21
Appendix 22
Section 1: Fitzgerald Lake 23
Pines Edge Conservation Area 24
Elizabeth Rock Conservation Area 26
Forest Legacy Lands 29
Marian Street Conservation Area 32
Broad Brook Gap (formerly Kubosiak) 35
408 Bridge Road 43
Section 2: Broad Brook Greenway 47
Burke Conservation Area 48
Sullivan Conservation Area (2 parcels) 53
Girl Scout Conservation Area 59
Tables
Table 1: Recommendations 3
Table 2: Natural Communities 10
Funding for this document was provided through the Community Preservation Act.
2
Acknowledgements:
This report would not have been possible without the support of Northampton’s Conservation Commis-
sion, Wayne Feiden, and Sarah LaValley. Special thanks to: Andy Keuther for assistance with maps, in
particular the configuration of Lake Hitchcock, Fred Morrison for editing and knowledge of the area,
Barbara Pelissier for historical research, Norma Sims Roche for BBC history, Leah Sanders for editing
assistance, James Thompson for GIS support, Bill Williams for his fun image of water chestnut removal,
and to Bob Zimmerman, for traipsing in the field, map assistance and his tremendous knowledge of
BBC’s history and activities.
Other Sources
Baseline reports prepared by Charley Eiseman for the Kestrel Trust and an early master plan prepared by
the Conway School of Landscape Design for the Girl Scouts were helpful. In addition, many other re-
cords available in Northampton’s public file cabinet were reviewed as part of the preparation of this re-
port.
About the Author:
Laurie Sanders, M.S. is a field biologist, radio journalist and natural history tour leader. She has lived in
the Connecticut River Valley for nearly thirty years. A graduate of UVM’s Field Naturalist Program and
Smith College, she prepared Rediscovering Northampton in 1993. At the time, it was the first compre-
hensive ecological assessment of the city’s conservation lands, which included only 13 parcels that col-
lectively totaled about 800 acres.
Photographs
Unless otherwise noted, all photographs by Laurie Sanders.
1
The Natural History of the Broad Brook Greenway
and
Fitzgerald Lake
Overview
With more than 900 acres, the Broad Brook/Fitzgerald Lake Greenway is the largest conservation area
in Northampton, and, thanks to a long-standing partnership between the City’s Conservation Commis-
sion and the Broad Brook Coalition (BBC), it is the best managed. Since 1990, the two groups have
jointly managed this expanding area, with most of the funding for large capital expenses provided by the
The protected properties in the Broad Brook Greenway and Fitzgerald Lake Conservation Area that are owned in fee are out-
lined in yellow, while those held under private conservation restriction are outlined in bright red.. Other nearby municipally-
owned land (Smith Vocational, JFK Middle School’s forested land, and Spring Grove Cemetery) are outlined in bright blue.
When all of the permanently protected land in this area is combined, it totals more than 900 acres.
2
City (through grants, CPA funds, and
budget allocations) and the bulk of the
labor provided—free of charge—by
BBC volunteers. During that time, an
impressive number of tasks have been
completed—from repairing the dam and
restoring Cooke’s pasture to trail main-
tenance and invasive species control.
For the last ten years, the decisions
about what projects to tackle next within
the Fitzgerald Lake Conservation Area
(FLCA) have been guided by a manage-
ment plan that was written not by an
outside consultant, but by BBC’s Board.
Although initially prepared for just 2005
-2010, the original management plan
was so well done that it continues to be
the primary document guiding the prop-
erty’s future management and steward-
ship activities. More recently, the high-
lights of the plan have been incorporated
into the City’s latest Open Space & Rec-
reation Plan for FLCA.
One consequence of such a great plan
and such committed volunteers is that, in
spite of the large size of this conserva-
tion area, I have relatively few recom-
mendations to add. My suggestions
(Table 1) pertain either to new and
neighboring properties or in a few cases,
simply reiterate and reinforce some of
the action items that have been previ-
This aerial photo from the 1950s shows a portion of what is now the
Fitzgerald Lake Conservation Area before the dam and pond were built.
The pond now covers what were cleared fields and pasture near the cen-
ter of this image. Due west is Spring Grove Cemetery and southeast of
the future lake is Harold K. Fitzgerald’s Cloverdale subdivision, a por-
tion of which is being cleared for new homes along Rick Drive. Fitzger-
ald had the pond built in 1965. The places in this photo that were open
fields then and are now forested are also the areas where invasive plants,
especially multiflora rose and Asiatic bittersweet, have taken off.
BBC volunteers remove water chestnut in 2007 from Fitzgerald Lake.
Photo courtesy Bill Williams.
3
ously identified, but either remain undone (e.g. inventory of the plants and animals) or are on-going (e.g.
control of invasive plants). And of all of my recommendations, invasive plant control remains the most
nettlesome, requiring constant monitoring and attention.
The good news is that the situation within this large greenway is much better than in most of the City’s
conservation areas. It turns out that this quiet corner of the City is mostly free of invasive plant species.
What’s more, where invasive plants do occur, they are often in relatively low numbers and they are
found fairly consistently in three main areas: (1) along trails and roadside edges, (2) within sections of
Table 1: Recommendations for Broad Brook/Fitzgerald Lake Greenway
Continue to follow the recommendations of the Management Plan (2005-2010), including invasive species control, espe-
cially in more unusual habitats (e.g. wetland areas).
Work with Smith Vocational to:
(a) protect their land,
(b) provide access to the “Girl Scout” trails,
(c) develop a forest management plan that protects the old trees in the Broad Brook Valley, and
(d) inventory the old trees on the Smith Vocational land and adjacent “Girl Scout” conservation area.
Notify and work with the VA to:
(a) correct a drainage problem that is causing erosion and damaging the Sullivan property and wetlands near Broad
Brook,
(b) provide access and parking to trails behind the VA, and
(c) address invasive species issues on their property.
Work with the City DPW to
(a) control the spread of Japanese knotweed near the Burke Conservation Area, and
(b) address other invasive plant problems within the grasslands in the cemetery (i.e. knapweed, swallowwort) and
manage this special habitat, which supports at least three state-listed and/or uncommon plants and animals (bees,
butterflies), and
(c) restore one of the natural springs below Spring Grove cemetery, which was filled in to control an erosion
problem in the early 1990s.
Work with the Lathrop Community to address invasive species problems along Pine Brook (barberry, Japanese knotweed,
etc.)
Work with abutting private landowners to control invasive species.
Try to secure public access from the Cloverdale Subdivision.
Inventory all of the plants and animals within the Broad Brook/Fitzgerald Lake Conservation Area.
Re-construct the boardwalk and canoe launch.
Continue land acquisition efforts, in particular in the Horse Mountain Area, and in collaboration with Williamsburg and
Hatfield.
Gain permission from abutting landowners to access existing trails in the conservation areas in the upper Broad Brook
drainage (i.e. Girl Scout property, Beaver Brook/Broad Brook, Sullivan, Burke).
4
During the last two decades the City and BBC have worked collaboratively and protected nearly 600 acres of additional land within the core of the FLCA. Through private contributions, BBC has helped to raise more than $160,000 toward these efforts. This map shows only properties pro-tected in fee as of 2013. It does not show private conservation restrictions or municipal land owned by other departments.
5
past disturbance (i.e. pastures, old wood roads), and (3) along the margins as well as within wetlands.
These generalized locations are already well-known to BBC, which has been working on the control of
invasive plants since the mid-1990s. During that time, they have worked on knocking back spotted and
black knapweed, Phragmites, multiflora rose, glossy buckthorn, autumn olive, Asiatic bittersweet, Japa-
nese knotweed, Morrow’s honeysuckle, swallowwort, lesser celandine, garlic mustard and since its dis-
covery in 2005, water chestnut. In some cases, the group has hired professional licensed applicators to
spot-control the most problematic and worrisome species (Phragmites, knapweed, glossy buckthorn, and
Japanese knotweed), but in others they have relied on volunteer labor (e.g. water chestnut, swallowwort,
lesser celandine, etc.). As part of a comprehensive effort, BBC volunteers created a preliminary base
map of invasive species locations in 2006, and in 2012 the stewardship committee invited botanist Matt
Hinckler to survey the lake and he confirmed that water chestnut was the only invasive aquatic species
in the pond. So far, it is free of Eurasian milfoil and other unwanted plant pests.
That said, in spite of these efforts, the Fitzgerald Lake Conservation Area has some potentially serious
invasive species problems. Young stems of Asiatic bittersweet are common (especially near the wildlife
blind) and winged euonymus is spreading along the main entrance trail. Glossy buckthorn has taken off
during the last two decades and is now commonly encountered bordering the pond and marshes below
Cooke’s Pasture.
In addition, all of the conservation properties within the Broad Brook drainage have invasive plants —
some extensive—and several abutting private properties have sizeable and/or worrisome invasions of
non-native plants, a few of which threaten the conservation area’s more sensitive habitats. For instance,
two of the Greenway’s more unusual wetlands (Burke,
Sullivan & Kubosiak) are at risk from the spread of Japa-
nese knotweed from nearby yard waste/stump dumps. In
addition, the former pasture areas behind Rick Drive are
loaded with multiflora rose, Asiatic bittersweet, and au-
tumn olive, and the western portion of the Boggy Meadow
Road wetland (now a beaver pond) includes impressive
patches of multiflora rose. The forest/former pasture adja-
cent to this wetland also includes lots of multiflora rose
below a stand of large catalpa.
# # # Wood anemone (Anemone quinquefolia) is a
common spring wildflower in the FLCA.
6
Bedrock Geology
The Broad Brook Greenway and Fitzgerald Lake Conservation Area are underlain by two different kinds
of bedrock. Moving from west to east, the bedrock below the Broad Brook Greenway is a band of an-
cient metamorphic rock (teal), which formed when an island arc crushed against the margin of a proto-
North American continent some 460 million years ago. It is composed of schist, gneiss and quartzite.
