Town of North East Significant Habitats

SIGNIFICANT HABITATS IN THE TOWN OF NORTH EAST, DUTCHESS COUNTY, NEW YORK Photo: Kristen Bell Report to the Town of North East, the Millbrook Tribute Garden, the Dyson Foundation, and the Dutchess Land Conservancy By Claudia Knab-Vispo, Kristen Bell, and Gretchen Stevens February 2008 Hudsonia Ltd. PO Box 5000 Annandale, NY 12504 SIGNIFICANT HABITATS IN THE TOWN OF NORTH EAST CONTENTS - I - CONTENTS Page EXECUTIVE SUMMARY .................................................................................. 1 INTRODUCTION Background ........................................................................................................ 3 What is Biodiversity? ........................................................................................ 5 What are Ecologically Significant Habitats? ..................................................... 5 Study Area ......................................................................................................... 6 METHODS Gathering Information & Predicting Habitats ................................................... 9 Preliminary Habitat Mapping & Field Verification ........................................ 11 Defining Habitat Types ................................................................................... 12 Final Mapping & Presentation of Data ............................................................ 12 RESULTS Overview ......................................................................................................... 15 Habitat Descriptions: Upland Habitats Upland Forests ........................................................................................... 18 Cool Ravine ............................................................................................... 23 Red Cedar Woodland ................................................................................ 24 Crest/Ledge/Talus ...................................................................................... 27 Oak-Heath Barren ...................................................................................... 29 Marble Knoll ............................................................................................. 32 Upland Shrubland ...................................................................................... 33 Upland Meadow ........................................................................................ 35 Orchard/Plantation ..................................................................................... 37 Cultural ...................................................................................................... 37 Waste Ground ............................................................................................ 38 Habitat Descriptions: Wetland Habitats Swamps ...................................................................................................... 39 Marsh ......................................................................................................... 44 Wet Meadow ............................................................................................. 46 Calcareous Wet Meadow ........................................................................... 48 SIGNIFICANT HABITATS IN THE TOWN OF NORTH EAST CONTENTS - II - Fen ............................................................................................................. 49 Intermittent Woodland Pool ...................................................................... 52 Circumneutral Bog Lake ........................................................................... 54 Acidic Bog & Acidic Bog Lake ................................................................ 56 Constructed Pond ....................................................................................... 58 Open Water ................................................................................................ 59 Springs & Seeps ........................................................................................ 61 Streams & Riparian Corridors ................................................................... 62 CONSERVATION PRIORITIES AND PLANNING IN NORTH EAST Planning for Biodiversity ................................................................................ 67 Townwide Planning ................................................................................... 67 Reviewing Site-Specific Proposals ............................................................ 69 General Strategies for Conservation .......................................................... 70 Priority Habitats in North East ........................................................................ 73 Large Forests ............................................................................................. 77 Cool Ravines ............................................................................................. 80 Large Meadows ......................................................................................... 82 Oak-Heath Barren & other Crest/Ledge/Talus .......................................... 86 Marble Knolls ............................................................................................ 90 Fens & Calcareous Wet Meadows ............................................................ 91 Intermittent Woodland Pools ..................................................................... 95 Circumneutral Bog Lakes ........................................................................ 101 Acidic Bogs & Acidic Bog Lakes ........................................................... 104 Wetland Complexes ................................................................................. 107 Streams & Riparian Corridors ................................................................. 108 Conservation Areas in North East .................................................................. 113 Taconic Mountains .................................................................................. 113 Webatuck Valley North/Noster Kill Valley ............................................ 116 Millerton .................................................................................................. 117 Winchell Mountain/Skunk’s Misery Road .............................................. 117 Silver Mountain/Wassaic Valley ............................................................. 118 Shekomeko/Bean River Valley ............................................................... 118 Webatuck Valley South ........................................................................... 119 CONCLUSION ................................................................................................ 120 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ............................................................................... 122 REFERENCES CITED ..................................................................................... 123 SIGNIFICANT HABITATS IN THE TOWN OF NORTH EAST CONTENTS - III - APPENDICES A. Mapping Conventions ............................................................................. 131 B. Species of Conservation Concern ............................................................ 134 C. Explanation of Rarity Ranks ................................................................... 139 D. Common and Scientific Names of Plants Mentioned in this Report ....... 142 FIGURES 1. Bedrock Geology ....................................................................................... 8 2. Ecologically Significant Habitats ............................................................. 14 3. Contiguous Habitat Patches ...................................................................... 17 4. Contiguous Forested Areas ....................................................................... 76 5. Contiguous Meadow Habitats .................................................................. 85 6. Crest/Ledge/Talus and Oak-Heath Barrens .............................................. 89 7. Calcareous Habitats (Fens, Calcareous Wet Meadows, Cinquefoil Shrublands, and Marble Knolls) ............................................................... 92 8. Intermittent Woodland Pools .................................................................... 99 9. Acidic Bogs, Acidic Bog Lake, and Circumneutral Bog Lake .............. 103 10. Wetland Complexes ................................................................................ 106 11. Streams and Cool Ravines ...................................................................... 112 11. Conservation Areas ................................................................................ 115 TABLES 1. Ecologically Significant Habitats Identified in North East ..................... 16 2. Priority Habitats, Species of Concern, and Conservation Zones ............. 75 SIGNIFICANT HABITATS IN THE TOWN OF NORTH EAST EXECUTIVE SUMMARY - 1 - EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Hudsonia biologists identified and mapped the ecologically significant habitats in the Town of North East during the period January through November 2007. Through map analysis, aerial photograph interpretation, and field observations we created a large-format map showing the location and configuration of these habitats throughout the town. Some of these habitats are rare or declining in the region or support rare species of plants or animals, while others are high quality examples of common habitats or habitat complexes. Among our more interesting finds were 80 fens, almost 30 intermittent woodland pools, acidic bogs and an acidic bog lake, a circumneutral

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