Sprouting glossy buckthorn is cause for celebration – or at least a pulling party on Saturday, July 7, 9-11am. Help yank ’em before they get going at Mink Brook Nature Preserve. Meet at Brook Road gate.
Are you downsizing or upgrading? We’d love to help you clean out your closet! The Hanover Conservancy is looking for a four-drawer file cabinet and a few pairs of binoculars. Please get in touch if you can help.
As part of an on-going project with the USDA Natural Resource Conservation Service, the Hanover Conservancy has conducted a treatment to control invasive Japanese Knotweed along the corridor of Mink Brook in the Mink Brook Nature Preserve. A special permit has been issued for this work, carried out by a licensed professional under the supervision of our eco-forester, Ehrhard Frost. Our project is funded by the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service.
Aggressive non-native plants like Japanese knotweed, honeysuckle, bittersweet, and glossy buckthorn steal habitat from native plants and wildlife. We are in the middle of a three-year project to control them.
In the spring of 2012, we began the next phase of this project, replanting with 2000 native trees and shrubs that are well-adapted to growing conditions at Mink Brook Nature Preserve.
Visitors to the Mink Brook Nature Preserve will notice something new this week – stakes, mesh sleeves, fresh flagging – and 2000 new trees and shrubs! Our volunteers, led by forester Ehrhard Frost and crew, are now replanting natives to fill in areas where invasive buckthorn, honeysuckle, and autumn olive had been removed. This major project has been funded with a cost-share from the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service.
Thanks to the Hanover Lions Club for sending helping hands for this project.
Mother bear with three small cubs seen April 24 and 25 in the Dunster Drive neighborhood adjacent to Mink Brook. Thanks to a neighbor for this shot (through a screen door). Mink Brook neighbors should befriend the bears by bringing in birdfeeders, securing their trash, and controlling their dogs. Mother bears are very protective parents.
This week’s unusually warm temperatures mean muddy trails. It’s best to stay off the trails until they dry out and harden up. An exception is the Quinn Trail at Mink Brook Nature Preserve.
Time to bring in your bird feeders! State biologists expect the bears weren’t fooled by this mild winter any more than we were, and ask that you bring in your bird feeders now, and don’t wait until April 1.
Rain in January is never a great thing for trails. Please watch your step and hope for some proper snow. We’ve provided shovels at our crossings at Mink Brook, but they can’t help with ice. Happy New Year to all.