In contrast, most of the Fitzgerald Lake Conservation Area is underlain by a slightly younger (420-360
million year old) igneous rock (green). Known as monzodiorite, it is coarse-grained and composed of a
combination of feldspars, biotite, hornblende and a small amount of quartz. It formed as a pluton, a giant
mass of magma which intruded the metamorphic rock and then slowly cooled and crystallized below the
earth’s surface. The pluton was, in turn, intruded by even later intrusions of magma (red), which are
classified as granodiorite and have a slightly different composition than the lighter-colored monzodio-
rite. All of these rocks were once deeply buried below the earth’s surface and have been exposed after
400+ million years of erosion and weathering.
To the east are much younger (~200 mya) sedimentary rocks known as sandstones (gray), which formed
when the giant supercontinent of Pangaea split apart and caused the incipient rift valley that created the
Connecticut River Valley.
7
Early settlers took advantage of the bedrock resources within the city’s northeast corner and frequently
quarried small amounts of stone for building. The most prominent knobs earned local place names and
by the time this 1831 map was made the biggest were known as Millstone Mountain, Fortification Hill,
Stony Hills and Hadley Hills. Many other smaller bedrock outcrops were also quarried during the 18th
and 19th century and evidence can still be found by poking around many of these sites. On this map, the
Hadley Hills were so named because of the great views that they provided to the east over the Connecti-
cut River and to the meadows
in Hadley. By the 1920s, one
prominent knob, known as
Elizabeth Rock, had become a
popular picnicking spot. It
was located above the city’s
largest rock quarry, which is
where the River Valley Mar-
ket is now located. The City
operated the quarry during the
late 1800s and early 1900s,
until selling the land in the
late 1920s. By then that sec-
tion of the City had become
known as Rockland and the
plan was that it would become
a fancy development, not
unlike the homes in Holyoke’s
highlands. Workers at the North King Street Quarry in the 1890s.
Courtesy Images of America, Northampton, by James Parsons. P. 66.
8
Glacial Lake Hitchcock
During the era of Glacial Lake Hitchcock (15,400-12,600 YBP), most of the land in the Fitzgerald Lake
Conservation Area was covered by water. At its maximum height (aquamarine color), the lake’s shore-
line skirted the edge of what’s now North Farms Road and the base of Bear Hill and Horse Mountain. At
that time, the highest hills in and near the Conservation Area were small islands (grayish/white).
After a glacial-debris dam at Rocky Hill, CT let go, the lake dropped to a lower level (darker blue). At
that point, the lake bottom sediments—fine silts, sands and clays—began eroding off the newly exposed
land into the long, narrow inlet that now makes up the extensive cattail marshes and beaver ponds along
Broad Brook.
After Glacial Lake Hitchcock completely disappeared, erosion continued and most of the thin veneer of
silts and sands in the uplands eroded away, adding even more fines to what are now low-lying wetlands.
This explains why FLCA’s wetlands are more fertile and almost circumneutral. It also accounts for the
pockets of sugar maple and patches with yellow violet, miterwort, trout lily, bloodroot and other species
that only occur in fertile soils.
Had Glacial Lake Hitchcock with its accompanying fine sediments not covered this area, the flora within
the FLCA would be much less diverse and much more similar to that found in the Sawmill Hills.
Fitzgerald
Lake
9
Surficial Geology
In addition to understanding some-
thing about the underlying bedrock
geology and the historic location of
the lake, it also helps to be familiar
with the surficial geology. This im-
age shows how the sediments left
behind by the glacier and glacial lake
have changed after 10,000 years,
For instance, most of this landscape
is now covered with till (light green)
or has bedrock close to or at the sur-
face (red hatching). The fine silts and
clays that were deposited during the
time of Glacial Lake Hitchcock (light
blue) have mostly eroded away, re-
vealing till or bedrock. The remain-
ing areas that still have some of the
Glacial Lake fine sediments are now
either farmland (near and including
the Zimmerman conservation restric-
tion along North Farms Road) or part
of the series of beaver ponds and
marshes below the Fitzgerald Lake
Dam. In addition, some of these have
been covered by more recent muck
and organic debris (pink). The other important component are those areas represented in orange, which
includes water-sorted sediments deposited in the early post-glacial period. Within the Fitzgerald Lake
area, these include remnants of the lake’s sandy beach and deltaic deposits from a glacially-charged Mill
River. JFK Middle School and Spring Grove Cemetery are both located on the edge of the Mill River’s
glacial delta, and the Burke and Sullivan Conservation Areas are geographically positioned at the inter-
section of till deposits, glacial lake silts and the same sandy delta. As groundwater percolates down
through the delta sands, it intercepts the impermeable clay layer and gushes up as springs—hence the
name, “Spring Grove”
cemetery One of the lar-
ger springs was covered
with riprap in the 1990s,
but could be restored.
Meanwhile, the ground-
water-fed wetland that
lies within the Burke and
Sullivan Conservation
Areas is very unusual and
includes several plants
that occur nowhere else
in Northampton, includ-
ing larch and alder-
leaved buckthorn.
(A) Most of the conservation area is covered with thin till and bedrock outcrops and supports
a forest dominated by oaks and red maple. (B) Along North Farms Road a remnant beach
deposit from Glacial Lake Hitchcock is now covered with little bluestem and other species
tolerant of droughty, nutrient poor sands. This site, which is just outside of the conservation
area, is an important nesting site for turtles.
A B
10
Ecological Value
In addition to the artificial lake, the variations in geology, topography, hydrology and land use history
within the Broad Brook/Fitzgerald Lake Greenway have led to a remarkable diversity of natural commu-
nities (Table 2). These areas, in turn, provide habitat for thousands of plants and animal species—some
of which are exceedingly rare.
What follows are some images of a subset of
these different habitat types.
Table 2: Natural Communities in and around the
Broad Brook/Fitzgerald Lake Greenway*
1. Acidic Rocky Summit/Rock Outcrop
2. Acidic Rocky Cliff
3. Sandplain Grassland (Spring Grove & Horse Mountain)
4. Acidic Talus Forest/Woodland
5. White Pine-Oak Forest
6. Oak-Hemlock-White Pine
7. Successional White Pine Forest
8. Hemlock Ravine
9. Mixed Oak Forest
10. Ridgetop Chestnut Oak Forest
11. Oak Hickory
12. Northern Hardwoods-Hemlock-White Pine
13. Hemlock Hardwood Swamp
14. Red Maple Swamp
15. Black Gum –Pin Oak-Swamp White Oak Perched
Swamp
16. Black Ash-Red Maple-Tamarack Calcareous Seepage
17. Deep Emergent Marsh
18. Shallow Emergent Marsh
19. Wet Meadow
20. Shrub Swamp
21. Woodland Vernal Pool
* Follows MA NHESP Classification of Natural Communities
(Kearsley and Swain, 2005)
Acidic talus forest/woodland
Hemlock ravine
Oak Hemlock White Pine Forest Successional white pine
11
Sandplain/Cultural Grassland (Spring Grove Cemetery) Northern Hardwoods White Pine.
Black Gum-Pin Oak-Swamp White Oak Perched Swamp Black Ash-Red Maple-Ironwood Circumneutral Swamp
Forested Vernal Pool Deep Marsh
12
Vernal Pool Habitat
Twelve of Northampton’s certi-
fied vernal pools are found
within or near the Broad Brook
Greenway Fitzgerald Lake Con-
servation Area and eleven oth-
ers have been mapped by MA
NHESP as potential vernal
pools. In addition to these, at
least two others (that do not
appear on any maps and are
functioning as vernal pools)
occur in the area—two in the
408 Bridge Road property and
another within the Pines Edge
Conservation Area. All of the
certified pools occur in either
shallow, bedrock depressions or
are located in small kettleholes.
At Fitzgerald Lake, most of the pools support wood frogs and spotted salamanders, but at least one pool
just beyond the current conservation area supports marbled salamanders.
In addition, the pool (right) which lies just off the trail is the only known breeding site for the largest
dragonfly in Massachusetts, the Hero Darner (Epiaeshna heros), a magnificent insect that measures
nearly four inches in length. It is also one of two ponds used regularly for natural history programs on
vernal pools.
Rare Species Habitat
In addition to vernal pools, this
area also contains habitat for
rare species (yellow outline
with hatching). At least one en-
dangered plant species (Bush’s
sedge, Carex bushii) is found
within this area, and several
state-listed animals, including a
federally endangered freshwater
mussel. As the GIS map re-
veals, much of FLCA also falls
within BioMap Core Habitat for
Species of Special Concern
(dark green), Core Wetlands
Habitat (dark blue), and Critical
Natural Landscape Upland
Buffer of Wetland Core (hatched green). These ecologically valuable areas occur on both city-owned
conservation land and nearby private property.
13
*
*
Certified Vernal Pool
Mapped Potential Vernal
Previously unmapped
Potential Vernal Pool
Special Habitats Within & Near the Broad Brook Greenway & FLCA
Because of differences in topography, surficial geology, hydrology and land use history, there are sev-
eral locations within this large area that are interesting from a biodiversity perspective and worthy of
further investigation. These include vernal pools, marshes, richer wetlands, wet meadows, cultural grass-
lands (old beaches & deltas), rocky talus slopes and richer pockets in the uplands. Within the conserva-
tion lands, most of the areas that are not highlighted are either rocky, oak-dominated uplands or wetter
areas dominated by hemlock-hardwoods.
Sandplain/grassland on beach or delta deposits
Wet meadow (cultural—Cooke’s Pasture, Kubosiak)
Cattail marsh/Beaver pond
Peat deposit dominated by highbush blueberry &false loosestrife
Rocky forested talus
Richer slopes influenced by Glacial Lake Hitchcock clay/silt deposits
Hemlock ravine with a high number of old trees
Circumneutral wetlands
14
Wildlife Value
With nearly 2 ½ square miles of undeveloped land in and around Fitzgerald Lake and another square
mile in the Broad Brook/Beaver Brook drainage, the northeast corner of Northampton remains one of
the least fragmented. Its proximity to the Connecticut River and continuity with additional forested land
to the north makes it excellent habitat for animals that depend on large, uninterrupted tracts of forest.
Furthermore, because of its mix of wetland and upland habitats, thousands of different animal species
depend on this area, either transitionally or permanently.
Black bears and barred
owls are two species that
benefit from the large
block of uninterrupted
habitat that this area pro-
vides.
