PRLC Preserves Adapt to Change in 2020

Fall 2020

Have you ever had an experience that changed your world? At first you fight it, not accepting the change, you want things to just stay the same. Later, with time you may have looked back and realized that experience --while tough to go through-- created a new opportunity, strengthened a relationship, or made you a stronger person.

PRLC’s preserves, like so many people and institutions in 2020, have gone through a period of change bringing both challenges and opportunities

This spring, as many neighboring towns and states closed their open spaces, the PRLC preserves stayed open and embraced many times their typical number of visitors who, while welcome, taxed our parking and trail infrastructure. Our preserves weathered storms that tore through the forest leaving fallen victims strewn across trails. And we discovered beech leaf disease on three preserves this year, a condition that can cause widespread defoliation of beech trees.

There is a silver lining to all things though. The shutdowns this spring reminded a lot of people the importance of open space for human wellbeing. Storms open gaps in the canopy that allow new tree growth to diversify the forest. New plant diseases catalyze the formation of collaboratives between myriad natural resource organizations to better promote the cause of conservation.

This year we made excellent progress on our preserves too. A major trail improvement on the Halle trail system turned a previously avoided section into a visitor favorite. Acres of invasive plants have been removed and our study plots are showing the effects of excessive deer browsing are decreasing. Eight new volunteer land stewards are helping with monthly maintenance and have proved critical to adapting to all this year has brought. Many young people have also been reaching out for volunteer opportunities this year. Thank you to all our volunteers!

In early November, yet another powerful agent of change moved into Halle Ravine – beavers! These new residents, likely displaced kits from our Isaacson/Olesen Preserve colony are (as the saying goes) busy beavers. When you visit Halle Ravine you may notice many changes including flooding, chewed trees, a bog bridge over a now flooded trail section and metal mesh protecting the base of some trees and shrubs. For a while it may feel uncomfortable seeing a beloved scene change. But know that in every change comes a new birth. Our preserves are dynamically resilient heading into 2021 and we wish the same for all of you in the new year ahead. Please email me at landsteward@prlc.net if you are interested in our internship or volunteer steward programs. We will have a recruitment night in February where you can learn more.

- Andrew Morgan, Land Steward and Program Director, PRLC

President’s Message: New Bridges and a Trail Extension at Halle

We hope that you and your families are healthy and safe this holiday season! Please visit our preserves this fall and winter. We are committed to keeping our preserves open during Covid to

provide safe outdoor recreation for Pound Ridgers. Visitors to the Halle Ravine will see lots of change. An adult beaver and a kit moved into the pond closest to Trinity Pass, built a dam and flooded the path. Dan Aitchison from Westchester County determined that we can install a beaver baffle to manage the water level and we have plans to unobtrusively install one this fall. In the meantime a temporary bog bridge spans the muddy portion of the path.

This month we will erect our long awaited bridge between the two ponds in Halle. Ken Okamoto, our architect and board member, created a plan for a beautiful bridge that highlights the existing massive piece of granite on the dam as its centerpiece. The bridge will link the existing path to a new trail that will end at Trinity Pass across the street from the Olesen Preserve. Our thanks to Ken for his gorgeous plans, Josh Fischer for his master craftsmanship and Andrew Morgan, our land steward, for managing our new beaver neighbors and creating the new trail extension.

Our efforts continue to create a large area centered on the Halle Ravine clear of the major invasive species. The Halle Ravine itself is now completed, as is the portion of the adjacent Olesen Preserve near Donbrook Road and Trinity Pass. Now that we have removed the invasive species that had been growing there, we will restore the triangle formed by Donbrook Road and Trinity Pass with native plants. In 2021 the interior of the Olesen Preserve will be an area of focus for invasives removal. We will also work with neighbors on clearing and restoring their properties.

Thanks to Andrew Morgan our trails are in great shape despite significant damage from the summer storms. Credit also goes to our crew of volunteer preserve stewards - Ellen Grogan and Bruce Kramer, Chad Yvon, Ned Brand, Elissa Adamson, Brent Walker and Madalena Lewis. We are always looking for more helpers, so if you like working outdoors planting and doing conservation work, please contact Andrew at landsteward@prlc.net.

I would like to give a shout out to Carrie Sears, who is stepping down after four years as the head of the Town Conservation Board. She has been a great partner in promoting conservation in Pound Ridge. Under Carrie’s guidance the Town introduced a graphical information system to map the Town’s resources and commissioned Hudsonia to perform a study of Pound Ridge’s habitats.

I appeal to you for donations in every newsletter, but this year our need is particularly urgent. Donations year to date are down -40% vs. last year even as use of our preserves has increased greatly. And grant monies are difficult to come by due to the impact Covid has had on tax receipts.

We need your tax deductible contribution at whatever level you can afford. If you have not previously contributed, we urge you to do so now, and become a member of this vital organization. All of our efforts - to protect native plants from deer browse, to commission professional management plans for all of our preserves, to build and maintain our kiosks, bridges and trails, to purchase and install signage for your education and enjoyment, and more – cost money. PRLC has an all-volunteer board, but we still have expenses. We are entirely contribution supported, and while we receive assistance from our grant partners for specific projects we need your help.

Your gifts will be amplified this year because a committed supporter has offered to match the first $20,000 of donation that we receive during December 2020. We understand that some of you may be experiencing financial uncertainty or stress and we recognize that these are challenging times. But we have never needed your support like we do now. We work tirelessly for the benefit of our entire community and our community has used our preserves like never before and so, if you are able, we ask you to contribute what you can to help us to continue our mission.

- Mike Kagan, President, PRLC