This week, I made my last visit to Cassavant this year. It was a bittersweet moment – I’m sad to be done with this project, but I know I’ll always be able to return next year. The biggest change I notice is that the river is higher than I’ve ever seen it – it’s pushing the edges of the banks. The area is much lusher and greener, almost as green as it was during my first visit in the fall. Something cool I spotted this visit were fiddleheads! I was tempted to pick some and cook them since I’ve never tried them, but alas I didn’t.

fiddleheads!

Throughout this year, I’ve been able to observe how nature and culture intertwine at my spot. My spot is located in Winooski by a residential area, making it accessible for a lot of people. Many people take advantage of the reserved land, walking their dogs or using it as a chance to eat outdoors during their lunch breaks. Cassavant is used as a release from the bustle of life for many, a chance to get outside, relax and observe nature. It’s use waxes and wanes with the seasons, with more people outside during the warmer weather, enjoying the sunshine. In addition to recreation, picking and cooking fiddleheads is a tradition that represents an intersection between nature and culture. These plants are a customary delicacy around Vermont, and years of experience have taught people not to pick too many as to damage the fiddlehead population.

Though I’ve been to Cassavant a lot this year, I don’t consider myself a part of this place. I’m more like an observer, perched at the edge of this ecosystem looking in. I don’t really contribute to the ecosystem; I’m not a part of this food chain or energy cycle. I merely observe. I have not spent nearly enough time here to feel truly a part of this area. However, each visit I feel more familiar with the area, and I plan on keeping up my visits in the fall, to catch up with the place I know so well.

This mid-April visit to Casavant was not what I expected! “April” conjures up images of balmy, 60 degree and sunny days, perhaps with a few showers. However, today’s visit was amid a snow and hail covered ground, with temperatures hovering around freezing.

However, the snow didn’t completely hide everything. Signs of spring were popping up all over Casavant. Spring wildflowers were beginning to pop up through the leaf litter and snow. Maples and beeches were beginning to bud, showing sure signs of spring. I’m pretty sure I heard (from Mary Holland’s description) what might have been a wood frog courtship call coming from the stream! It also could have been something else, since my site is near a residential area with lots of strange noises.

My phenology site is near a large open field, where dog owners bring their dogs to play with and couples come out to enjoy the sunshine. Naturally, there is an edge between the forest and the field area. The natural area also borders other habitats, such as the Winooski River, as well as residential areas. I don’t think that my place provides habitat for any forest interior species seeing as it is a relatively small wooded area and has a lot of edges with a lot of different habitats.

This spring break I took a break from a day of fantastic skiing at Stowe to make some observations in a secluded glade on Mt. Mansfield. This location is different from Cassavant in loads of ways. The alpine terrain means that my glade features a very different tree species composition. Cassavant was full of beeches and maples; the Stowe glade had more birches and some spruces. Another major difference was the human impacts on my two sites. At Cassavant, the only major visible human impact on the natural world is the cleared walking path. In my glade, the forest was thinned to allow for recreating skiers and boarders. Their tracks crisscross down the slopes, and there are some broken branches from an out-of-control skier or rider.

People have been skiing on Mount Mansfield for over 100 years, but the first actual trails were cut in the 1930s. More and more people came to the mountain throughout the end of the 20th century as the sport gained popularity and more lifts were built as the mountain. Today, Stowe is one of the biggest mountains in New England, drawing thousands of people per year.

I didn’t see any signs of wildlife, other than a few crows. The tree composition of the forest was mostly paper birch and spruces. The trees were fairly widely spaced due to people cutting glades. Some of the trees had broken branches, especially the spruces because of their multiple low-hanging branches. In addition, some branches were felled in the most recent heavy storms. Other than that, most of the trees seemed to be thriving, despite the cold temperatures.

I would identify Cassavant as a Silver Maple-Ostrich Fern Riverine Floodplain Forest, due especially to it’s proximity to the Winooski River and the abundance of silver maples. Cassavant is along a portion of the Winooski that moves at a moderate gradient, leading me to identify the natural community this was instead of as a Sensitive Fern Floodplain Forest. The soils are slightly sandy which further supports this identification. Other species common to these kind of floodplain forests include boxelder, buckthorn, honeysuckle, and ostrich fern, all of which I have seen in this spot along the Winooski River.

The biggest phenological change that has occurred here at Cassavant is the noticeable lack of snow. Much of the snow has melted off, leaving only small patches here and there. The melting snow has caused the soil to be quite muddy and squishy. It is very different from the icy, hard ground from a couple of weeks ago. The melting snow has also lead to more runoff in the branches of the Winooski river, causing it to be higher than it was prior to the melting. The

I used BioFinder to analyze my phenology spot. I was most interested in how the man-made infrastructure affected the ecosystem at Cassavant. Since the natural area borders a highway, much of the road is designated as high priority animal crossing (shown in red on the map). One of the dangers of having a thriving natural community amid a populated and developed area is dangers of traffic colliding with wildlife. Through denoting the road as a high priority animal crossing, the town hopefully tries to address this issue. Another option could be a wildlife bridge to help animals cross the street. Another thing I was interested in was the uncommon plant and animal species shown on the map in the Cassavant area, which increases the priority of the natural area’s continued protection and conservation, especially considering its close proximity to a developed area.