15
Fitzgerald Lake, looking west from the dam, is one of the largest bodies of water in Northampton. The vast marshes below the
dam and along Broad Brook look like a scene from a remote, wild place and not the scene you’d expect just 15 minutes from
downtown Northampton. During the last 20 years, glossy buckthorn, Morrow’s honeysuckle and other non -native shrubs have
become more common in these marshes and along the edges.
King’s Brook (above) is one of the main tributaries of Broad
Brook and located in the more remote northern portion of the
FLCA.
Wet pockets like the one below occur in many places in the
FLCA. They often have occasional multiflora rose or Japanese
barberry bushes.
Intermittent streams like this one near the North Farms Road
entrance are important tributaries to Fitzgerald Lake and
Broad Brook and provide habitat and corridors for wildlife.
16
Dry oak woods, underlain with till, cover most of the upland areas within the FLCA. These areas are free of invasive plants.
17
The telephone line, seen in this aerial image that pre-dates the crea-
tion of Fitzgerald Lake, once formed a prominent north-south clear-
ing through the conservation area. Today, this long-abandoned route
has grown in and although some of it still is used as a trail, other
sections are now so forested that old line is hard to recognize, espe-
cially in the northern portion of the conservation area that was logged
before its acquisition.
A section of young forest that is growing up after a logging job
that occurred prior to this land’s purchase. A section of old barbed wire reveals the old pasture history of
this land near North Farms Road.
This hemlock forest is located near the main entrance on
North Farms Road. Unless a pathogen for hemlock woolly
adelgid is discovered, all of the trees in this grove will decline
and die within the next few decades. When their shady can-
opy is gone, this area will be more vulnerable to invasion by
Asiatic bittersweet and other non-native plants. Warming
temperatures through climate change are also expected to
further the spread of invasive species.
18
Prior to the arrival of the chestnut blight, American hemlock
was a much more important component of the forests within
the FLCA and in the upland portions of the Broad Brook
Greenway.
Swamp milkweed grows along the shoreline of Fitzgerald
Lake and is a favorite nectaring plant of the Dion skipper, a
small butterfly known from only three locations in the state,
one of which is Fitzgerald Lake.
The silts and clays left by glacial lake Hitchcock have made
some of the soils in the FLCA sweeter. This added fertility
increases the area’s overall botanical richness and creates
conditions that allow for maidenhair fern (above) and this
whopper, multi-stemmed hackberry to grow (right). This is
the second largest hackberry in Northampton; it grows on
land protected by Bob Zimmerman, who is in the image.
19
UMASS Conservation Assessment Prioritization System (CAPS)
During the last decade, researchers at UMASS have developed computer software (CAPS) that analyzes the land-
scape and prioritizes land based on its ecological integrity and long term sustainability. Based on this analysis, the
Broad Brook/Fitzgerald Lake Greenway is one of a few areas in Northampton that rank high in terms of its ability
to sustain ecosystem processes and maintain biodiversity over the long-term. CAPS is another way of measuring
the land’s “value” and it provides a strategy for acquiring property.
In this image, the colored areas are better than average, with blue representing aquatic habitats, red for shrub and
grassland, and green shading for forest. The darker the color, the higher the conservation/biodiversity value. White
areas are below average based on CAPS.
CAPS is another tool to narrow and refine priorities for acquisition, in this case based on biodiversity
value and long-term sustainability, which helps safeguard ecosystem processes and special and common
habitats.
20
Recreation Value
Fitzgerald Lake Conservation Area
The 800+ acres within the FLCA includes
a ten-mile network of well-maintained
trails and (of course!) the lake itself.
All of the trails are excellent for walking,
many are good for cross- country skiing
and several of the wood roads are suitable
for mountain biking. The trails lead past
multiple habitats (vernal pools, rich wet-
lands, cattail marshes, rocky woodlands,
etc) and are easily accessed from Coles
Meadow Road, the end of Cooke Avenue
or by parking at the lot on North Farms
Road.
Canoes and kayaks can be launched from
the dock off the trail on North Farms Road.
Aside from general nature study, the lake
(technically a pond) is also a popular place
to skate in winter and fishing takes place
year-round.
Broad Brook Greenway
Although a number of trails exist within
the Broad Brook Greenway, the challenge
is getting to them or knowing how to find
them. At the moment, none are accessible
without crossing one (or more) abutting
properties and none are marked.
There is, for instance, a nice loop trail that
leads past the Sullivan and Burke Conser-
vation Areas. It begins behind JFK Middle
School, crosses a wooded portion of the
VA property, and loops along the margin
of the Sullivan and Burke conservation
areas before bending back to the school
property.
Further upstream, there are several trails
on the former Girl Scout property. Un-
fortunately, since the Girl Scout’s headquarters on Route 9 were sold, there is no public access. One way
to reach them, however, is to follow a snowmobile trail from Williamsburg that passes through the Bea-
ver Brook/Broad Conservation Area to the north. This main trail eventually crosses land owned by
Smith Vocational (see photo) and ends behind some of the VA buildings. The longest trail on the former
Girl Scout property leads to a ravine along Broad Brook, which boasts an impressive stand of hemlock
and many other old trees.
The former Girl Scout property, with trails marked in white. The field in
the southern section of this image is owned by Smith Vocational and
borders the VA.
21
Water Quality & Groundwater Recharge
The final reach of Broad Brook is part of a DEP-delineated Zone II (pink hatching),. A Zone II protects
and helps to recharge a public drinking water supply. In this case, it is part of the aquifer for Hatfield’s
nearby public wells.
Aside from their habitat value, vernal pools like this one within the FLCA also help contribute to
groundwater recharge.
22
Appendix
This appendix includes updates of selected parcels, some of which were described in the 1993 version of
Rediscovering Northampton, others that have subsequently been inventoried and a few entirely new con-
servation holdings that were investigated in more detail during 2014.
Properties within the FLCA (outlined in yellow) are described in Section 1, while parcels in the upper
Broad Brook drainage (outlined in green) are described in Section 2.
Parcels outlined in red are under private conservation restriction and are not described, but are shown
here for context.
23
Large bedrock outcrops are common within this conservation area, especially within the
FLCA portion. This one is near the intersection of King’s Brook and Broad Brook. The dog
is included for scale.
Section 1: Fitzgerald Lake Conservation Area
Featuring more detailed profiles of:
Pines Edge
Elizabeth Rock
Forest Legacy Lands
Marian Street
Kubosiak
408 Bridge Road
24
Pines Edge (15 Acres)
Donated as part of a cluster subdivision in
1989, the 15-acres that wrap around Pines
Edge Condominium Complex have changed
very little since they were first surveyed in
1993. In the intervening years, only three
invasive plant species --privet, Asiatic bitter-
sweet, Morrow’s honeysuckle—have be-
come established and they were in such low
numbers that I removed all of them by hand-
pulling. That said, it will be important to
monitor this area, not only for more of those
three species, but also because there is more
bittersweet growing along the forest edge
near the Moose Lodge and there are patches
of garlic mustard along the edge of the con-
dominium clearing.
The most significant “change” at Pines Edge is that this once iso-
lated conservation area is now contiguous with nearly 800 acres of
protected land. In 2009, the 12-acres of upland woods to the north
and east around the former city quarry/now River Valley Market
site were protected and in 2012, 36 acres to the north were pur-
chased using Forest Legacy funds.
Although hundreds of people now regularly
pass the Pines Edge Conservation Area, either
walking along Boggy Meadow Road (above)
or on Middle Trail, few of them ever venture
into this conservation area. That’s not really so
surprising as there are no footpaths leading
through it, and most of the upland forest is
similar to the oak-pine mix found throughout
most of the FLCA.
To explore the Pines Edge Conservation Area, you can park near the
Moose Lodge at the end of Cooke Avenue and go in via Boggy Meadow
Road. You can also follow a trail that begins near the northern most condo-
minium units. This connects to a trail that leads to the edge of the former
City Quarry above what is now the River Valley Market.
25
(A) About 2/3 of the property is uplands, with well-drained soils and bedrock outcrops. These areas are covered with a mix of
oaks (red, scarlet, white oak), as well as shagbark hickory, ironwood, red maple and scattered pine. Below the canopy, the shrub
and herb layers vary—sometimes sparse, sometimes patchy. Among the more common shrubs are mountain laurel, shadbush,
maple-leaved viburnum, American hazelnut, huckleberry, and low-bush blueberries. The wildflowers include wood anemone,
Canada mayflower, spotted wintergreen and asters. (B) A strand of barbed wire along the eastern boundary reveals that the
property to the east was once used as pasture, maybe when this land was part of the Cooke Farm.
(C) Although its oak-pine uplands are similar to much of Fitzgerald Lake, its wetland is an unusual natural community within
Northampton and classified as a black gum-pin oak-swamp white oak “perched” swamp. What’s more, in the spring, the wet-
land’s deeper pools function as vernal pools and are used for breeding by both wood frogs and spotted salamanders. (B) The
wetland has much higher diversity than the surrounding uplands. Sensitive fern (seen here) is widespread, but several other
ferns are common (cinnamon, interrupted fern, spinulose woodfern, and Christmas fern).
A B
C D
26
Elizabeth Rock (formerly Merrimack Mortgage)
This 12-acre property wraps around
the long-abandoned city quarry,
now known to most people as the
site of the River Valley Market. It
is almost entirely upland, and with-
out question, its best feature is the
impressive view from the rim above
the old quarry where you can look
out toward the Connecticut River
and Hadley Meadows.
The traffic noise from the interstate
is constant along the quarry edge, but fades as you head into the interior of the property. This area,
which is mostly level with only modest ups and downs, is dominated by oaks (red, white, black, scarlet,
chestnut), with red maple and scattered patches of white pine. Parts of this area were logged in the mid-
The wetland also supports a variety of wildflowers, including blue
flag iris, jack-in-the-pulpit, wild geranium, fringed loosestrife,
partridgeberry, starflower, and Canada mayflower (seen here on
this moss-festooned log). High bush blueberry (flowering here)
grows on the hummocks along with meadowsweet, lowbush blue-
berry, three kinds of viburnum, pinxter flower, silky dogwood,
ironwood, winterberry and spicebush. In the canopy, aside from
red maple and swamp white oak, are occasional pin oak, hemlock,
green ash, hop hornbeam, pine oak and black gum. The diversity
of this wetland is higher because this area has soils derived from
Glacial Lake Hitchcock sediments, making the soil’s chemistry is
closer to neutral.
