This morning, I joined a small group of East Quabbin Land Trust friends and supporters at the Muddy Brook Wildlife Management Area, off Patrill Hollow Road in Hardwick.  We were privileged to have with us Chris Buelow, Restoration Ecologist with the Commonwealth’s Natural Heritage and Endangered Species Program, who guided us on a walk through this unique landscape.  The NHESP’s mission is to protect the state’s biodiversity, their highest priority being the native species listed as endangered, threatened, or of special concern in our state.

At approximately 1400 acres, the Muddy Brook WMA is quite large, and its four non-contiguous parcels are all located within Hardwick.  Although these parcels were designated a WMA since the early 90s, there was not much interest in studying the area until about ten years ago, when Massachusetts ecologists began to realize that much of this area was probably a pine barrens.  Plant communities in pine barrens are adapted to frequent fire and harsh growing conditions; these plants in turn often host specific animal communities.  These pine barrens are also globally rare:  in the Northeast, from New Jersey to southern Maine, coastal plain pine barrens have been studied and conserved, but there are very few inland, or riparian, pine barrens.  These inland areas are characterized by steep valleys, sandy soil, and wetlands, such as are found in Ossipee in New Hampshire, Albany in New York, Montague in the Pioneer Valley, and here in Hardwick.

The significance of fire for these lands cannot be overstated, but this fact is not generally understood.  Until recently, it was believed that Native Americans lived lightly on the land here in the Northeast, but a deeper look at their lifestyle and culture indicates that for thousands of years prior to European settlement — for perhaps 7000 to 9000 years — Native Americans cultivated the land, and they did it with fire:  they used fire to clear land for seasonal farming, to stimulate berry production, and to manage game.  But with European colonization, the Native American lifestyle was suppressed, and the land was cleared for intensive farming.  The next phase of the settlement story is well-known: with the onset of the Industrial Revolution and the westward migration of farm families to the Ohio River Valley and the Great Plains, New England agricultural land reverted to forest, with white pines, a generalist tree, becoming dominant in many areas.

When initial fieldwork confirmed for ecologists that this landscape in Hardwick historically looked quite different, a conclusion subsequently validated by analysis of soil cores, the NHESP drew up plans for a restoration project.  Phase I consisted of entirely removing the generalist species from 120 acres; when the trees were clear-cut in the winter of 2015, the area looked pretty bleak.  However, in June of that year, it turned green due to unusual plants sprouting (these species are disturbance dependent).  These included Little Bluestem and maybe 15-20 other plants that thrive in the sand plains.  Birds and insects also returned: song sparrows, prairie warblers, towhees, American woodcock, as well as moths that depend on specific host plants.  In fact, six state-listed species have now been documented here.

Notice the stone wall at the side of the trail we’re on; this feature indicates that at one point this soil was plowed:

The trees were cut all the way to the water line of Muddy Brook:

Chris told us that this area is a frost pocket; due to its unique geology, frost can occur at any time of year, even in the summer:

In fact, this area’s geologic features were shaped by glaciation.  Glaciers carved out this drainage valley and dumped sand and gravel to create soil; the numerous lakes and ponds here, some as deep as 100 feet, were formed when the glaciers retreated.  We’re standing on a knoll here, looking at a landform created by the melting glacier:

Here is a view of Muddy Brook, with unrestored landscape in the background.  In Phase II, the forest owned by NEFF adjacent to where we are walking will also be logged, all the way to Quabbin’s Gate 43 (some pines which survived the 1938 hurricane will stay).

Although it’s hard to see in the photo, this area has been planted with lupine from the Ware River, about 3 miles away.  Lupine is a host plant for the Frosted Elfin butterfly, a state-listed species; it should flower in about a month.  In addition to Pitch Pine, other sand plain obligates include the Eastern Hognose Snake, Wild Yellow Indigo, New Jersey Tea, Bird’s-Foot Violet, Lowbush Blueberry, and Sheep Laurel.  With respect to the plants, Chris pointed out that we think of pine barrens as having poor or acidic soil, but riverine pine barrens also support species that favor mineral-rich or calcareous soils.

