Month: March 2018

In the high peaks of the San Juan Mountains sits the ski mountain and town of Telluride. The land was originally inhabited by the Ute people, who were pushed off their sacred land by white people drawn west to mine. Since then the mining has stopped leaving behind collapsing buildings and forgotten tunnels to remind the land of its white washed history. A ski resort has over taken carving trails through the mountain and drawing a new crowd to the area. This new wave of people has brought with them a lost love a passion for the land. The community worked together to buy a portion of the valley floor to prevent it from being further developed, and has turned it into conservation land. The ever-changing landscape still continues to host a variety of
wildlife evident through tracks in the snow, many encounters with chickadees, siting of a pair of mountain jays, and the remains of a porcupine. The trees that dominated the landscape were aspen and firs showing predominantly dormant signs.

 

https://www.google.com/maps/d/u/0/edit?hl=en&mid=1ykRJjytQuYS7tPjyAYdwpPMfvCap1iQX&ll=37.9092408060069%2C-107.83141139999998&z=13

This nook of centennial woods closely aligns with the Hemlock forests, more specifically, the Hemlock-Northern hardwood forest type. This type of woodland was identified by the eastern hemlock, yellow birch, white pine, and American beech trees found there. In addition to the trees both deer tracks and scat have been found in the area. The plot of land would function well as a deer yard in the winter because of the sheltering from both hemlock trees and topography of the land.

Since the last visit, almost all the snow has melted revealing the forest floor. Other changes are soon to happen, but the melting of the snow was by far the biggest, and an indicator of more to follow.

 

 

BioFinder has shown that in the city of Burlington, Centennial Woods is the predominate green space allowing for habitat and development of wildlife. Burlington is a very densely settled portion of Vermont, and the evergreen forest that Centennial Woods provides is immensely beneficial to animals like White-Tailed Deer surviving in this area.