The parcel in context to other protected land, Route 5/10 , Interstate 91 and the
Connecticut River.
27
2000s, mostly likely in anticipation of an 88-unit condominium project, which was first presented in July
2006. The cluster development was going to be built on about ten acres and as part of the cluster equa-
tion, another 29 acres were going to be donated to the City as open space. Given the size of the project,
the tough site conditions and neighborhood opposition, the project went through numerous iterations
before it was finally ap-
proved—with 47 conditions(!)
—in November 2007. By then,
however, the economy had col-
lapsed and that was the real
deal breaker. The developer,
who had purchased 13 acres for
$525,000 the year before and
had options on another 30+,
was unable to find financial
backers and became overex-
tended. In 2008, he put the en-
tire project up for sale for $2.4
million. With no takers and un-
able to make his mortgage pay-
ments, he lost the property to
foreclosure. The mortgage com-
pany assumed ownership in
2008 and sold 12 of the 13 acres
to the City’s Conservation Com-
28
mission for $75,000 the following year. (The
remaining acreage includes a home along Route
5).
Since that time, it appears that few people have
explored the interior portion of the property.
Two trails skirt the property’s boundaries, one
begins at the edge of the Pines Edge Condo-
miniums and the other, Middle Trail, forms the
property’s western boundary and connects to
Boggy Meadow Road. Within the property,
the old logging roads are easy to find and the borders have been blazed.
The forest is mostly open, with a patches of mountain laurel, low bush blueberry and scattered maple-
Middle Trail, seen here, forms one boundary of the conservation
area.
(A) Typical rocky uplands; (B) Mountain laurel mix with oak, pine and hemlock. (C) Woolly adelgids on hemlock. (D) Juv-
enal’s duskywing, a common early season butterfly in forested woodlands.
A B
C D
29
leaved viburnum. The herb layer is also mostly
absent in these dry, rocky woods, with winter-
green, bracken, Canada mayflower, partridge-
berry and Pennsylvania sedge.
Near the property’s northern boundary, nested
between two bedrock exposures, are the headwa-
ters of a wetland that drains north. Nearly all the
vegetation is native, but this wetland does in-
clude a few barberry and multiflora rose.
In general, however, this property has very few
invasive non-native plants. The only other loca-
tion with just a few is on the rocky slope that
forms the access path on North King Street. The two species present—common buckthorn and garlic
mustard—are low in number and could easily be controlled.
Forest Legacy Lands (36 acres)
Bordered by Middle Path on the east and Boggy Meadow Road on the west, this 36 acre parcel was pro-
tected in 2012 using USFS Forest Legacy funds. Much of it is wetland, especially now that beavers have
In spite of its small size, this small wetland supports about as
many plant species as the 11+ acres of wetlands. Of particular
interest in the wetland is the presence of red trillium, white
baneberry, ironwood, jack-in-the-pulpit and wood anemone—
all species that require sweeter soils to survive. This wetland
drains directly to the Connecticut River.
One of the other small wetlands on the property, seen from a distance and then up-close. This area, in spite of its capacity to
hold water, does not appear to be functioning as a vernal pool. Middle Path can be seen in the first image, skirting the edge of
the property.
30
invaded the former red maple
swamp on the west side of
Boggy Meadow Road, causing
even a slightly higher water
table in this 36-acre tract.
As elsewhere in the Fitzgerald
Lake Area, this wetland in-
cludes a few scattered barberry
and multiflora rose bushes,
which could be removed in a
single day.
A
C D
(A-C) Views of the wetlands within the Forest Legacy Tract, including dense winterberry thickets and more open water.
(D) The beaver impounded area, covered with a lens of pollen in the early spring. This wetland to the west of Boggy Meadow
Road is still privately owned. During the last several decades, it developed into a red maple swamp, but all of the flooded red
maple are dying now. There are some seriously large multiflora rose bushes growing in its western end.
B
31
The line of Boggy Meadow Road can be seen running north-south in this early aerial image. The wetland to
the west is the “boggy meadow” that gives the road its name. How long it was ditched is unknown, but in
1902 forty-two acres were purchased by W.A. Bailey of Brown & Bailey Bricks. His workers did some
ditching here and harvested the organic material to burn in the brick kilns, which were located near the pre-
sent day high school and also nearby along the Connecticut River.
This wetland eventually drains to the Connecticut River, first through Boggy Meadow, then into Pine
Brook that runs behind the Lathrop Community. The blush of green in this image is a mix of hemlock and
white pine.
32
Marian Street & Vicinity (12 acres +)
In 1984, when people in the
Marian Street neighborhood
banded together and purchased
this 12-acre property, their hope
was that one day it would connect
with the Fitzgerald Lake Conser-
vation Area, which at the time was
152 acres. Frankly, that hope
seemed farfetched then or even in
1993 when I first surveyed this
property. But in 1994 the 147-acre
Cooke’s Pasture property was pur-
chased by the City and that long-
held vision of connectivity became a reality. Today, this once isolated outpost is connected to even more
conservation land, and is now just one of many parcels that form the outer edge of the 800+-acre Fitz-
gerald Lake Conservation Area.
On the ecological front, there have also been changes during the last twenty years, most of them posi-
tive. Most important is the improvement in the overall health of the forest. During the 1993 survey, a
major gypsy moth infestation was underway. Chewed bits of oak leaves littered the ground and the
sound of dropping caterpillar frass was
ever-present. By then, gypsy moth out-
breaks had plagued Northampton’s wood-
lands for nearly a century. But sometime
in the 1990s, a non-native pathogen that
targets only gypsy moth caterpillars ar-
rived in the area and virtually eliminated
the gypsy moth problem. Ever since,
gypsy moth populations have been re-
duced to very low levels,.
Another positive is that the patch of Japa-
In 1984 the 12-acre Marian Street parcel (outlined in yellow) was isolated from
the 152-acre Fitzgerald Lake property (also outlined in yellow). All of the land
shaded in light orange is now protected, but was then still in private ownership
and open to the possibility of development.
The Japanese knotweed patch in early spring has been dramatically
reduced. A few lone sprouts still persist and require additional control.
33
nese knotweed, which was present in
1993, has been severely reduced thanks to
a multi-year herbicide effort and BBC vol-
unteers restoring native vegetation in the
affected area. Elsewhere on the property,
non-native invasive plants remain few and
far between. Some garlic mustard and gill-
over-the-ground have become established
on the trail at the end of Marian Street, a
patch of pachysandra has spread along the
brook and a few barberry have established
in the wetland near the property’s western
border. All of these could be removed by a small work party in less than a day.
Pachysandra mingles with skunk cabbage along the wetland bordering
the brook within the conservation area.
(A) The narrow footpath begins at the end of Marian Street and connects to the network of trails within the FLCA system. (B)
At the beginning of the trail is a patch of violets, a species that prefers richer soils and may either be an indicator of sweeter
soils from the clays of Glacial Lake Hitchcock or some fertilizer dumped by neighbors long ago. This is also where garlic mus-
tard has become established. (C) The distinctive leaves of the orchid known as rattlesnake plantain, one of Northampton’s mor e
common orchids. It prefers the mildly acidic soils that dominate so much of this conservation area.
A
B
C
34
Silt and clay layers left behind during the era of Glacial Lake
Hitchcock can be seen in Halfway Brook, which flows through
the property.
Although the 12-acre Marian Street property is dominated by dry, rocky uplands, near its eastern edge is a small wetland and
Halfway Brook. The brook originates a few hundred meters to the north in a large, hummocky red maple swamp just west of
Laurel Park. After flowing through this conservation area, its bends sharply to the east, and then flows under Route 5/10 and
Interstate 91. On the other side of 91, the brook has cut a steep ravine, exposing overtopping deltaic sands from layers of varved
clays laid down during Glacial Lake Hitchcock. It enters the Connecticut River near the Hatfield line.
A pipe from a nearby property owner’s sump pump extends
to the brook.
35
Kubosiak (88 acres)
Protected in 2012, the Kubosiak parcel
was the largest acquisition in the
FLCA since the 1994 purchase of
Cooke’s Pasture (147 acres). The
property had long been viewed as a
priority acquisition, not only because
of its size and strategic location , but
also because of its recreational value
and ecological attributes.
When this parcel was acquired, it al-
ready included an existing network of
trails within the property, which con-
nected to the larger FLCA trail system.
In 2013 the trails were augmented
when BBC’s trail committee built a
new trail from Coles Meadow Road.
The new trail links to the existing
trails and also creates another entry
point to the FLCA property. What is
also nice about the existing trails is
that they pass through or by many of
the property’s interesting habitats. All
told, seven broad habitat types occur
here, including one of the most un-
usual swamp forests in Northampton
and a long section of Broad Brook. The
property includes some of the best black
bear habitat in the Commonwealth, im-
portant marsh habitat and it lies immedi-
The Kubosiak parcel in green.
Habitat Summaries
1. Rocky, upland, oak-dominated forests, with broad patches of
dense hemlock stands (67 acres)
2. An extensive swamp forest (~14 acres)
3. Marsh along Broad Brook (~3 acres)
4. Broad Brook (~1 acre)
5. Rocky outcrops and boulder fields (~ 1 acre)
6. Perennial streams exiting the swamp forest (< 1 acre)
7. A small field maintained for wildlife (1 acre)
36
ately upstream from the known habitat of three state-listed freshwater mussels, including the Federally
Endangered Dwarf Wedgemussel.
Another positive about this property is
that, as of now, it has relatively few
long-term management issues. ATV
use is minimal and invasive plants are
in low numbers. There are also only a
few species, including scattered Japa-
nese barberry and multiflora rose in
the unusual swamp forest, Asiatic bit-
tersweet along some of the trails, and
glossy buckthorn and multiflora rose
along the edge of the marsh bordering
Broad Brook. One of the biggest con-
cerns in terms of non-native plants is
actually just off the conservation area.
Growing on an old stump dump on the property that the Kubosiak’s still own is a large and expanding
patch of Japanese knotweed. If possible, it would be great to work with the current landowner to control
it. This would require repeated treatments. In contrast, the other non-native plants on the conservation
land could probably be controlled in a single day with a small crew of people cutting and spot-treating
the stems.
