Spring Wildflowers blooming

Spring Wildflowers blooming

Cutleaved Toothwort blooming in Kilmer Woods A number of spring wildflowers are starting to emerge from the leaf litter and bloom in the mid-Spring sun. The most common species in Kilmer Wood by far is the spring beauty, Claytonia virginica.   Another species that is blooming right now is the cutleaved toothwort, Dentaria laciniata (pictured above). An alternative name for this plant is the pepperroot as the roots are purported to have a peppery taste.  The speckled foliage of the trout lily,…

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Piecing together the history of Kilmer Woods

Piecing together the history of Kilmer Woods

As recounted in my December 2012 posting, Hurricane Sandy blew over a number of large trees in the Kilmer Woods section of the EcoPreserve. However, no ill wind goes unstudied. In order to clear the trails of downed trees, we had to chainsaw a number of large red, white and black oak trunks. We recently went back to cut “cookies” from a several of these downed boles or stumps to be able to age the trees and fill in some…

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Meadow restoration

Meadow restoration

A team of students from the Rutgers Outdoors and Naturalists Clubs helped to restore a remnant meadow in the SW corner fo the EcoPreserve. The objective was to open up and connect several existing patches of little bluestem, a bunchgrass, and black haw shrubs. This meadow and shrub thicket has been gradually invaded by red cedars and other tree species over the years. The larger goal is promote greater habitat diversity in this portion of the EcoPreserve by maintaining early…

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Prescribed burning in the large meadow

Prescribed burning in the large meadow

With the assistance of the New Jersey Forest Fire Service and Rutgers University Emergency Services, a controlled burn was undertaken Feb 21, 2013, on the large meadow interior to the EcoPreserve. This management action is part of a long term goal of restoring the ecological health and native species diversity to the EcoPreserve. An area of tallgrass meadow of approximately 1/2 acre in size in the interior of the Preserve was targeted. This controlled burn will have great ecological benefits…

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