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Accessible Trail under construction

Accessible Trail under construction

Under the able leadership of the EcoPreserve Land Steward, Kendall Eldredge, the Summer 2023 Trail Crew started construction of an accessible trail that leads from the parking lot down towards Buell Brook before looping back. The trail is composed of crushed red shale stone dust overtop landscaping fabric and contained by plastic edging or landscape timbers. The trail winds through the woods to reduce the steepness of the slope. When completed the trail should provide access to wheelchairs, walkers and…

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Prescribed burn conducted in EcoPreserve

Prescribed burn conducted in EcoPreserve

Figures: UL –  EcoPreserve Land Steward Kendall Eldredge with a drip torch; UR – team of students that participated in the RxB decked out in protective gear; LL – post-burn in the large meadow showing patchy nature of the fire. Working with the New Jersey Forest Fire Service (NJFFS), a prescribed burn (RxB) was conducted in the EcoPreserve on April 4, 2023. The RxB was centered on the large meadow (at the intersection of the Green and Orange Trails) and…

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New Bridge on Red Trail

New Bridge on Red Trail

A new bridge was constructed across Buell Brook along the Red Trail to replace an older bridge that had been showing signs of age. It is in the same general footprint but sits a bit higher. Hopefully the new height will reduce damage from extreme precipitation events. Hurricane Ida pushed the old bridge off its foundation and it had to be wrangled back in place. Over the coming weeks we will finish clean up of the site and add gravel…

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Research study tests Environmental DNA (eDNA) approaches to detecting arboreal mammals in the EcoPreserve

Research study tests Environmental DNA (eDNA) approaches to detecting arboreal mammals in the EcoPreserve

Researchers swab the trunk of an ailanthus tree to then bring back to the lab to analyze for traces of animal DNA A  team from Dr. Julie Lockwood’s research lab used the EcoPreserve and Jockey Hollow National Historical Park to test the efficacy of sampling environmental DNA from trees and soil to detect cryptic arboreal mammals. The eDNA results  form the EcoPreserve compared favorably with the Snapshot USA wildlife cam monitoring conducted by Dr. Rick Lathrop’s and bat surveys conducted…

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