Rocky Uplands
The vast majority of the property is
dominated by dry, rocky woodlands
dominated by different types of oak.
The metamorphic rocks lie just below
or at the surface, and the terrain is
hilly, with occasional knobs and large
rocky outcrops. In the upland areas,
the soils are fairly shallow, well-
drained and acidic—a fairly tough
combination, which makes this habitat
An old yard waste dump lies just off the conservation area. At the edge, the
scruffy margin are dead stems of Japanese knotweed. Several other non-
native plants are in this area too, including Morrow’s honeysuckle and
autumn olive.
Typical forest within the former Kubosiak property.
37
suitable for a relatively small suite of plant species.
In the canopy, the most common trees are red oak
and chestnut oak. Red maple is also abundant and
throughout the forest, you can find scattered white
oak, white pine, black birch, and less commonly,
beech. In areas where the soils are slightly moister,
the oak forests give way to extensive stands of
hemlock. These are easily visible on the aerial
photo; hemlock forests cover nearly 30 acres of
the uplands.
The shrubby
understory is
similarly
depauperate,
and includes
mountain laurel, witch hazel, maple-leaved viburnum, low-bush
blueberry, and occasional sassafras and ironwood. The understory
vegetation is also limited in its diversity and virtually absent below
the hemlocks and oaks. In the small, scattered openings, mountain
laurel and witch hazel are common plants in the shrub layer, while
the herb layer is mostly absent. When present, it includes wild sarsa-
Rocky outcrops are common and provide good denning sites for porcupines.
Pink lady’s slippers can occasionally
be found in the dry, acidic uplands.
They bloom in mid-May.
In addition to a few impressive rock outcrops, this property also
includes an large boulder field, bigger than any other known in
Northampton, MA. The canopy includes a variety of deciduous
trees (red maple, black birch, striped maple, mountain laurel,
and witch hazel). There are few shrubs and the herbs are sparse.
Canada mayflower, starflower, red trillium and shining club-
moss, however, are commonly seen. In addition, the rocks are
frequently covered with mosses and polypody fern. All of the
larger outcrops and the boulder field had porcupine dens.
38
This aerial of the entire FLCA
shows that stands of hemlock and
white pine are along the borders of
the lake and along the edge of the
marsh. While pine has invaded the
old pasture land, hemlock is mostly
along the margins of the wetland
areas. What will replace hemlock
as the trees die from hemlock
woolly adelgid is uncertain.
The images below show a wood
road surrounded by hemlock near
the clearing on the former Ku-
bosiak property and a thick stand of
hemlock along the edge of the
marsh and Broad Brook. Note the
absence of vegetation growing
below.
39
parilla, hay-scented fern, bracken, Christmas fern and occasionally trailing arbutus and pink lady’s slip-
pers. All of this forest has been logged repeatedly.
Circumneutral Swamp Forest
In the central part of the property is
a 15-acre swamp forest. Underlain
by glacial silts and clays, this
swamp forest supports an unusual
flora. Underfoot, the ground is
dominated by broad swaths of grass
-like sedges (Carex bromoides) and
skunk cabbage. In addition to more
common species like sensitive fern,
touch-me-not, marsh marigold, and
goldthread, you can also find trout
lily, foam flower, common toothwort, miterwort, water avens, dwarf ginseng and even wild leeks. The
few shrub species that do occur are common (ironwood, spicebush, mountain laurel on hummocks) and
the canopy consists of scattered yellow birch, red maple, black ash and on slightly drier margins, hem-
lock.
The swamp’s botanical richness is due to the underlying surficial
geology, which includes fine silts and clays left behind by Glacial
Lake Hitchcock (light blue). More recent organic materials
(lavender) have been deposited on top of the silts and clays.
A small, quiet water stream flows through the wetland and ultimately enters
Broad Brook.
A patch of miterwort (Mitella diphylla), a species
found in rich mesic woods and known from only
a few other locations in Northampton, grows in
the rich swamp within the Kubosiak property.
40
F
Foamflower (Tiarella cordifolia), another species that only occurs in rich soils, flowering in May in this unusual swamp. A
nest of American woodcock, a species in decline, with two of four chicks.
The swamp forest is important habitat for forest-dwelling animals, like this barred owl. It is also a favorite haunt of black bears,
especially in the early spring when the swamp’s tender shoots of skunk cabbage provide an abundant food source. In some ar-
eas, almost every skunk cabbage plant shows signs of being nibbled and bear poop is common.
Unlike most swamp forests, the lack of a prominent shrub layer allows long-distance views and creates an almost park-like
effect.
41
Although no rare plant species have been found yet, it is possible that future surveys will reveal unusual
sedges or other plant species of significance.
Deep Marsh & Broad Brook
The marsh along Broad Brook includes a variety of
wetland microhabitats. Along the wetted perimeter,
there is a thicket of vegetation, including meadow-
sweet, alder, silky dogwood, beaked hazelnut, dew-
berry, multiflora rose, glossy buckthorn, poison ivy,
and a mix of sedges, grasses and wildflowers. Fur-
ther out from the shoreline, the vegetation varies
depending on water depths—in the seepy muds
grow forget-me-not, sedges and rushes, while on
slightly higher hummocks, there are broad tangles
of silky dogwood, steeplebush and meadowsweet.
Closer to the open water, there are stands of cattails.
Red maple is also common here, and along the mar-
gins, black birch, hemlock and yellow birch are
frequent. Big boulders are also abundant.
These marshy wetlands extend well beyond the Kubosiak property’s boundaries, continuing both up-
stream and downstream, and create an important habitat for migrating and nesting waterfowl. Wood
ducks, mallards, kingfishers, tree swallows, bluebirds, song sparrows, Canada geese, and swamp spar-
rows are common to see and for many years, a small, great blue heron rookery (1-4 active nests) could
42
be found here. The herons abandoned the area in
2014, but they may return. It is also possible that
American bittern, a state-listed species, would
also use the marsh as a breeding ground.
In addition to birds, lots of wildlife use this area.
Sign of otter, beaver and muskrat are easily
found, many frogs breed and live in these
marshes and at least three state-listed freshwater
mussels, including dwarf wedgemussel
(Federally Endangered) occur downstream in
Broad Brook and Running Gutter Brook. These surveys were
conducted by Dave McLain between 1998-2002. The FLCA
marshes help protect the water quality for the mussel habitat
downstream.
Stream Habitat
Two perennial streams flow out of the swamp forest, one to the
south, and the other (shown here) to the north. The northern
stream, after meandering through the swamp forest, flows down
a somewhat steep gradient, revealing small cobbles in the un-
derlying till layer. False hellebore, marsh marigold, and trout
lily grow along its banks along with a variety of liverworts and
mosses (Gnium, Thuidium, Climacium). The
stream provides habitat for two-lined salaman-
ders, crayfish and a variety of aquatic insects.
Wet Meadow
The final habitat within this 88-acre parcel is a
one acre clearing (seen here), which was main-
tained by the previous owner for hunting and
wildlife observation. It would be great to keep
the meadow open and possibly build a wildlife
blind. At this time, there is no easy or approved
This manmade clearing is a wet meadow, with sphagnum moss
and a variety of wetland plants that depend on open sunny
locations. Turkeys, bear, deer and many other animals pass
regularly through.
The channel of Broad Brook loses its definition in the section
bordered by the former Kubosiak property.
43
access to the site that would
allow for brushhogging. Goats
might be another option.
408 Bridge Road
(3.5 acres)
Located behind a row of
homes and a small condomin-
ium complex on Bridge Road,
this small property is com-
pletely undeveloped—and
even lacks a path leading in.
Even more awkward is that
the public access isn’t clearly
marked, which means that
parking (and exploring) feels
more like trespassing at this
point. The parcel, however, is
open to the public and for a
certain kind of visitor—and
especially for the immediate
abutters—the small property
has its charm.
After parking at the condo-
minium, you just head from
the edge of the paved parking lot into the woods. The site, as small as it is, is a patchwork of habitats.
And although it is mostly level, it also includes a couple of rocky knobs (one of which was used histori-
cally as a very small quarry) and two small former farm ponds (now functioning like vernal pools).
The composition of the woods when you first enter the site includes a mix of hardwoods, with scattered
white pine. In this section, the hardwood species include sugar maple, black birch, hickory, white oak,
This small parcel is currently isolated from the rest of the FLCA holdings.
1: White pine stand
1b: White pine and old quarry site/rock knob
2: Mixed hardwoods
(red maple, sugar maple, black birch, black locust, white oak, hickory)
vp: Vernal pool (unmapped by MA NHESP)
44
and black locust, the latter a clue to the property’s pasture history. In this part of the property, the forest
floor included mostly leaf litter, but also true solomon’s seal and Canada mayflower. There is also some
winged euonymus growing near the edge of
the property.
Moving to the rocky knobs, the vegetation
shifts and includes some red oak, elm, black
birch and beech. In the thin acidic soils on the
rocks and nooks in between grow low blue-
berry, partridgeberry, Virginia creeper, mar-
ginal shield fern, spinulose woodfern, hay-
scented fern, poison ivy and a few sedges
(Carex swanii, C. gracillima).
Sixty years ago, the property was mostly forested.
Today the former clearing on the property’s northern border, along
the Fitzgerald family’s pasture, is dominated by red maple in the
canopy and a carpet of fern in the understory.
45
Beyond the rocks the ground levels out and old cut stumps tell a tale of a past logging. The plants here
include big swaths of hayscented fern (typical after logging), scattered hemlock, young black birch,
witch hazel, and some small patches of mountain laurel. Other herbaceous plants include New York
fern, starflower, wintergreen, Canada mayflower, ground pine and a small amount of Asiatic bittersweet.
In the property’s northeastern corner is a grove of white pine, with little vegetation below. Not far away
are the two small former farm ponds, which are now functioning as vernal pools. Their margins include
a mix of wetland plants, including red maple, winterberry, meadowsweet, wild sarsaparilla, sedges, sen-
The rocky outcrops, part of the long north-south trend of underlying mafic
rocks, appear at the surface within this conservation area.
Above, the open forest below the mix of white pine, red maple and birch.
