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| PCLT P.O. Box 36 Brewster, NY 10509 |
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| Our Preserves: See a location map of our Preserves here (216k) or a larger map here (880k).Click on  to
view the item.
From our Winter 2007 Newsletter: PCLT Stewards Also the kiosk at the Peach Lake Preserve was repaired. Last summer several large trees came down in a wind storm, one of them landed on the kiosk. A work crew of five volunteers was assembled and the trees cut up and the brush hauled off. In keeping with Land Trust Alliance standards PCLT Stewards are also beginning to assemble documentation on all our preserves. This documentation will include a photographic record of property borders, aerial photos of the property, trail maps, and environmental studies of every preserve. The baseline documents of each preserve will allow us to monitor changes in our properties and plan on how better to utilize them. Our preserve stewards are also reporting quarterly on the condition of the preserves. This report will allow us to schedule work projects on the preserves to address items such as downed trees, blocked trails, and the introduction of invasive species. Browse Selected Preserves: Elena Hill donated Seventeen acres along the East Branch Croton River to the Land Trust in 2000. Mrs. Hill is an avid conservationist who lived in Patterson for many years. The donated land includes the confluence of the Haviland Hollow Brook and the East Branch Croton River just east of Route 22. This donation is key to the preservation of the wildlife values of the Great Swamp, particularly the value the Swamp has for migratory songbirds and Neotropical species. The Great Swamp occupies the valley between two parallel ridges. The highlands act as a funnel directing the birds towards the lowlands of the Swamp. Consisting of Red Maple hardwood swamp and flood plain wetlands this mostly unbroken and undeveloped area provides not only excellent food sources for warblers, tanagers, wood thrushes, sand pipers and other migrating species but also a place to rest before resuming their journeys. This preserve is being held for natural resource protection and does not have visitor access at this time. Thirty-three acres of scrub shrub, emergent fresh water marsh, red maple and upland mixed hardwoods overlooking the Ice Pond in Patterson were donated to the Land Trust in 1996 by Muriel and David Tischler. This preserve adjoins the Town of Patterson?s Clough Preserve. This preserve completes the protection of the unnamed stream and wetland which flows northwesterly into the Ice Pond. Ice Pond, then drains into the main body of the Great Swamp via Muddy Brook. The wetlands and mixed hardwoods in the preserve not only provide an opportunity for hiking and wildlife study, but also protect an important upland water source to the Great Swamp itself. Directions
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A tiny six-acre wetland located near the headwaters of the Peekskill Hollow Brook is too small to hike and too wet without the aid of rubber boots or waders. It is mostly sedge and young red maple marsh. It is an ideal place to study wetland features. In addition to the Tussock sedge and maples, a variety of other shrub-scrub plants can be found. Dozens of tiny animals called zooplankton and many varieties of algae which are the first creatures in the food chain, provide food here for the fish that are stocked in the brook each year. The wetland acts as a filter, keeping waters downstream clear so that fish and other wildlife can prosper. Directions
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Donated to the Land Trust in 1996 by Tom and Edie Keasbey, the Sterling Farm preserve offers a variety of views and habitats. From the heights of this preserve it is possible to view the Great Swamp and Pine Island to the north, Cranberry Mountain to the east and Mendel's Pond and Cornwall Hill Road to the south. The hillside was dairy pasture until the late 1920?s. It is now maturing second growth oak forest. Black, Red and Chestnut Oaks are abundant on the rocky terrain. Lowbush Blueberry is the dominant shrub-layer plant along with mountain laurel. The mountain laurel is not to be missed in early June. There is a small wetland at the northern end of the property where marsh marigolds and blue flag iris along with cinnamon and royal fern create spring beauty. This thirty-seven acre parcel was part of one of the 100-acre farms carved out of the Philipse lands for returning Revolutionary War veterans. In the early 1800?s it belonged to the Couch family; thus the road name, Couch Road. Hezekiah Couch was the first Commissioner of Highways of the Town of Patterson. Edie Keasbey?s grandparents, Charles Simon and Edith Sterling Simon acquired the farm in 1918. They raised dairy cattle and farmed the land. The farm was known as Sterling Farm, thus the name of this preserve. Directions
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This thirteen acre preserve was donated in 1991 by Henry and Vera Keil of Cold Spring, New York. The preserve is a mix of scrub/shrub wetland and wet meadows and contains a stream that feeds directly into the East Branch of the Croton River. This extension of the Great Swamp represents a different plant community than the adjacent wooded river corridor, and provides a habitat that certain species of birds and animals need to survive in our area. It also provides an important "stop-over" for migrating birds. Yellow Warbler, Willow Flycatcher, Brown Thrush and Nighthawk are some of the species which have been spotted here. A short, level trail on this preserve leads to an elevated viewing platform for bird watching. Directions
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Field Farmstead was our first preserve to be acquired. The twenty-one acre preserve is the site of one of Putnam County?s first farms. It was donated by Helen Field Gatling in 1971 and had belonged to her family since the early 1700?s when her ancestors settled in Southeast. Field Farmstead contains an area of old successional field and mature woodland, whaleback ridges and a natural amphitheater, and a small wetland area. The preserve is dominated by White and Black Oaks but includes other mature hardwoods such as Beech, Red Oak, Black Birch and Sugar Maple. Shrubs include Witch Hazel. Partridgeberry, Pipsissiwa, Christmas Fern and Lycopodium provide the ground cover. Two great whale-back outcroppings formed millions of years ago by the earth?s cooling crust being thrust upward are found here. Erosion has collapsed the domes forming a natural amphitheater. A section of the preserve was once a pasture/meadow. It is becoming successional with shrubs beginning to fill in. Plans are to maintain a part of it as a wildflower meadow. Directions
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This plot of 36.5 acres was part of the farm of the Gage family, some of the earliest settlers in the area. Elihu Gage came from Cape Cod and was among the ten pioneers who developed farms in the Oblong, the strip of territory in the eastern part of Putnam County which was the disputed area between the boundaries of the Dutch colony of New Amsterdam and the English Connecticut. The grave of Selah Gage, Elihu?s grandson, is the oldest one in the little Gage Burial ground, which lies just outside the boundary of the Preserve. He died in 1846 at the age of 70. This preserve contains seasonal streams and wetlands, upland woods, impressive rocky outcroppings, stone walls and a wide variety of birds, plants and animals attracted to the varying habitats and terrain. Trees include Yellow Birch , Butternut, Mockernut Hickory, Black Oak, Red Oak and Red Cedar. Two large rocky outcroppings are visible from the path. One features a splayed Hickory. Jack-in-the-Pulpit and masses of skunk cabbage and ferns flourish in the wetlands. There are many varieties of fern and woodland wild flowers including Club-mosses, Indian Pipes, Wintergreen, Christmas Fern and Spotted Pipsissiwa. Birds include Ruffed Grouse, Phoebes, Thrushes and Warblers in season. Directions
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Field Farmstead
Preserve
Glenda
Farrell-Henry Ross Preserve
"Dedicated to preserving and maintaining for the public, open spaces, and the natural
resources within, for the purpose of conservation, education, and passive recreation."