Stone Bridge Preserve
Introduction
The Stone Bridge Preserve is currently in the first stage of a transition from mature forest to shrubland and young forest, in accordance with Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP) Young Forest and Shrubland Initiative.
The severe reduction of early successional habitats, which include grasslands, meadows, shrublands and young forests, is a significant threat to wildlife diversity in New England. These types of habitat have dwindled over time as areas have been developed or aged into mature forest. Newtown is committed to providing diverse habitat on appropriate open space properties that will provide shelter, food, and protection for threatened wildlife that, without intervention, may become extinct.
The severe reduction of early successional habitats, which include grasslands, meadows, shrublands and young forests, is a significant threat to wildlife diversity in New England. These types of habitat have dwindled over time as areas have been developed or aged into mature forest. Newtown is committed to providing diverse habitat on appropriate open space properties that will provide shelter, food, and protection for threatened wildlife that, without intervention, may become extinct.
Public Access
Stone Bridge Preserve is located 5 miles south of Sandy Hook Center, on Stone Bridge Trail off of Route 34. The Trail is a one mile unpaved road that ends at the entrance to Lower Paugussett State Forest. The 42.56 acre Preserve, to the west of the Trail, is open to the public, but there are no marked or established walking trails. Hunting, unauthorized ATVs and other motorized vehicles and equipment are prohibited. The abutting State Forest has limited public access and is used for passive recreation, hunting, and habitat creation.
Description / Special Features
In early 2017, the Conservation Commission and the Town of Newtown approved a Forest Management plan for Stone Bridge and initiated a transition from mature, heavily canopied forest to young forest and shrublands, also known as ‘early successional habitat’. The goal is to provide appropriate habitat for the New England Cottontail (NEC) and more than 50 other designated ‘species of greatest conservation need’ that require shrublands and young forests to thrive.
Changing the habitat on the Stone Bridge Preserve requires a heavy reduction of trees in the center acreage and thinning on the edges. Treetops and brush remain on the ground to provide immediate shelter and food for wildlife until young native trees and shrubs can establish themselves. While it may appear unkempt for a few years, the result will greatly increase plant and wildlife diversity. It is a unique opportunity for Newtown residents to witness the creation of a young forest that will attract declining and threatened animals and plants.
Changing the habitat on the Stone Bridge Preserve requires a heavy reduction of trees in the center acreage and thinning on the edges. Treetops and brush remain on the ground to provide immediate shelter and food for wildlife until young native trees and shrubs can establish themselves. While it may appear unkempt for a few years, the result will greatly increase plant and wildlife diversity. It is a unique opportunity for Newtown residents to witness the creation of a young forest that will attract declining and threatened animals and plants.
The New England cottontail (NEC) is a threatened and declining species that has experienced a steep decline in population throughout its range over the past 50 years. Unlike the non-native Eastern Cottontail, the NEC needs thick cover in the form of brush, shrubs, and young trees. These early successional habitats are ephemeral, lasting only 15-20 years before reverting back to mature forests, where understory plants are often too sparse to provide food and cover.
In 2006, the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service (USFWS) designated the NEC a candidate species for protection under the Federal Endangered Species Act. In 2011, numerous conservation partners, including the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP) and the Wildlife Management Institute, formed a regional initiative to reverse NEC decline through habitat creation and enhancement, monitoring and research, captive breeding and population management, and education and outreach. In 2015, as a result of these efforts, the USFWS decided that protecting the NEC under the Endangered Species Act was not warranted, but conservation work must continue or this could be reversed.
In 2006, the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service (USFWS) designated the NEC a candidate species for protection under the Federal Endangered Species Act. In 2011, numerous conservation partners, including the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP) and the Wildlife Management Institute, formed a regional initiative to reverse NEC decline through habitat creation and enhancement, monitoring and research, captive breeding and population management, and education and outreach. In 2015, as a result of these efforts, the USFWS decided that protecting the NEC under the Endangered Species Act was not warranted, but conservation work must continue or this could be reversed.
NEC Best Management Practices Guide (2013)
As a result of a timber cut in the Lower Paugussett State Forest in 2002, a population of cottontail rabbits established itself in the shrubby young forest that grew in the harvested area. Through DNA testing, these rabbits were identified and documented as the native NEC, as opposed to the more prolific Eastern Cottontail. Because young forest requires renewal every 20 years, DEEP’s Wildlife Division began searching for neighboring land that could be transitioned to a successful NEC habitat. Lisa Wahle, a contract wildlife biologist at the Wildlife Management Institute who has worked on several successful NEC habitat transitions, approached the Conservation Commission about Stone Bridge Preserve.
Stone Bridge Preserve is an ideal site for habitat transition because it abuts an area in the state forest where the NEC established itself. In addition, this open space was not targeted for trail development or other use, and hunting is prohibited. The Conservation Commission was already considering implementing a 2010 Yale Forestry Plan that strongly recommended, at minimum, the thinning of the trees to improve forest health. A Forest Management Plan for Stone Bridge was created by Jeremy Clark of Clark Forestry Services, with advisement from Lisa Wahle and the Conservation Commission.
The Conservation Commission, Inland Wetlands and First Selectman approved a Plan that proposed a harvest on 11.7 acres that would leave 1-3 seed trees per acre, a 50% tree thinning area on 8.8 acres, and 33% thinning on 2.0 acres. Tree tops left on site provide food and shelter for wildlife. The healthiest trees are preserved in order to provide new seedlings that will be a crucial part of the new young forest.