Right, an impressive red oak near one of the bedrock outcrops.
46
sitive fern, marsh fern and cin-
namon fern. A dug drainage
ditch forms the boundary be-
tween the conservation area
and pasture owned by the Fitz-
gerald family.
Within the pine grove is the
thread of an old footpath. This
leads back to the end of the
pasture and presumably con-
nects to the trail system that
crosses the Fitzgerald property
and connects to the larger net-
work of trails within FLCA.
Invasive Plants
In spite of its history as farm land, more recent logging and abundance of edges, this small property has
only three invasive plant species: Japanese barberry, winged euonymus and Asiatic bittersweet. All are
in low numbers on the property. Some of the nearby woods (i.e. behind the Fitzgerald pasture) includes
more Asiatic bittersweet.
Recommendations
Certify vernal pools
Discuss a connecting trail with BBC
Clarify parking
Hand remove invasive plants
One of the two small depressions that hold water and function as vernal pools.
Fingernail clams like these
found in a different vernal
pool within FLCA may also
be found in the small pools at
408 Bridge Road.
47
Section 2: Upper Drainage of Broad Brook *
Featuring more detailed profiles of:
Burke
Sullivan
Girl Scout Property
* For information on the Beaver Brook/Broad Brook Parcel
see the files on the Mill River Greenway
48
Burke Conservation Area
In the twenty years since I
first explored the Burke
Conservation Area, several
changes have occurred,
most of them slow and
subtle.
The sand/compost pile on
the neighboring Spring
Grove Cemetery property
that was eroding into the
wetland two decades
ago has continued to
erode and today the lens
of sediment extends
slightly further into the
wetland. Similarly, the patch of Japanese knotweed that was growing on this same compost mound in
1993 has also spread , although not quite as far as might be expected given this species’ capacity. In ad-
dition, the thickets of multiflora rose in the swamp and along the roadside are now bigger and more
abundant, and so are the tangles of Asiatic bittersweet and Morrow’s honeysuckle. Meanwhile, a few
other non-native plants—moneywort, Japanese barberry, and coltsfoot— have also become established.
Another troubling change is the arrival of hemlock woolly adelgid, which is slowly killing the prominent
Donated by Dorothy Burke in the 1980s, the 5-acre Burke Conservation is near several other
properties that are either fully or semi-protected from development, including a few that are
owned by the City (Spring Grove Cemetery, Arcanum Field, and JFK Middle School). In
addition, the land to the north and west is owned by Smith Vocational and the Veteran’s
Administration. During the last twenty years, four more properties in the upper Broad Brook
drainage have been added to the conservation roster (Sullivan, Girl Scout, Beaver Brook/
Broad Brook Gap).
Japanese knotweed spreads out into the wetland, creeping out from the pile of sand, grass clippings and other organic waste.
Smith Vocational
VA Hospital
Spring Grove
Cemetery
Arcanum
Field
Sullivan
“Girl Scout”
Bear Hill
CR
JFK
Middle
49
stand of hemlock that dominates the surrounding
slopes. So far, the hemlocks are all still alive, but
they are thinner and in decline.
But not all the news is negative. On the positive
side of the equation has been the protection of
several properties adjacent to and in the vicinity
of this property, including two parcels formerly
owned by the Sullivan family, the CR on the
Bear Hill development, the Girl Scout property,
Beaver Brook/Broad Brook Gap, and many more
parcels in and around Fitzgerald Lake.
Although controlling hemlock woolly adelgid in and near the Burke Conservation Area is probably out-
side of the realm of possibility, addressing the erosion problem and knocking back the invasive plants is
do-able and important. Why? Because when compared to wetlands throughout the City, this site is
unique. From a botanical perspective, it supports both common wetland plants as well as small popula-
tions 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 Conservation area
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 oc-
curring site in Northampton for larch, which also prefers cold peaty soils.
In addition to
these two
“northern” spe-
cialists, this
seepy swamp
also supports
three other
plant species
typically
found in
What vegetation will replace the hemlocks and fill in the now-
shady understory as these trees die?
(A) A mix of white pine and larch in the wetland canopy. (B)
Alternate-leaved buckthorn in full-bloom. Note its stunning,
heart-stopping flowers.
A
B
50
colder settings—Canada yew, bluebead lily and mountain maple. The unexpected presence of these
plants in Northampton is the result of the site’s geology. Several cold, clear springs flow out at the base
of the sandy slope below the cemetery. The year-round cold temperatures of these springs prevent the
soils from warming even during the summer, and thereby essentially simulate climate conditions that are
more typical of higher elevations and latitudes.
The flat terrain to the south of the Burke Conservation Area, including the cemetery, are a small lobe of
an ancient sandy delta that formed when the Mill River flowed into glacial Lake Hitchcock, 15,600-
12,400 years ago. These sands were deposited over an older, impervious clay layer (also deposited dur-
ing the tenure of Lake Hitchcock) and now, when ground water intercepts this clay layer, it is unable to
percolate further down. The water, instead flows along the top of the clay, emerging at the bottom of the
slope as seeps and springs (hence “Spring Grove”).
(A) Skunk cabbage and sedges are common in the swamp forest. (B) Broad Brook flows through the conservation area. Stones
and hunks of cement once created a small dam, now completely fallen apart. (C) Although much of the swamp forest is hum-
mocky, there are open, wetter areas where seeps emerge that occur along the toe of the slope. (D) A steep slope, with the wet-
land below. Note the Canada yew growing in the understory.
A B
C D
51
Saturated soil conditions lead to shallow root sys-
tems, making trees more susceptible to wind
throw. Three trees can be seen in this image.
The two plants shown here—marsh horsetail and a type of gooseberry—only occur in moist, circumneutral soils.
The Burke Conservation Area from the air in 2014
and highlighted in yellow looks like nothing special.
Wrong!
Note the compost pile for the cemetery (red arrow)
looks like a small clearing in the forest. It has ex-
isted in this same spot for decades.
52
The spring was located just below and to the northwest of the stormwater drainage headwall and diagonally opposite the Par-
sons Crypt. Due to erosion along the hillside’s western edge a large amount of riprap was deposited here in the 1990s. Unfort u-
nately so much traprock was put down that it covered the springs. Until then, you could go to the toe of the slope and see
groundwater gushing up through the pure white sands. The springs could easily be restored by volunteers, assuming the proper
wetland permits were received and the project was approved by the DPW.
Woody Trees & Shrubs
White pine
Hemlock
Larch
Canada Yew
Red maple
Sugar maple
Striped maple
Mountain maple
Slippery Elm
Green ash
Yellow birch
Black birch
Poison sumac
Ironwood
Hop hornbeam
Witch Hazel
Mountain Laurel
Common elderberry
Speckled alder
Silky dogwood
Witherod
Northern Arrowwood
Winterberry
High bush blueberry
Pinxter flower
Chokeberries (Aronia melanocarpa; A. arbutifolia)
Serviceberry (sp.)
Spicebush
Multiflora rose
Morrow’s honeysuckle
Asiatic bittersweet
Japanese barberry
Ferns
Cinnamon fern
Interrupted fern
Christmas fern
Clinton’s Shield fern
Marginal Shield fern
Hayscented fern
Sensitive fern
Lady fern
Field horsetail
Marsh horsetail
Scouring Rush
Herbaceous Plants
Sedges (various)
Skunk cabbage
Jack-in-the-pulpit
Foamflower
Hellebore
Canada mayflower
Bluebead lily
Starflower
Swamp dewberry
Marsh marigold
Toothwort
Goldthread
Bindweed (sp.)
Forget me not
Common meadowsweet
Water avens
Virginia creeper
Bedstraw (sp.)
Partridgeberry
Spotted touch me not
Swamp saxifrage
Golden saxifrage
Turtlehead
Moneywort
Fringed loosestrife
Purple-flowering nightshade
Rough-leaved goldenrod
Coltsfoot
PRELIMINARY CHECKLIST TO THE PLANTS OF THE BURKE CONSERVATION AREA
53
Sullivan (Total 6.14 acres in 2 properties)
Abutting the Burke Conservation
Area is a 2-acre parcel that was ac-
quired in 2011 and not far away, a 4
-acre piece that was acquired by the
City in 2008. Both properties were
purchased from the Sullivan family,
which had owned the land since
1975.
Both parcel are fairly small, but they
had been listed in the City’s Open
Space & Recreation Plan for a dec-
ade as “high priority.” Not only
were they within the Broad Brook
greenway, but the larger parcel also
includes part of a beautiful loop trail that begins behind the JFK Middle School. Furthermore, their pro-
tection also filled in the two remaining pieces within a jigsaw puzzle of otherwise municipally-owned
land.
That said, the properties are not without their management issues. Invasive plants present the greatest
long-term challenge and include the usual cast of characters: multiflora rose, Asiatic bittersweet, Japa-
nese knotweed, and garlic mustard. In the short-term, there are two places where neighbors are dumping
lawn clippings and yard waste, which should stop. There is also a drainage outfall on the Veteran’s Ad-
ministration property that has created a large, eroding gully and is washing sediments across the Smith
Vocation land, into the Sullivan property and reaching Broad Brook.
Ownership History & Ecology
The former Sullivan land represents three separate lots that were once part of a 1960 subdivision known
as Brookwood. When it was approved, the subdivision included 47 lots on 50-acres, but in the interven-
ing decades, many of the lots were reconfigured and only about two dozen homes were ultimately built.
Prior to the land’s development, this area was part of a farm that had operated since at least 1900 (and
Smith Vocational
VA Hospital
Spring Grove
Cemetery
Arcanum
Field
Burke
“Girl Scout”
Bear Hill
CR
JFK
Middle
The land, formerly owned by the Sullivan family, is highlighted in yellow and
surrounded by other city-owned land, including property held by the JFK
Middle School, Smith Vocational, Spring Grove Cemetery, and the Burke
Conservation Area. Although the City’s ownership doesn’t necessarily confer
open space protection for the other properties, it does provide some additional
control over the future uses of these abutting parcels.
54
probably earlier). Interestingly, between 1901-1933, the Abercrombie Farm, as it was then known, was
co-owned by Wallace Allen. Allen owned several farms in the area, including the 350-acre spread that
he sold in 1935 to Harold K. Fitzgerald and now forms the core of the Fitzgerald Lake Conservation
Area.