Map of my Phenology Spot Created Using Biofinder

Lots of phenological changes have occurred since my last visit to Cassavant. Firstly, the whole area is covered in a layer of ice below the latest snowfall. The brook is now coated in a thick layer of ice and is strong enough to walk across. All the deciduous trees have lost their leaves by these point. This landscape looks a lot different now than it did when I first visited it in September.

the river coated in ice

Along the river’s edge, I found grey squirrel tracks zigzagging along the beach area. I also found the tracks of some kind of bounder; I’m guessing it to be a rabbit. In addition, I found the tracks of some small rodent; I speculate it to a shrew, or a weasel it was difficult to tell in the snow.

some kind of bounder, probably a rabbit

grey squirrel

a small rodent, probably a weasel, shrew, mouse?

I also paid special attention to buds and twigs this lab. I was able to identify silver maple, green ash, sugar maple, boxelder, and basswood using my winter tree ID skills.

boxelder twig

silver maple twig

my sketch of a boxelder twig

Like much of 19th Vermont, the area along the banks of the Winooski River was cleared of trees to be used as farmland. The area was only 20% forested during the pre-civil war era. Towards the end of the 19th century, the dairy industry dominated the farmland along the river. The area was a major producer of butter and cheese for the Boston market. Throughout the 1900s, however, dairy and agricultural production decreased steadily in the region. The amount of land devoted to agriculture production dropped from 45% in 1950 to 12% in 1997 (Vermont Department of Agriculture Census). This transitioning of land use to residential use resulted in a large scale regrowth of forests.

The impacts of the booming dairy industry in the region can be seen in the natural area today. Many of the trees are large or medium, with very few small understory trees. This is an indicator of a recovering forest. Many of the tall trees, such as the silver maple which is common on the site, are very fast growing trees and are pioneer species. As the area continues to recover from deforestation, the species composition will likely change.

Many mills were built along the Winooski River, utilizing the flowing water to generate power for production. Some of these mills were outposts of the timber industry, which only furthered deforestation. Many others were textile mills. Some of these mills ended up selling the extra hydroelectric power they generated as a second source of income. These mills began to supplement agriculture as a major industry in the region, which allowed much of the land to become reforested.

Champlain Mills was a large textile mill built 1912 just a few hundred feet from my phenology site at Casavant. The mill is still standing today, it is now a shopping mall.

An image of Champlain Mills from the early 20th century

Aerial photo of the Casavant from 1937

Aerial photo of Casavant from 2017

Over Thanksgiving Break I went to Arlington Great Meadows, a wooded conservation area down the street from my house! It contains beautiful trails and a boardwalk that is frequented by runners, dog walkers, and people eager to enjoy the natural landscape. Here’s what I have to say about my experiences, and a comparison of AGM to my phenology spot in Casavant Natural Area:

At a first glance, the meadow is desolate and windswept wasteland this time of year. The trees have shed their colorful plumage, the greenery that once coated the ground is brown and shriveled, many of the winged singers have migrated away leaving behind the ghosts of their summer songs. However, the are is alive with activity, even if it is not as obvious as during the summer months. A small amount of time watching and listening in the meadow reveals of the bustle of this ecosystem in November.
Squirrels scurry around the undergrowth, doing some last minute nut gathering before the ground becomes consistently frost coated. Fleets of geese occasionally traverse the skies in their lopsided V’s , honking to their fellows and alerting those down below to their presence. The few conifers that intersperse the deciduous majority are still green, providing images of the upcoming Christmas holiday.
Humans are still a relevant presence in the meadow, despite the brisk November chill. Dogs are leading their owners across the crisscrossing paths, subjecting their humans to the whims of their noses. Families explore the beds of vernal pools, kids dashing across the hard, leaf covered ground. Couples get some fresh air as they stroll through the wooded paths, enjoying the weak rays of the late autumn sun while they can.

My phenology site at Casavant Natural Area has a lot of similarities with the meadow near my house, despite the fact that they are located over 200 miles apart. Both spots contain wooded areas and meadow/grassland type terrain. I’ve seen similar species at both sites, such as squirrels, woodpeckers and red-winged blackbirds.
One difference between the two sites is the tree composition. Casavant tends to have mainly maples, including red, silver, and sugar. The wooded areas of the meadow tend to have more oaks and birches than maples. Other than that, species composition for plants and animals at both sites is fairly similar between the two sites.
The big difference between Casavant and the Great Meadow is who uses it. Casavant is mainly used by relatively young and hip people who live in Winooski and use the wooded area to walk their dogs or get a natural respite during their work day. Arlington Great Meadow on the other hand, is more often utilized by families and runners; you see a lot more kids in the meadow than at Casavant. Since the meadow is linked to the bike path, a lot more runners will use this area than Casavant. While these two areas are similar in appearance in composition, their uses differ significantly due to their locations in their respective communities.

Changes I have observed since my last visit include:

• trees, in general, are much more bare
• many more leaves on the ground as seen in pictures
• more fallen trees and branches from storm last weekend
• small woody plants are looking more shriveled up

An event map of my last trip to Cassavant

There have been a few changes to my piece of the woods since I was last here. There are a lot more leaves on the ground, and the grasses are a lot yellower than they were. Some of the leaves of the small herbaceous plants have shriveled up and turned yellow-brown.

This trip I explored a little more beyond my usual sitting spot. My location is interesting because in a small area of land there is a river, a wetland area, and a forest section. I walked around the edge of the wetland today and took a beautiful picture (see below).

On the wetland, there was a lot of evidence of wildlife. I could hear birdcalls; I saw ants and crickets scuttling along the ground.

The wetlands

Birds-Eye Map