The regeneration timber harvest was completed by Don Moon Logging in June 2017. It will take many years to complete the transition from regeneration cut to young forest, and the Conservation Commission will continue to manage the Preserve. Profits from the timber harvest will be used for future conservation management and educational efforts.
The Newtown Conservation Commission is grateful to Iroquois Gas Transmission System, LP, for providing a generous grant that facilitated the development and implementation of the Forest Management Plan, and will also be used for continued conservation, education and community outreach at Stone Bridge Preserve.
As a result of a timber cut in the Lower Paugussett State Forest in 2002, a population of cottontail rabbits established itself in the shrubby young forest that grew in the harvested area. Through DNA testing, these rabbits were identified and documented as the native NEC, as opposed to the more prolific Eastern Cottontail. Because young forest requires renewal every 20 years, DEEP’s Wildlife Division began searching for neighboring land that could be transitioned to a successful NEC habitat. Lisa Wahle, a contract wildlife biologist at the Wildlife Management Institute who has worked on several successful NEC habitat transitions, approached the Conservation Commission about Stone Bridge Preserve.
Stone Bridge Preserve is an ideal site for habitat transition because it abuts an area in the state forest where the NEC established itself. In addition, this open space was not targeted for trail development or other use, and hunting is prohibited. The Conservation Commission was already considering implementing a 2010 Yale Forestry Plan that strongly recommended, at minimum, the thinning of the trees to improve forest health. A Forest Management Plan for Stone Bridge was created by Jeremy Clark of Clark Forestry Services, with advisement from Lisa Wahle and the Conservation Commission.
The Conservation Commission, Inland Wetlands and First Selectman approved a Plan that proposed a harvest on 11.7 acres that would leave 1-3 seed trees per acre, a 50% tree thinning area on 8.8 acres, and 33% thinning on 2.0 acres. Tree tops left on site provide food and shelter for wildlife. The healthiest trees are preserved in order to provide new seedlings that will be a crucial part of the new young forest.
The regeneration timber harvest was completed by Don Moon Logging in June 2017. It will take many years to complete the transition from regeneration cut to young forest, and the Conservation Commission will continue to manage the Preserve. Profits from the timber harvest will be used for future conservation management and educational efforts.
The Newtown Conservation Commission is grateful to Iroquois Gas Transmission System, LP, for providing a generous grant that facilitated the development and implementation of the Forest Management Plan, and will also be used for continued conservation, education and community outreach at Stone Bridge Preserve.
History and Acquisition
The Preserve property is on an upland knoll, with stony soils and low-lying wetlands. There is little indication that it was ever used for agriculture or timber harvesting. Until the 1920’s, part of the parcel and surrounding land was clear-cut for fuelwood and charcoal production, as evidenced by the remains of charcoal mounds that exist under leaf piles today.
In 1991 the Iroquois Natural Gas Pipeline was built, creating a grassland corridor that bisects the property from north to south. In early 2004, the Town of Newtown acquired 5.06 acres to the south of the pipeline, and later that year an additional 37.5 acres of open space were purchased. This created a contiguous swath of preserved land buffering the State Forest. The Pipeline corridor is mowed every 3 years; the surrounding town property is mature forest with heavy tree canopies and few understory plants to provide shelter and food to diversified wildlife.
In 2010, a Yale School of Forestry study commissioned by the Conservation Commission proposed tree harvesting to enhance wildlife habitat, forest health and structural diversity for this site. In 2016, the Conservation Commission initiated a project to investigate the feasibility and costs of implementing a forest management plan.
On Friday, September 8th, 2017 the Conservation Commission hosted a Ceremony to celebrate the official opening of the Stone Bridge Preserve. Selectman Herb Rosenthal, Lisa Wahle and Jeremy Clark spoke and attendees included Ruth Parkins of Iroquois Gas, local educators, and representatives from the Newtown Forest Association and the press. Mr. Clark and Ms. Wahle then led a walk through the Preserve, explaining the need for early successional habitat and answering questions.
In 1991 the Iroquois Natural Gas Pipeline was built, creating a grassland corridor that bisects the property from north to south. In early 2004, the Town of Newtown acquired 5.06 acres to the south of the pipeline, and later that year an additional 37.5 acres of open space were purchased. This created a contiguous swath of preserved land buffering the State Forest. The Pipeline corridor is mowed every 3 years; the surrounding town property is mature forest with heavy tree canopies and few understory plants to provide shelter and food to diversified wildlife.
In 2010, a Yale School of Forestry study commissioned by the Conservation Commission proposed tree harvesting to enhance wildlife habitat, forest health and structural diversity for this site. In 2016, the Conservation Commission initiated a project to investigate the feasibility and costs of implementing a forest management plan.
On Friday, September 8th, 2017 the Conservation Commission hosted a Ceremony to celebrate the official opening of the Stone Bridge Preserve. Selectman Herb Rosenthal, Lisa Wahle and Jeremy Clark spoke and attendees included Ruth Parkins of Iroquois Gas, local educators, and representatives from the Newtown Forest Association and the press. Mr. Clark and Ms. Wahle then led a walk through the Preserve, explaining the need for early successional habitat and answering questions.