In the 1950s, the larger of the two Sullivan lots was a mix of pasture and forest, while the smaller lot
was mostly wooded. Both lots abutted a much larger pasture. By 1965, by the time the first road
(Country Way) was punched in, that clearing was beginning to grow in, and today, as is true elsewhere
in Northampton, that spot
and adjacent wetland have
significantly more invasive
plants than the land that
was wooded in the 1950s
and 60s.
Vegetation Patterns
Of the two parcels, the four
acre property is the most
diverse and includes a mix
of former pasture/young
forest, circumneutral
swamp, a stretch of Broad
Brook and upland woods.
Beginning at the edge of
Morningside Drive, there
is an edge of young trees,
wildflowers and ferns—as
well as a sizeable pile of
lawn clippings. The bor-
dering trees include sugar
maple, red maple, white
ash, tulip tree, cotton-
wood, white pine, and no
Lawn clippings/sand
55
surprise, some invasive plants—namely, Asiatic bittersweet, multiflora rose and a few stems of Japanese
knotweed.
Entering the forest, the land drops off from the roadside into what was a clearing fifty years ago. The
trees are still young enough here that the understory is quite shaded, and the plant composition changes
in response. Now instead of jumpseed and lady fern, the most abundant species are Christmas fern, Vir-
ginia creeper, and unfortunately multiflora rose and Asiatic bittersweet. In fact, the forest floor is awash
with bittersweet seedlings! In contrast to the understory plants, the canopy mix are similar to those along
the roadside edge and include big-toothed aspen, red maple, white pine, black cherry, red oak and an
occasional tulip tree. Ironwood is common in the shrub layer, as is some poison ivy.
Continuing to the west and skirting the edge of the wetland, the forest composition shifts dramatically as
the old clearing is left behind and the older forest begins with an impressive grove of white pine. On the
other side of the brook, the land slopes upward and hemlock mixes with white pine to form a shady
glade. This area also includes occasional, but good-sized red oak and yellow birch. The understory here
Circumneutral
Swamp Forest
Old Clearing
Young Forest
Broad Brook
Sandy bottomed
Broad Brook
Rocky -bottomed
Mixed Hardwoods-
Woods
Hemlock/Pine with
Some Hardwoods
Yard Waste
56
is sparse, but includes foamflower in wetter areas (especially near the brook) and partridgeberry. The till
soils are right at the surface and the slope is very rocky. Witch hazel and mountain laurel are scattered in
the shrub layer. The walking trail that begins behind JFK Middle School passes through this section,
parallels the edge of the wetland and Broad Brook, and then loops back to the school.
West of the Sullivan parcels, the forested hillside is owned by Smith Vocational and at the top of the
hill, by the Veteran’s Administration. Although entirely forested with hardwoods, this area has been
damaged in recent years from excessive erosion caused by a drainage outfall from the VA. The pipe
empties out onto the Smith Voca-
tional property and over the years,
it has scoured and eroded the hill-
side. This scouring has opened up
the area to a number of non-native
plants, including Asiatic bitter-
sweet, Japanese knotweed, winged
euonymus and privet. In addition,
it appears that sediments from the
erosion are actually reaching the
conservation area, and during peri-
ods of intense overland flow,
probably entering the Broad
Brook. By redirecting some of this
water, the problem might be
abated. Left untended, the prob-
lems of both erosion and invasives
will increase.
Returning downslope, the land
bordering Broad Brook is part of a
larger, seepy wetland that extends
into the Burke Conservation Area.
This portion of the wetland, how-
ever, is more open and dominated
by grasses (Glyceria striata, G.
The gully, with giant till boulders exposed, looking down gradient across Smith
Vocational property and toward the Sullivan Conservation Area.
The manhole cover above the headwall for the drain from the VA.
57
canadensis), silky dogwood, sensi-
tive fern, and spotted touch-me-not.
Other common wetland plants in
this area: speckled alder, red maple,
and yellow birch in the overstory,
and horsetails (Equisetum arvense,
E. sylvaticum), cinnamon fern,
crested shield fern, a variety of
sedges, skunk cabbage, turtlehead,
fringed loosestrife, swamp candles,
joe pye weed, goldenrod, and asters.
Fifteen thousand years ago, both of these
parcels were underwater, but close to the
shoreline of Glacial Lake Hitchcock. Much
of this area was buried by a lobe of sand, part
of the northern edge of a large delta that was
deposited in the glacial lake by the Mill
River.
Since the lake’s disappearance 12,000 years
ago, Broad Brook has eroded away most of
those sands and now flows across and on top
of the glacial silts and clays. There is still
enough deltaic sand within this area, some of
it still slowly eroding off the hillsides to the
south, that in this stretch Broad Brook has
sandy swales and point bars.
This series of images shows different views
of the wetland within the Sullivan Conserva-
tion area, including the sandy point bars and
Broad Brook, which isn’t very broad at this
point!
58
In 2011, the City had sufficient funds to acquire more land from the Sullivan family. Originally two
separate lots, this piece encompasses a little more than two acres. Since its purchase, it has been put un-
der conservation restriction, which is held by the Kestrel Trust. In 2012, the Kestrel Trust hired biologist
Charley Eiseman to complete a biological inventory and provide baseline documentation. Little can be
added to Eiseman’s well-
done report, which is
briefly summarized here.
During the construction
of Morningside Drive, the
land close to the road was
extensively altered and
still bears the telltale
signs of disturbance, with
mounds and uneven to-
pography. In this zone,
the canopy “is dominated
by early successional tree
species such as big-
toothed aspen, cotton-
wood, black locust, paper birch, black birch, white pine, red maple, and black cherry. Near the west
end, red and white oaks with a patchy hemlock understory hint at what a more mature forest would look
like here. There are two large tulip trees at the southwest corner” (Eiseman, 2012). This is the part of
the property that also has the most invasives, and like the larger Sullivan parcel, it also has multiflora
rose, Asiatic bittersweet, Japanese knotweed, plus Norway maple, privet, honeysuckle, garlic mustard,
celandine, and even a variety of escaped garden plants (daffodils, myrtle).
From the upland area, the land dips gently to the wetland. This swamp is part of the same wetland previ-
ously described and a small section of Broad Brook wiggles through it before entering the Burke Con-
servation Area. Its flora is similar, not only in terms of the native vegetation, but also the non-native
species. In this section, multiflora rose is particularly nasty and abundant.
Wetland—muck soils
Young Forest/
Altered
Pachysandra/
landscaped
Yard
Waste
59
“Girl Scout” Property (40 acres)
Protected in 2011, this wooded
conservation area is almost
equally split between two differ-
ent Mill River watersheds, with
the western half draining to the
Mill River in Northampton and
the eastern half draining to the
Mill River in Hatfield. The east-
ern portion is part of the Broad
Brook watershed and the valley
of Broad Brook is hands-down
the most beautiful part of the
property. In this section the
stream meanders quietly through
a wooded floodplain, bordered
by a steep ravine with towering
hemlocks and mature hardwoods. The forest continue
like this for nearly half a mile downstream, extending
from the Girl Scout property and into land owned by
Smith Vocational, where the most spectacular trees oc-
cur. Old growth and big tree expert Bob Leverett calls
this stretch of woods a “jewel.” Although it does not
qualify as “old growth,” Leveret considers it a “mature
forest” and according to his measurements, it has the
greatest concentration of old trees in Northampton. Many
of them are 150 years old and some are even older. These
include tulip trees, oaks, and of particular note, black
birch. Leverett says that this part of the Broad Brook
Valley has the greatest quantity of mature black birch
that he has seen in western Massachusetts. Many of the
black birch exceed 100 feet in height, and the tallest
black birch in the Connecticut River Valley is found here.
Girl Scout
Beaver Brook/Broad
Sullivan/Burke
Fitzgerald Lake
The long, linear “Girl Scout” property, seen here in relationship to other city-
owned conservation land, measures about 500 feet wide and more than 3,000 feet
long. Note the steep, hemlock-dominated ravine along Broad Brook.
A footpath leads through the impressive forest that
borders Broad Brook.
60
Beyond these age and measurement distinctions, this forested valley is visually one of the most remark-
able natural areas I have explored in Northampton. So far, no rare species have been found here, but the
area has been mapped by MA NHESP as “Living Waters Critical Supporting Watershed.”
(A) Broad Brook winds through a narrow, flat floodplain that is often wet and swampy. This area was part of a long narrow
inlet when Glacial Lake Hitchcock was here, which helps explain the richer flora, including species like toothwort, trout lily,
foamflower and patches of sedge meadows. (B) As a large block of forest, this area is valuable for wildlife. In addition, thi s
deep ravine functions as a deer yard in winter. As a result, these stems are heavily browsed. (C) Another view of Broad Brook
near the property’s northern boundary. As part of a large block of uninterrupted forest, it is valuable to wildlife. The ravi ne is a
winter deer yard and the stream corridor is used by a variety of animals. So far, however, no rare species have been found and at
this point, none of the property is within any kind of priority habitat as delineated by the MA NHESP. (D) Although this area
seems remote and wild, a well used trail lies just to the east and remnant strands of barbed wire indicate that the land nearby
was once cleared and used for pasture. A tiny piece of Broad Brook can be seen behind the tree.
B A
D C
61
In comparison to the Broad Brook valley, the re-
mainder of the property is a bit underwhelming. As
you climb out of the valley and move from east to
west, the land flattens out and the woods are
younger and not as diverse. The canopy is domi-
nated by hardwoods (oaks, hickory, black birch,
and red maple) as well as a couple of hemlock
stands (see vegetation map above). According to
the Conway School of Design’s master plan, the
patch of woods dominated by “oak and hickory”
burned in 1978. More recently, that patch, as well
as the area shown as “mixed deciduous” was
logged and today there are lots of resprouts and cut
stumps. Fortunately the timber job did not con-
tinue into the Broad Brook valley.
Near the center of the property, in the area shown
as “red maple” is a single, isolated certified vernal
pool. It is small (~50’ wide) and shallow and used
by wood frogs, spotted salamanders, spring peepers
and other vernal pool species. The vernal pool is
located on the west side of the watershed divide so
its waters flow to the Mill River in Northampton.