It’s exciting to think of this unusual landscape right in our own backyard, and I’m eager to follow this restoration project.

Warning:  Ticks abound in this area: use appropriate caution when visiting this property.

The Belmont-based organization Earthwatch recently invited members and friends to participate in a “BioBlitz,” a three-day event which challenged city-dwellers throughout the country to record species found in the urban environment.  It’s kind of an amazing crowd-sourced citizen-science project; I understand that 69 cities across the globe are taking part.  The scheduled activities this morning in Cambridge included two walks at the Fresh Pond Reservation led by a City of Cambridge Water Department Ranger.

We were all encouraged to come with our smart phones and throughout the morning, upload  our observations to the iNaturalist web site (there is an app for both Android and iOS).  Insofar as I don’t have a smart phone, I brought my cheap little camera and a notebook, and that was fine.

Ranger Jean Rogers led about 25 of us along a path through Lusitania Meadow for the first hour, and then around Black’s Nook Pond for the second hour.  She’s a trained observer and natural teacher — we were lucky to have her as our guide.  I think I captured the common names of most of what we saw, which I’ve organized into groups.

Plants – Arborvitae, Bedstraw, Bittersweet, Bluebell, Burdock, Buttonbush, Cattail, Clethra (alnifolia is sweet pepperbush), Common Mugwort, Dandelion, Dog Hobble, Duckweed, Fern, Garlic Mustard, Golden Alexander, Goldenrod, Grapevine, Hackberry, Hummock Grass, Juneberry (Amelanchier–has other common names such as shadbush), Lupine, Marsh Marigold, May Apple, Mullein, Nettle, Poison Ivy, Pussy Willow, Sassafras, Staghorn Sumac, Tansy, Wild Cucumber, Wild Onion, Thistle, Trillium, Violet, Witch Hazel, Yarrow

Trees – American Elm (grows in wet soil), Ash, Beech (propagate by cloning, subject to beech bark disease), Black Cherry (bark looks like burnt potato chips) Black Walnut, Box Elder (also called ash-leaved maple), Cottonwood, Crab Apple, Eastern White Pine (5 needles), Fir (smooth needles), Gray Birch, Ironwood, Larch (deciduous conifer), Ornamental Pear, Red Cedar, Red Maple, Red Pine, Shagbark Hickory, Spruce (spiky needles), Sycamore (old giant trees often have hollow trunks), Tulip Tree, Tupelo, White Oak

Insects and other Invertebrates – Ant, Bark Beetle (creates intricate patterns in tree bark), Cabbage White Butterfly, Click Beetle, Earthworm (invasive in woodlands), Milkweed Bug, Pillbug, Snail, Wasp (see nest below), Water Strider

Fish – Largemouth Bass, Bullhead, Carp, Perch, Pickerel

Amphibian – Frog, Toad (hibernate in leaf litter during winter)

Reptile – Turtle

Birds – Cardinal (call is “cheer, cheer, cheer”), Flicker, Grackle, Mallard, Mourning Dove, Raven (larger than a crow), Red-Tailed Hawk, Red-Winged Blackbird, Robin, Song Sparrow, Swallow

Mammals – Squirrel

Although they don’t look like what you find in a florist’s shop, these are pussy willows:

Jean is holding the pod of a wild cucumber:

This paper wasp’s nest is not currently occupied:

Mullein grow mostly in the ground, but this one took root in a fallen tree:

The May Apple fruit is poisonous:

You can see a small turtle on the tree branch to the right:

The bright yellow flowers of the Marsh Marigold are a harbinger of spring:

These look like the fiddlehead ferns you see in the produce section of grocery stores in the spring:

We walked the loop trail around Lusitania Meadow (named for the Portuguese community who used to play soccer on this site — Lusitania was the name of the province of the Roman Empire which includes much of modern Portugal):

The water in Black’s Nook Pond looks turbid this morning, rather than clear, due to the recent rain:

It was such a beautiful late spring morning, and I enjoyed learning about all the nature that can be found in the city.