Continuing to the west is an impressive stone
This overview of the property’s vegetation patterns was prepared by the Con-
way School of Landscape Design in 2001.
(A) Looking down in to the Valley of the Broad Brook. This
forest was thinned in the past. (B & C) Cut stumps and resprouts
are common in the uplands above Broad Brook.
B
C
A
62
wall that measures 5-6 feet across, four feet high and is several hundred feet long. It marks an historic
property boundary and the forest on the other side is dramatically different.
Although this westernmost end of the property is now entirely wooded, sixty years ago it was still open
hayfield/pasture. By 1965 the field had been abandoned and was beginning to grow in with white pine.
Aside from old aerial photos (next page), the evidence of that former use is obvious in the landscape.
Not only are the trees younger, but the species composition—a mix of red maple, white pine, gray birch,
big-toothed aspen and black birch—also reveals that the land was cleared in the recent past. What’s
more, this is the part of the property where most of the invasive plants are found. Young Asiatic bitter-
sweet is the most abundant and widespread, but there are also a few Japanese barberry, multiflora rose,
and privet as well as small patches of Japanese knotweed and garlic mustard.
The western half of the property is mostly level, rising only forty feet over a quarter
mile. But heading east from the high point (440 feet), the land descends quickly, drop-
ping 200 feet in elevation to Broad Brook valley. (Image courtesy of the CSLD report).
(A) A view of the vernal pool and (B) an image of a portion of the impressive wall.
B A
63
In 1952 the western quarter of the
property was still a cleared field, but
by 1965, it had been abandoned and
began to grow in with brush and
pine. The triple fields to the north are
now occupied by Linda Manor.
South of the property is the large
field owned by Smith Vocational. In
both images, the trace of wood roads
is evident.
64
Two views of the young forest in the western part of the property.
Northern running pine, a type of clubmoss, covers large areas of the
forest floor in the former hayfield/pasture.
An healthy stand of tall white pine occur along the property’s south-
western boundary .
The intermittent stream/wetland drainage near the property’s west-
ernmost boundary.
A strand of barbed wire provides another hard clue about the site’s land use history.
65
Ownership History
The Girl Scouts of Western Massachusetts (GSWM) acquired the property in 1966 from the Moodie
family, which had owned the land since the 1940s. The site became the GSWM’s regional headquarters
and in 2001, the organization purchased the abutting home in order to expand their office space. That
same year the GSWA hired the Conway School of Landscape Design (CSLD) to develop a master plan
for the wooded acreage (the “Back 40”), which by then already had a well-established network of trails
(see below). The subsequent plan from CSLD included a slightly new trail design layout (see below) and
a “cottage” for outdoor programming and meetings. These ideas, however, were never implemented and
in 2009, the GSWA consolidated its central and western Massachusetts operations and relocated its
headquarters to Holyoke. After selling the house and lot that it had acquired in 2001, the non-profit sub-
divided the property, carving out the former headquarters and two acres of land, and selling forty acres
of now backland to the City for conservation (23 acres for $23,000 in 2011; 17 acres for $17,000 in
2012). A conservation restriction was subsequently placed on both parcels. It is held by the Kestrel
Trust, which prepared a baseline monitoring report in 2012. (This document, along with the master plan
prepared by the CSLD, is available electronically in the City’s public file cabinet.) In June 2014, the
GSWM sold its former headquarters to a private family, ending 50 years of ownership in Northampton.
The trail existing trail layout (above) and the revised trail layout (below)
that was recommended in the Master Plan done by CSLD, but never
pursued.
66
Access
Because of the way the land was subdivided, the conservation area now truly is the “Back 40,” meaning
that there is no longer any public access to the property without crossing private property. At least not
yet. There are, however, three options, all of which involve the cooperation of Smith Vocational.
Smith Vocational School received this land in 1958 from the VA Hospital in order to use it for its dem-
onstration forestry program. The land wraps around the VA hospital buildings and also includes a large
chunk of woods to the north, which borders the Girl Scout land and includes road frontage on Route 9.
One of the potential access routes begins opposite the driving range. It is an old wood road that joins
another trail that passes through the Girl Scout property. This may be the simplest and easiest access, in
part because it includes the best parking option.
Two other wood roads begin behind a set of VA buildings, one heads due north, skirting a field owned
by Smith Vocational and connecting to an older, well-maintained trail that passes through the middle of
the Girl Scout property and continues north. A second wood road branches off to the east. This wood
road drops down a hillside, passes a dammed pond on Broad Brook and then loops north. This trail bor-
ders the eastern edge of the Girl Scout property and is a good option for exploring the ravine and wind-
ing Broad Brook. ATVs and snowmobiles use portions of this trail.
67
Vegetation Patterns
Based on past land use, hydrology and topography, the property can be divided into seven different vegetation
zones, four upland and three wetland. The following descriptions coordinate with the vegetation map.
Upland Areas
1a. The property’s former hayfields (~ 5 acres) are now covered with a mixed canopy of white pine, hemlock,
black birch, red maple, big-toothed aspen and occasional black cherry and white ash. An abundance of young
white pine occurs in the understory, and ironwood, gray birch and chestnut are also common. The ground cover is
often lacking, but there are broad patches of northern running pine, as well as Canada mayflower, starflower and
wild sarsaparilla. Asiatic bittersweet (mostly small) is found in this portion of the property, especially near the wet-
land and trail head behind the former Girl Scout headquarters. A small patch of Japanese knotweed (about 100
stems) and a few Japanese barberry and multiflora rose grow near the trailhead and may be on the abutting prop-
erty (former headquarters). These non-native species should be removed ASAP as they are still possible to control.
1b. Straddling a tumbled down stonewall, this patch of woods is also located in the former hayfields but includes
only hardwood species and no white pine. A nature trail wiggles through this section of the property and loops
through 1a.
2. A grove of white pine mixed with hemlock borders the property line and bends along the impressive north-south
running stone wall. Almost no understory plants grow in the deep shade. A few scattered sugar maple occur in this
area. Along the southern boundary are the remains of another stonewall and barbed wire.
3. Nearly level, this area was cut during the two decades as a shelterwood cut. It is dominated by red oak and red
maple, with an abundance of white oak, black oak, pignut hickory, black birch and occasional white pine and big-
toothed aspen. Some of the oaks have spreading crowns, indicating that they began growing up in an old pasture.
The trees are mostly young. The shrub layer is sparse, with low-bush blueberries, hazelnut, and maple-leaved
viburnum. The herb layer is also scant and includes Pennsylvania sedge, bracken, partridgeberry, and wintergreen.
There is also some flowering dogwood, sassafras and small patches of mountain laurel.
4. A transitional forest on the steep slopes that includes a mix of hemlock, red oak, hickory, white pine and red
maple in the canopy. Mountain laurel and witch hazel form a dense understory. This area, like the one above, was
logged in the past. There are some rocks and occasional seeps along the slope. The ground layer is thin, but in wet-
ter areas and seeps there is sensitive fern, cinnamon fern and Christmas fern. A few sugar maple too.
Wetland Areas
w-1: A seepy/stream that emerges along the northern boundary line and forms the headwaters to Deer Brook,
which ultimately flows through Look Park and into the Mill River. The rocks are moss covered, with Virginia
creeper and poison ivy common in the understory. Above red maple is the dominant species, but elm is also com-
mon. Where the Girl Scout trail crosses this wetland is the patch of Japanese knotweed.
w-2: This perched wetland is a certified vernal pool. It is surrounded by red maple, with hemlock, white pine and
scattered winterberry, mountain laurel and high bush blueberry. Mossy hummocks topped with goldthread are
common. It is only about ten inches deep at its maximum, and mostly only a few inches deep. Only wood frogs
were observed. The fauna here is depauperate, probably because of the pond’s small size and hydrology.
w-3: The jewel of the property is the forested wetland along Broad Brook, which meanders back and forth, and is
joined by springs. It’s verdant and glade-like, with moss-covered boulders and towering hemlocks. Red maple and
black birch are also common in the canopy, and the shady understory includes scattered patches of mountain lau-
rel, poison ivy, goldthread, spinulose woodfern, Christmas fern, partridgeberry, and foam flower. It feels like an-
other part of the country. Moving east from the stream, yellow birch and spicebush are common and there is a lot
of mountain laurel. There are grassy, sedgy seeps with cinnamon fern and gold thread and white oak, red oak, yel-
low birch, and tulip trees grow on margins of the swamp. A broad trail is located along the border and the abutting
property has been recently logged. Moving back to the stream and heading north to the property’s border, the hem-
locks give way to a more open hardwood swamp, with a diverse understory of herbs. Within this hemlock swamp
forest and along the stream, Japanese barberry. multiflora rose and moneywort are occasionally found.
68
1-a: 50 year old forest with abundant pine, invasives present 1-b: Young hardwoods along old stonewall 2: White pine & hemlock 3: Young, cutover hardwoods (oak, hickory, red maple) on level terrain 4: Oak, hemlock and red maple on slope w-1: Red maple drainage w-2: vernal pool w-3: hemlock and yellow birch dominated forest, with abundant mountain laurel. Major Vegetation Patterns
69
Recommendations
Work with Smith Vocational and/or the VA to provide
for public access point(s) to this property.
Work with the new owners of the former Girl Scout
headquarters to control the Japanese knotweed and
other invasives in and along the property’s western
edges.
Develop an agreement with Smith Vocational to set
aside the ravine as a no-cut zone.
Consider treating some of the larger hemlocks to pro-
tect them from woolly adelgid.
Conduct a more detailed natural history inventory
along the stream corridor for rare species (esp. dragon-
flies).
Organize a field walk to the Broad Brook valley.
Sources:
Levine, J. and A. Schlechter. Conway School of Landscape Design, 2001, Back 40 Master Plan. 36 pp.
Eiseman, Charles. 2012. Baseline Documentation for Kestrel Trust. 31 pp.
Massive burls on an oak in the deciduous
forest that was heavily logged. My clip-
board rests on one of the burls for scale.
All of the soils on the site are sandy loams (stony to extremely stony) and were derived
from till. Bedrock is close to the surface in the eastern/central part of the property.
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A few final images from the Broad Brook Greenway and Fitzgerald Lake Conservation Area.